Two sujis OR one suji and one yanagiba? Or something else?

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Would you keep one suji and one yanagiba OR two sujis?

  • One suji, one yanagiba

    Votes: 14 58.3%
  • Two sujis

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • One suji and something else

    Votes: 9 37.5%

  • Total voters
    24
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Messages
2,382
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Location
Maryland (DC suburbs)
My time is winding down in Japan, and I'm wondering about the number of type and of short (in height), long knives I should keep.
I've got three knives and two slots, so (at least) one is going to go.
I will definitely keep a stainless suji. In reality, that is all I need.
I also have a carbon suji that I like and am considering keeping.
I also have a yanagiba. After I move back to the U.S., I doubt I'll be cutting much sushi/sashimi at home. But it's kinda cool to have a yanagiba. A suji could certainly be my occasional sushi knife.
If I only keep one suji, I'd have a slot in my block for another long knife with a short height at heel (I already have a bread knife). It wouldn't have to be a long knife if it's another profile that would be useful, just can't be taller than the low 40s to be able to fit in that slot.
 
Depending on where you move back to in the US you'd be surprised at how frequently you'll find decent fish these days - more and more places have fish that can be eaten raw. Given the growing prevalence of stores like Mitsuwa, Uwajimaya, Nijiya, Maruichi, and others it's not super hard to get access to decent fish. Plus there's a growing subset of companies like Wulf's Fish that does nationwide delivery.

If you know what you're doing, even fish bought from a regular grocery store can be eaten raw on occasion. If you want more info on how to buy fish for raw consumption in the US, let me know and I can DM you or post here if you feel like it's not derailing the thread! It's literally a major part of my job to source and quality check fish for raw consumption.

All that is just to say: GO TEAM YANAGIBA!
 
How much can you afford? I like having both—the versatility of a suji doesn’t ever come into consideration. I have more sujis than yanagis, but mainly because lefty yanagis that I want are more difficult to find. I cut raw fish more often than big roasts.
 
I used to be a sushi chef and I'm more bias toward the yanagi.. so I say one sujihiki and one yanagiba
 
Generally speaking, I would keep one suji and one yanagiba, but my decision would depend on the exact model. Which one do you want to keep more? Is one of them very hard to replace? Which one can you sell for a better price?

Depending on where you move back to in the US you'd be surprised at how frequently you'll find decent fish these days - more and more places have fish that can be eaten raw. Given the growing prevalence of stores like Mitsuwa, Uwajimaya, Nijiya, Maruichi, and others it's not super hard to get access to decent fish. Plus there's a growing subset of companies like Wulf's Fish that does nationwide delivery.

If you know what you're doing, even fish bought from a regular grocery store can be eaten raw on occasion. If you want more info on how to buy fish for raw consumption in the US, let me know and I can DM you or post here if you feel like it's not derailing the thread! It's literally a major part of my job to source and quality check fish for raw consumption.

All that is just to say: GO TEAM YANAGIBA!
That would be super interesting to know (even if I don't live in the US)!!
 
Depending on where you move back to in the US you'd be surprised at how frequently you'll find decent fish these days - more and more places have fish that can be eaten raw. Given the growing prevalence of stores like Mitsuwa, Uwajimaya, Nijiya, Maruichi, and others it's not super hard to get access to decent fish. Plus there's a growing subset of companies like Wulf's Fish that does nationwide delivery.

If you know what you're doing, even fish bought from a regular grocery store can be eaten raw on occasion. If you want more info on how to buy fish for raw consumption in the US, let me know and I can DM you or post here if you feel like it's not derailing the thread! It's literally a major part of my job to source and quality check fish for raw consumption.

All that is just to say: GO TEAM YANAGIBA!

If you would be willing to start a separate thread on the subject, I'm sure many Americans here would be interested in the knowledge you have to share.
 
I'm in the multiple sujis camp, but I don't work with fish very often. I also find that sujis can vary quite a bit in ways that make some more useful for portioning while others are better at making thin cuts. And some can even function as semi-gyutos in a pinch. There is much less variation in yanagis, at least in my experience. And I find that they're much more limited in their functionality where sujis can be more general purpose (or at least be multi-purpose).
 
Idk what I’m doing with it, but I love my yanagiba. It feels very different from my sujis..

It’s true, much less versatile, but fun. And feels way way different when cutting. A must have if you’re even a little bit of a collector, maybe not so much if you’re a “one mag strip, sell what I don’t use” kind of guy.

2 Yanagiba!
 
I love slicing boneless meat (besides just fish) with a yanagiba. Fun to use, and you can steer it so nicely if you want. And it has great history. I would get one of each. Also, since you already have one yanagiba at home, you could get one of those square tipped ones to add variety to your collection.
 
I find that single bevels steer too much for my liking. Maybe my technique sucks.
 
Thanks all for your input. I thought I wanted to be rational and reasonable.
Deep down, I was subconsciously craving the enabling validation of this forum to guide me toward keeping more knives. Once again, the forum has delivered!
The subtle message was, "Why TF are you even bringing up the idea of having fewer knives?!?!? That goes against everything we stand for. You need to correct this, quickly and publicly, or more extreme measures will be taken!"
Message received!
Two sujis and one yanagi are near the minimum required for my slicing needs!
Yes, I could add more storage. I bought what I thought was a block big enough to have a nice range of knives. Then had an expansion made for five more knives. Right now I'm working on one more expansion to hold four or five more knives. I do like having the knives all in one place and accessible, as I find storing them in their boxes in the bedroom closet means I just don't use them that much.
My wife is pretty indulgent of my kitchen knife obsession, but there are some limits. Particularly when we're talking about kitchen space.
 
My wife is pretty indulgent of my kitchen knife obsession, but there are some limits. Particularly when we're talking about kitchen space.
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Space? I find the drawer knife rack a great way to hide and rotate knives. You can get a lot of "extras" in sayas stacked up along the side...
 
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