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It can’t be denied that Japanese cuisine truly wins the hearts of diners for its authentic, savory tastes and blends of unique flavors coming from a wide variety of ingredient choices. The traditional flavors of fresh seafood and fish caught from sea combined with the uniqueness of Wasabi paste and Japanese soy sauce are not what only makes Japanese cuisine special, but the skills and techniques required to master the Japanese blades are truly what adds value to these delicacies. What truly is behind all the success and the fame Japanese knives earn, is the mastery of the blades – the uniqueness and originality of traditional knives that can perform a wide variety of techniques to hand-craft Japanese delicacies like sushi and sashimi.
However, not everyone can use a Japanese knife without training. With this, culinary experts and Japanese food chefs are always in the search for professional knife models and cutleries to ease them in all food preparation processes.
A Japanese knife owns special features, of which includes having long blade bodies, unique handle materials, and most importantly – durability and longevity of the blades. As each Japanese knife has different usage, knife users can select which knife they need to complete each food preparation process in the kitchen and professionally hand-craft Japanese delicacies with ease. Mainly for slicing, chopping, filleting, and boning, a Japanese knife is needed to perform intricate techniques and skills to successfully make perfectly-shaped slices of fish or poultry.
Despite the huge selection of Japanese knives out there in the market, there are only some of the few trusted knife brands that win the hearts of culinary experts and professionals in the food industry.
Among the top-tier, supreme-quality knife brands, Sakai Takayuki is famed for its variety of knife selections that perform different tasks and are capable of doing a vast variety of traditional techniques when it comes to the crafting of sushi and sashimi dishes. With a long, cultivated history of over six decades, Sakai Takayuki and a crew of highly-skilled craftsmen have always been the talk of the town.
If we look at the popular Japanese knife types, Gyuto and Santoku top the charts as being the two most well-known knife types as they serve as multi-tasking knives that can work well with any task in the kitchen. However, a slicer knife is also one crucial knife type required in the intricate process of slicing fresh meat into desired shapes. Thus, even professional Japanese cooks and chefs look for high-quality slicer knives to ease them in the slicing and cutting processes.
Among the top, best-selling Sakai Takayuki knife series: Sakai Takayuki VG10-VG2 Coreless Damascus Japanese Chef’s Kengata-Slicer (Sujihiki) 270mm knife and Sakai Takayuki Grand Chef Japanese-style Chef’s Slicer (Sujihiki) 270mm knife are two good recommendations for both new users and professional users.
Sakai Takayuki VG10-VG2 Coreless Damascus Japanese Chef’s Kengata-Slicer (Sujihiki) 270mm knife is generally a coreless Damascus stainless steel knife which is made out of the VG10 and VG2 multi-layered Damascus steel throughout the blade body. With extremely hard edges, it has perfect edge retention and durability, which leads to blade longevity. Its razor-sharp edges also lead to enhanced cutting techniques, further producing remarkable results. Its handle is made out of canvas Micarta with stainless bolster, which makes in an exceptionally powerful blade. Sakai Takayuki Grand Chef Japanese-style Chef’s Slicer (Sujihiki) 270mm knife also has extremely razor-sharp edges, a very light blade body, and a surprisingly durable blade build. The knife is made of a special, superb-quality material by Bohler-Uddeholm with the lowest impurities, forged in Japan to obtain high values of HRC.