How do you like your sujihiki and yanagiba: thin or thicker at the spine?

[mark76]

I always thought I liked laser-like sujihikis best. But I recently tried one that is a bit thicker at the spine and found, to my surprise, that I liked it a lot better. And I noticed that many single-bevel yanagibas are not lasers either.

So do you like laser-like sujihikis and/or yanagibas best, or do you like them a bit thicker (at the spine, not the edge)?

 

[Jordanp]

I personally like a thicker sujihiki as it has less flex which is what I like even though I only have fairly thin sujihiki myself. :dontknow:

 

[Cashn]

Ive used both but own a yanagi now. Bought it to learn the blade and how to sharpen the style. While I really like the thickness at the spine, the edge will suffer when using on anything tougher than raw protein. Meaning no bones or outter crust. In essence a suji would be better for me on paper. I do like the style tho and have been trying to figure out how to make it work for me.

 

[Geo87]

Thick spine for suji but very thin behind the edge. Stiffness is essential IMO for portioning proteins with a suji.

 

[Benuser]

Thick spine for suji but very thin behind the edge. Stiffness is essential IMO for portioning proteins with a suji.

+1

 

[JMJones]

What is the range of preferred thickness? What is too thin?

 

[Benuser]

Hard to say. Some thin blades are remarkably stiff, while some not too thin ones have some flex. Will depend on steel type and construction, san mai or monosteel.

 

[maiko]

Hard to say. Some thin blades are remarkably stiff, while some not too thin ones have some flex. Will depend on steel type and construction, san mai or monosteel.

which types of steel are higher on the stiffness-per-thickness spectrum? is san mai or monosteel stiffer, all else equal?

 

[Benuser]

San mai with soft stainless cladding

 

[Jae1L]

which types of steel are higher on the stiffness-per-thickness spectrum? is san mai or monosteel stiffer, all else equal?

Monosteel is way stiffer.

 

[Mytola]

Thick at the spine with good stiffness and some weight to it. The weight and stiffness definitely helps with slicing.

 

[Barmoley]

Stiffness of the blade is mainly controlled by its cross section (thickness). Equally thick knives with same geometry should have the same stiffness regardless of construction. San Mai knives with soft cladding will stay bent once bent, but it is not easier to bend them.