Yanagiba for uncooked proteins (not just fish)

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Viggetorr

Viggetorr

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So I'm considering getting a shorter yanagiba (210) to use for slicing boneless chicken, pork and fish. I know that it is ideal for slicing fish, but wouldn't it be equally useful for, say, slicing a chicken breast, since the texture of the two are pretty similar?

I realize I could of course just use a gyuto for this, but I imagine a yanagiba might just be even better.

Any thoughts on this (sharpening issues aside)?
 
Isn't the increased length part of the point of a Yanagiba, so that you can go through the protein in one stroke without having to saw?

I'm still new to knives this but that was the impression I'd gained so far :)
 
I have a 150mm yanagi that I use to clean silver skin off of beef and pork. I really dig the single bevel for this, I know it's not what it's used for, but I don't care.
 
I mean, if you ever go to Japan you’ll see people using knives for things outside of their intended purpose all the time. As long as it gets the job done the way you like it to, then why not? In the end it’s just a tool that’s meant to be useful for your cooking.

That being said I certainly wouldn’t recommend using a deba for katsuramuki or an usuba for boning. :p

I think you probably get my gist: if the knife can handle it and it’s useful for you then more power to you.
 
Ochazuke said:
I mean, if you ever go to Japan you’ll see people using knives for things outside of their intended purpose all the time. As long as it gets the job done the way you like it to, then why not? In the end it’s just a tool that’s meant to be useful for your cooking.

That being said I certainly wouldn’t recommend using a deba for katsuramuki or an usuba for boning. :p

I think you probably get my gist: if the knife can handle it and it’s useful for you then more power to you.
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Absolutely, I have no doubt that it would work! My idea was that, given that a yanagiba is superior to a suji/gyuto when slicing fish, it should also be superior when slicing other uncooked boneless protein!
 
Superior? Probably not. Fun, yes for sure.
As far as I understand cutting sashimi like a pro is mostly technique rather than a tool.
 
I have a 210 Tanaka. It's fun, but after the novelty wore off it sees very little use. A 210 sujihiki is a much more versatile blade, IMO.

A few months ago, I lent it to daveb. Maybe he'll share his thoughts on using it.
 
Can't turn down an invitation like that.

When my yani went to visit Jon for a tuneup, I reached out to Rick to see if he had a loaner available. The 210 came to visit. It was adequate for most tasks though the shortness was evident when cutting large sections of tuna loin for sashimi, poke, etc. It was at it's best with precise cuts on veg when used as a single bevel petty. It did serve to convince me that it would not be a knife that filled a niche. YMMV.
 
If you want this but more functional get a 90/10 suji at 210mm it'll 1. Be way easier to use, 2. Do everything you'd want your yanagi to do, 3. Have a higher resale value of it becomes apparent you don't need it and 4. Will likely be cheaper. Oh and 5. It'll be easier to sharpen. You could get a stupidly good one with a traditional handle and Saya for $200 or less and it'll actually be a functional tool. Short yanagi are neat but basically novelty items compared to long petty/short Suji in western kitchens. If you want a yanagi buy a 300mm one and I promise it'll slice everything you want. I use a 300mm one on steak regularly
 
Pensacola Tiger said:
A 210 sujihiki is a much more versatile blade, IMO.
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I get that, but I really only want to use it for uncooked proteins. I just sold a 210 Kagekiyo petty, which is the space I want to fill. ;)

Godslayer said:
If you want this but more functional get a 90/10 suji at 210mm it'll 1. Be way easier to use, 2. Do everything you'd want your yanagi to do, 3. Have a higher resale value of it becomes apparent you don't need it and 4. Will likely be cheaper. Oh and 5. It'll be easier to sharpen. You could get a stupidly good one with a traditional handle and Saya for $200 or less and it'll actually be a functional tool. Short yanagi are neat but basically novelty items compared to long petty/short Suji in western kitchens. If you want a yanagi buy a 300mm one and I promise it'll slice everything you want. I use a 300mm one on steak regularly
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Do you have any example of such a knife?
 
I have a 210 yanagi I use for fun at home. I pretty much use it like a petty when I feel like using something different or when I decide to cut some sashimi for myself. You can use a suji for the same thing, but where's the fun in that?
 
Viggetorr said:
Do you have any example of such a knife?
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IIRC the Suisin Inox Honyaki is 90/10 grind for the Suji,
the line also has a 210 petty so maybe worth checkin out.

Unfotunatley not sure if there are lower cost options out there,
maybe somebody else can chime in with ideas.

Those Kagekiyo (B1?)petty's look pretty sweet tho, why would you sell it?
 
I have a 210 yanagi that I use at home. I pretty much use it like a yanagi when I decide to cut sashimi.
It's plenty long to cut the portions I get from my fish monger and yes it is fun!
Anything longer for my purposes would be silly.
It only comes out for sashimi. I've tried it on cook meat but I prefer to just use the gyuto I already have out.
The older I get the more I enjoy smaller knives like a 180 - 210 slicer or a 150 - 180 gyuto, santoku or line knife...
 
fuzion said:
I have a 210 yanagi I use for fun at home. I pretty much use it like a petty when I feel like using something different or when I decide to cut some sashimi for myself. You can use a suji for the same thing, but where's the fun in that?
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parbaked said:
I have a 210 yanagi that I use at home. I pretty much use it like a yanagi when I decide to cut sashimi.
It's plenty long to cut the portions I get from my fish monger and yes it is fun!
Anything longer for my purposes would be silly.
It only comes out for sashimi. I've tried it on cook meat but I prefer to just use the gyuto I already have out.
The older I get the more I enjoy smaller knives like a 180 - 210 slicer or a 150 - 180 gyuto, santoku or line knife...
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Have you guys tried using them for raw chicken breasts for example? To me the texture of raw fish and chicken is pretty similar (at least, more so than raw fish and cooked meat), so my hypothesis is that a yanagi should do well for both.

HRC_64 said:
IIRC the Suisin Inox Honyaki is 90/10 grind for the Suji,
the line also has a 210 petty so maybe worth checkin out.

Unfotunatley not sure if there are lower cost options out there,
maybe somebody else can chime in with ideas.

Those Kagekiyo (B1?)petty's look pretty sweet tho, why would you sell it?
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Thanks, I'll check it out.

I had the w#2. Truth be told I had a hard time keeping it rust free, despite being careful to dry it after use. I really liked the look and feel of it though, so I am considering buying the Kagekiyo 210 yanagi in ginsanko!
 
I use a 300/335 yanagi for uncooked meats and fish all the time. Works like a treat. 210 may be a bit short, would definitely go 240 or above
 
Haven't really used it on chicken very much mostly because I use it for more precise cuts, and I haven't had to cut any chicken precisely. Mine is also a ginsan in case I sometimes use it as a petty to cut acidic stuff.
 
I use a 180 single bevel petty (Ittetsu from Jon) to remove silverskin and to dice meat. Obviously - blade of this size is not going to be optimal for larer pieces of meat, but I love using it tor smaller tasks. I plan to get a 300 yanagi or fuguhiky at some point for similar purposes.
 
Matus said:
I use a 180 single bevel petty (Ittetsu from Jon) to remove silverskin and to dice meat. Obviously - blade of this size is not going to be optimal for larer pieces of meat, but I love using it tor smaller tasks. I plan to get a 300 yanagi or fuguhiky at some point for similar purposes.
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Right, you gave me the idea a while back! Performance wise, if you're slicing some chicken breast, does it perform better than a suji/gyuto? I know of course both of them would perform the task well enough - I'm looking for optimization here, since I process a lot of chicken.
 
I find that in particular with chicken breast the sticking is the deciding factor. And I feel that a yanagiba performs a bit better that a gyuto.
 
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