Japanese Knives

About this book

Most books about Japanese knives go deep on three knives. This one covers forty-four.

Japanese Knives: The Complete Buyer's Guide is the whole subject in one volume: all 10 knife regions — Sakai, Echizen, Seki, Tosa, Tsubame-Sanjo, Banshu Miki, Shinshu, Echigo Yoita, Tokyo and Kyoto — with each region's legal status stated honestly (designated Traditional Craft, production cluster, or historic knife city); all 44 knife types, from the gyuto and santoku to the hamokiri, the oroshi tuna knife and Miki's Higonokami, each with its bevel, typical lengths, what it is genuinely best at, the limitation sellers omit, and an indicative price band; and every steel that matters — Shirogami, Aogami, VG-10, SG2 and more — with compositions taken only from the steel makers' own published data. Where a maker does not publish a composition (SG2 is the famous case), the book says so instead of repeating the numbers that circulate online.

It finishes the job with a five-minute Knife Finder (which knives you actually need, carbon or stainless, when you are ready for single-bevel), a complete buying chapter for Japan and abroad, and a sharpening and care part that takes you from your first whetstone session to maintaining a yanagiba.

The comparison the reviews of other books ask for: the best-known English competitor treats 3 knife types in depth at $29.95. This book treats 44, across 10 regions.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.