Why are Yanagi's so thick

[welshstar]

Hi

Another stupid question time.

With the main purpose of a yanaigi being very fine slicing of fish why are they generally so much thicker in the blade than a gyuto ?

Thanks

Alan

 

[mainaman]

First of all depends on which gyuto you are going to take as reference.
Second it also depends on which yanagiba you will take for reference.
Example Shigefusa yanagis are thinner than usual, but their guto are on the thicker side, when you measure the spine, but IMO they both cut superbly well.
Yanagiba has a construction such that it makes thin slices very easy to make, so evn though they look thick they get the job done.

 

[Eamon Burke]

Weight. It makes it so blade heavy, it wants to do all the work for you. Just put it on the food, keep it straight and pull.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Weight. It makes it so blade heavy, it wants to do all the work for you. Just put it on the food, keep it straight and pull.

There are thin and thick yanagis, as there are thin and thick gyuto. In my experience, it is easier and takes less time to make a thicker knife.

If you ask a person who uses a yanagi day in and day out, they are likely to go for a thinner knife. A friend of mine, who is a sushi chef, his preferred knife is a thin 270mm yanagi or a fuguhiki.

M

 

[l r harner]

i had been asked befor about amkig one in something liek 1/8 inch thick spine. maybe one of these days i ll give it a shot

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

Weight. It makes it so blade heavy, it wants to do all the work for you. Just put it on the food, keep it straight and pull.

+1

 

[Seb]

Isn't the thickness also to accommodate the hollow left-side?

 

[Lefty]

Seb, I think you're partly right. I'm no expert on yanagis, but isn't it also that the thickness and grind push the slices well away from the rest of the fish?

 

[Seb]

Seb, I think you're partly right. I'm no expert on yanagis, but isn't it also that the thickness and grind push the slices well away from the rest of the fish?

Yep.

Because of the way the Yanagi is used to slice fish, for example, starting for a righty from the left-hand side, the hollow ('ura') allows the cut pieces to fall away without sticking to the blade.

Another likely reason is that the thicker spine/upper part is needed to (1) support the very very thin lower part and also (2) to keep the blade straight during and after the forging process; nevertheless, you still see complaints on the forums every now and then from members who received bent or twisted yanagis.

Of course, there is more than one way of making a yanagi; for instance, the Honyaki and Kasumi/Hon-gasumi methods.

 

[l r harner]

so long as you dont grin=d the face bevel under 15 degrees the edge will hold btu it will look funny since it will not travle upthe blade all that far

 

[Seb]

so long as you dont grin=d the face bevel under 15 degrees the edge will hold btu it will look funny since it will not travle upthe blade all that far

don let kmca here u say that lessn you want a beatin!

 

[l r harner]

sadly i have no problem readign that
i have slight dislexia adn a crazy low spelling level call me if you want a better take on my info ( i wish it was different, typing is better then myb penmanship

 

[Seb]

Hey, I wasn't making fun on account of spelling.

I would never do that, I value thoughts and ideas above any other kind of nonsense. If I was making fun of anyone, it was KC (and he deserves it).

 

[riverie]

For me the main reason yanagi being thicker is to give you a better control and accuracy plus forgiveness when you tend to abuse it a little bit. I just got myself a tadatsuna fuguhiki which weight only 102 gram !!!. To me it's better and ultimate single bevel slicer because it's super thin, cut and slice raw fish like the fiber and flesh is not even there....

The only thing i need to mention before recommend someone to get a super thin yanagi/fuguhiki it is to be fluent with using a normal yanagi first.... work and slice sashimi for years before use this knife. One of the guy in my sushi bar try to use my tadatsuna fugu and i see he got no control of the motion and he couldn't keep the consistency of the thickness of sashimi or sushi slice. This is because the blade feels got no weight at all to help you control the balance and accuracy...... you need to have a steady hand and extra gentle to handle this kind of blade.

 

[JBroida]

the main reason yanagibas are designed the way they are is because they are designed to be used in a specific way that works well with that thickness... thinner yanagibas mean thinner angles and thus a more fragile edge. You could do thinner with a smaller bevel, but that wouldnt keep the knife functioning in the same way... the bevel of the knife is that large to help push food in a specific way (just as the hollow ground back is there not to reduce sticking, but the reduce pressure on the food on that side of the cut).

 

[ecchef]

...If I was making fun of anyone, it was KC (and he deserves it).

KC is the Cesar Millan of the knife world.