Your Sushi Knife V’s 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone

Tony B | November 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

In Japan, making sushi is considered an art form and sushi chefs are not only regarded as culinary experts but as artists. You would not use just any kind of tool to create a masterpiece right? In the same way, making sushi requires a cutlery set that will give justice to this old art form. This is the reason why true sushi makers and enthusiasts do not settle for just any kind of knives. They prefer sushi knife sets that are designed specifically for the task of creating the popular Japanese dish.

What Makes Sushi Knives Different

The answer lies in two things: material and manner of sharpening. Traditional sushi knives are made from carbon steel which is the same material that was used in forging traditional Japanese weapons such as the katana. Nowadays though, high quality stainless steel is used in making sushi knives. To match the quality of their predecessors, the best sushi knives today are made with steel that has a high carbon content. Sushi knives made with other materials are considered to be of lesser quality and grade.

As mentioned earlier, sushi knives also differ from other knives in the way they are sharpened. While both edges of the blade are sharpened on other knives, only one side is sharpened in sushi knives. This sharpening method is known as kataba, traditionally your sushi knives would have been only been sharpened with a Japanese Waterstone. Achieving a surgically sharp edge on your blade, nothing works faster or better than Japanese Water Stones.

The abrasive slurry produced on top of the stone cuts aggressively and polishes the blade as it sharpens. If you’ve never tried sharpening with water stones before, you’ll be astounded by the results, this particular stone – the Woodstock D1130 1000 Grit and 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone is a little soft, which makes it a good choice for those of you who have never used a stone before.

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In regular sushi knives (those made for right-handed individuals), the right edge is sharpened. For specialized sushi knives made for left-handed chefs, the left edge is sharpened. The purpose of this method is to allow the knife to perform cleaner and more precise cuts. Using a knife with only one edge sharpened is a skill that must be mastered by any individual who wants to be called a sushi chef and make the perfect sushi.

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