Recommend me a starter yanagiba

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J

Jon-cal

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2018
Messages
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LOCATION

What country are you in? US


KNIFE TYPE

What type of knife are you interested in?

Yanagiba


Are you right or left handed?

Left, but I’m pretty ambidextrous and am looking for a right hand bevel


Are you interested in a Western handle or Japanese handle? Japanese


What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?

270-300


Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) No


What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?

250 USD, but flexible


KNIFE USE

Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?

Home


What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for?

Slicing raw fish


What knife, if any, are you replacing?

None


Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? Pinch


What cutting motions do you primarily use? A bit of everything, though for this pull cut probably



KNIFE MAINTENANCE

Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? End grain wood


Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes, though never single bevel



COMMENTS


I’ve been looking at yanagibas for some time. I have a 270 suji that I really like and I know it will do everything I really need. However, I want to play around with a single bevel, learn how to sharpen it, and I like sashimi so why not. I’m left handed but am ambidextrous for a lot of things. I’ve been trying my suji right handed for a while and it’s fine so I think the premium for a lefty knife is probably not worth it. I’d rather not spend a bunch on this, but I also don’t want something that’s junk and frustrating. It’s got to be usable. I’d prefer all reactive but not too fussy on steel. I have various white and blue steels in other knives and don’t have a strong preference.


The Gesshin Uraku from JKI looks like the right sort of thing and I see that recommended often. Out of stock though. There’s also the Masamoto KK and Morihei from Hitohira. I can’t find much info on the Morihei unfortunately.



Any thoughts on any of those or recommendations for others?


Thanks!
 
Put your name on the wait list for the 270mm Gesshin Uraku at JKI. I have sharpened four of these all had good grinds. A good choice for a yanagiba at a reasonable price with a saya.
 
I'd buy the masamoto on bst, gesshin uruka 300mm isn't a bad choice, I believe James sells a Sakai jikko yanagi made by Tatsuo Ikedas son that is definately worth looking into. It's $260 and for a meager $55 aud +/- $40 usd he'll make you a custom Saya. Truth be told Ive looked at it more then once lol. I also know you can get a Yoshikazu ikeda one for about $300 usd that might be worth considering if you can wait a minute.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
Put your name on the wait list for the 270mm Gesshin Uraku at JKI. I have sharpened four of these all had good grinds. A good choice for a yanagiba at a reasonable price with a saya.
Click to expand...

I’m on the email list for the 270 and 300 uraku. I think I have enough space for a 300 and the saya sort of alleviates any storage concerns. Given I’ve never sharpened a single bevel, I kind of like the idea of having Jon finish sharpen one so I can at least see what it’s supposed to be like before I start practicing.

I have been eyeing that KK on BST though...
 
I recommend Tsukiji Masamoto white 1 or Aritsugu Blue steel from Mtckitchen.com
And I’d go with 270mm instead of 300mm.
 
I used the Aritsugu Blue 270mm at work. Good Yanagiba got it from A-Frames over 10 years ago.
 
Aritsugu is a great knife. I would recommend that as well. Masamotos are the standard go to and a safe bet. I really liked my Hontan Seikon Dojo from Epicurean Edge. It served me well behind the sushi bar. I currently use a Kitaoka sumingashi white #2 300mm at work. I also have a Kitaoka blue #2 funayuki and based off of it's performance I would not hesitate to go with a the yanagi in the blue #2 line.
 
Jon-cal said:
Just curious, why 270 instead of 300?
Click to expand...

After doing sushi for more than 10 years I think 300mm is pretty long sometimes there's chance to hit the tip of the knife while working or washing. I've seen many sushi chefs damage the knife tip when the knife is long.
I have several 300mm yanagibas and they are all really good, just overall 270mm is easier to use for me.
 
Cutting platters of sashimi, ala carte, & sushi topping prefer 270mm.

Esp. for home it will be more than enough. I encourage home users interested to buy a Yanagiba. They can take an edge unsurpassed in most other knives. Learning to sharpen them will increase your skill set.

It is actually fun to slice fish with a quality yanagiba. I used cheap ones and suji's before getting my first quality one a white steel it was an eye opener could never go back & owned several white & blue over the years.
 
I ordered a lefty 270 Uraku. Was thinking of right handed but lefty should be a little better for me and one popped up in stock today.
 
Yes single bevel is best for your dominate hand. The white steel in that blade will get razor sharp.
 
The Uraku arrived. This was my first purchase from Jon at JKI and I suspect there will be more haha. I’m very pleased with the purchase. Even with the premium for the lefty this knife seems like a great value. The fit and finish is impressive. I made some sashimi and I was going to post a picture, but the fit and finish of my sashimi is not something worth publishing I’m afraid. No fault of the knife!
 
Welcome to the world of yanagiba's. There are U-Tubes of using a Yanagi to cut sashimi
 
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