The 6 Best Japanese Knives of 2024

How We Tested Japanese Knives

This roundup includes data from multiple rounds of Lab and home testing. We've included dozens of Japanese knives among the hundreds we've assessed in categories from chef's knives and santokus to bread slicers and cleavers. We've put knives to the test with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, as well as the classic slice-through-a-sheet-of-paper test.

In addition, we ran a series of side-by-side tests in our Lab on 26 Japanese (and Japanese-style) knives specifically for this story. We measured the blade of each knife fresh out of the box using the Edge-on-Up scientific sharpness-measuring tool, then put them through a series of real-world tests. We sliced tomatoes as thinly as possible, minced chives, diced onions, and chopped sweet potatoes, then measured the sharpness again to see how well the knives maintained their edges. We also rated the knives on a number of design factors, then revealed the retail prices and considered value after finishing all of our other tests.

After this initial testing, we continued to use the 10 top-rated models in everyday test kitchen tasks, checking in after 2 and 6 months to rate long-term performance.

What to Look for When Buying a Japanese Knife

Blade Shape and Size

Knives come in an astounding variety, with all sorts of blades made for all sorts of purposes that originated all over the world. Most Japanese brands make many different types of knife, but there are a few styles that originate in Japan and are very common. The santoku is like a chef's knife, but with a blade that's mostly flat on the bottom, a versatile tool for boning meat, fine slicing, or quick chopping with an up-and-down motion. The gyuto is similar to the santoku, but its shape is basically the same as a European-style chef's knife, with a more rounded blade that allows chopping with a rocking motion. The nakiri, also known as a "vegetable cleaver," has a super-sharp blade to slice through soft veggies, with a large rectangular profile and the heft to push through hard ingredients like potatoes and yams.

Beyond that, the size of your knife is crucial. Any style of blade is likely available in different sizes; a longer knife can cut more food at once, at the expense of the fine control a shorter one offers. The best choice for you comes down to your personal technique and preference, but a person with smaller hands is probably going to be happier with a smaller knife. A larger knife, will, of course, be heavier than a small one, but Japanese knives are fairly light in general so you may not have to worry about that.

Blade Material

Almost all knives are made of steel, a combination of iron and carbon. But there are lots of different "recipes" for steel, that all have different characteristics. High-end Japanese knives often use steel with a high carbon content (AKA carbon steel) and other materials added to make it very hard and good at holding a sharp edge. But carbon steel is also brittle, difficult to work with, and more expensive. Stainless steel adds chromium to the mix, which makes the material extra-shiny and rust-resistant, but softer.

Handle

If a knife isn't comfortable to hold, it's not going to be very useful—no matter how sharp the blade. Compared to their European or American counterparts, Japanese knives often have a rounder handle profile. Oval and D-shaped handles are common, as they're very comfortable in the hand but offer a more secure grip than a perfect circle. Your best choice is down to personal preference, so keep in mind that most brands offer more than one handle shape with the same set of blades. Besides shape, the handle material helps determine its look and its durability: Unfinished wood, for example, is more prone to deteriorate after repeated washing than a handle made from resin or a composite material.

FAQs

How are Japanese knives made?

They're made in Japan.

We joke, but there aren't any special legal requirements or regulations for Japanese knives; brands in Japan can (and do) make the same kinds of knives in the same ways as brands anywhere else.

But the reason Japanese knives have a reputation for quality is that the best ones are made by hand, by craftspeople with decades of expertise. The extra-hard steel often used for Japanese knives is difficult to work by machine and requires careful heating, stretching, hammering, and tempering. These laborious techniques also yield beautiful tools: Many Japanese knives have a distinctive whirl pattern in the blade created by folding together layers of steel, or a hand-hammered dimpled texture across the top of the blade.

How do you sharpen a Japanese knife?

You can use the same kind of knife sharpener you'd use for any knife to sharpen a Japanese knife, but it might be a better idea to have it done professionally. Many Japanese knives have a single bevel, which means they're sharpened on only one side of the blade. This is more complicated to deal with than a V-shaped double-bevel, which is the only thing many home knife sharpeners can handle. Depending on how heavily you use your knives, they should need professional sharpening once to twice a year.

In between sharpenings, it's a good idea to run the knife over a honing steel before every use to keep the blade sharper longer.

How should you care for a Japanese knife?

It only takes a few minutes, but you'll need to perform a little maintenance on your knife every time you use it. Always hand-wash in warm, soapy water, and dry the knife completely after washing. The harsh treatment of the dishwasher can dull the blade, and water can leave behind mineral spots or even rust. It's also a good idea to wash the knife soon after use: If you let food bits dry onto the blade, they'll be much harder to remove. Always use a soft sponge on your blade and avoid anything scratchy or abrasive, such as a chain scrubber or a scouring sponge, which can scratch and permanently damage the blade.

A Japanese knife is best used on wood, plastic, or rubber. Contact with hard surfaces like glass, granite, marble, or ceramic can quickly dull the blade, and potentially chip or otherwise damage it permanently. It might be convenient for you to quickly halve a lemon on the counter or slice something directly on your dinner plate, but this is a bad idea for a high-end knife.

Where you store your knives is also important. A knife block or wall-mounted magnetic strip is your best bet. If you do need to store a knife in a drawer or anywhere else it might bump and scratch against other tools, put a plastic guard over the blade to protect it.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie writes roundups and reviews kitchen products for The Spruce Eats. She's also a recipe writer and cookbook author, so she knows the importance of a good knife when chopping, slicing, and dicing in the kitchen. Plus, she personally tested one of the products on this list. Her advice for picking out your ideal knife? Go with one that feels comfortable in your hand.

Renu Dhar, a personal chef and instructor, tested six Japanese knives side by side in order to update this roundup.

Jason Horn further updated this roundup with additional testing info. He bought a Shun after he got his first "real" job as a food writer (at Cooking Light, RIP), and it's still the knife he uses every day almost 20 years later.