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Knifewear Glossary of Japanese Kitchen Knife Terminology

January 31, 2023 5 min read

We use a lot of words at Knifewear, and a lot of them aren't english. Here are some of our most commonly used Japanese words with English definitions. This is an ever growing list, so if you see something that is missing, contact us and we'll add it in!

	TRANSLATION/DEFINITION	WHY WE CARE
Ao	Blue	Used to describe Blue carbon steel.
Aogami	Blue paper	Blue carbon steel
Aogami Super	Super blue paper	Super blue carbon steel.
Ara-to	Coarse stone	Used to classify sharpening stones.
Banno	Multipurpose / All Purpose	Knife shape from Shosui Takeda-san. Interchangeable with Santoku or Bunka
Bocho / Hocho	Kitchen Knife	We love kitchen knives!
Bunka	Culture (literal meaning)	Knife shape (Like a santoku with a pointed tip).
Carbon Steel	Steel with <10.5% Chromium	Will Patina and can rust if not taken care of.
Chuka Bocho	Chinese Kitchen Knife	The Japanese name for Chinese cleavers, often used to describe Chinese-inspired cleavers made in Japan
Damascus	Generic term for patterned welded steel	Damascus Steel is a famous sword material from Syria, now used to describe blades with pattern-welded steel.
Deba	Single-bevel fish fillet knife	Fish Butchery 105 to 210mm.
Echizen	A city in Fukui prefecture	Knives made in Echizen are called Echizen-uchi knives.
Funayuki	ship and "go"	The term is in regards to a fishermen's knife. Multi-purpose knife for slicing and filleting. It is also a regional term for multipurpose knife, Takeda-san uses this term instead of Santoku.
Garasuki	Slightly bigger version of Honesuki	Used for butchering poultry and game.
Ginsan	Silver three	Made by Hitachi metals. Forgeable stainless steel popularly used in Sakai.
Gyuto	Cow sword	Chef knife, all purpose.
Hakata	Name of a ward in Fukuoka	Refers to the Hakata shape, very similar to a bunka. Term is used because it used to be region specific shape.
Hamon	Wavy line on Honyaki knives	Is produced by differential heat-treatment.
Honesuki	Japanese poultry & boning knife	Great for chickens, ducks, fish, & more.
Honyaki	True-forged	Knife made from one piece of hard steel, with differential heat treatment (with clay).
Ishime	Rock Surface	Finish on Moritaka Ishime knives, originally hunting knife finish.
Kamagata	Sickle shaped	A knife tip shaped like sickle.
Kamisori	Razor	Used to describe Japanese-style straight razors.
Kasumi	Mist	Haze on the blade (hon-kasumi) like on the Hado Sakai Junpaku. Also referring to the knives made with cladding technique.
Kasumi-Uchi	Hammered Kasumi, very drunk Kasumi	Making sure you actually read this.
Kataba	Single bevel edge	Single bevel knife.
Kiritsuke	Cut at	Slightly wider blade with a flatter edge & angled tip. Originally single bevel, also available double bevel. Kiritsuke can be used to describe a tip style on other knives, also called 'k-tip'.
Ko	Prefix meaning small	Ko-bunka (small bunka), Ko-nakiri (small nakiri), etc.
Koba	Small edge	Secondary edge meant to strengthen the primary edge of a knife.
Kurouchi	Black Hammered	Black finish left on the blade instead of polished. It will prevent from rusting.
Kyomen	Mirror surface	Mirror finished knives. If the finish is applied to carbon steel knife, it will prevent from rusting.
Maguro	Tuna
Maguro bocho	Tuna knife	Tuna butchering knife often from 40cm to 110cm.
Menkiri	Noodle cutting	General term for noodle cutting knife for Udon and Soba.
Migaki	Polished	Matte polished finish on knives, but not as polished as mirror.
Mioroshi	Fish fillet	Slightly narrower and thinner deba. Fishermen carry this knife for butchering & slicing fish. Hybrid of Yanagiba and Deba.
Miyabi	elegant, Graceful	Japanese knife brand owned by Henckels.
Nagura	Name of a specific type of natural stones.	Natural nagura are used for created slurry on natural stones, synthetic nagura are used to clean synthetic stones.
Nakiri	Leafy Veggie cutter	Knife shape great for vegetables, especially cabbage, lettuce and green onions
Nashiji	Pear skin finish	Finish on blades inspired by the skin of asian pears.
Ni-Mai	Two layers	Construction method used for single bevel knives. One piece of soft steel forge-welded onto hard steel.
Patina	Protective oxidation on high-carbon steel (dark & cool colours)	This will happen on all carbon knives with time and proper care, and should be encouraged to protect the steel.
Petty	Small from French language (Petite)	Small knife shape, great utility/ paring knife.
Rockwell Scale	Rating of hardness, abbreviated to HRC	Kitchen knives usually vary from 52-68, higher rockwell usually means longer edge retention & higher likelihood of chipping.
Ryoba	Double bevel edge	Knife that is equally sharpened from both sides, the most common way of sharpening a knife.
Sakai	City in Osaka	Famous for single bevel knives. Most professional chefs in Japan use at least a knife from this city
Sakimaru	Round tip	Refers to a yanagiba, takobiki or sujihiki with a rounded tip, looks like the tip of a Japanese sword.
San-mai	Three layers	A knife making technique. A piece of softer steel is forge welded onto either side of a billet of hard steel to protect it. Most of our knives are made this way.
Sanjo	City in Niigata prefecture	Famouse for manufacture of handmade steel products, including knives. Masashi, Hinoura, Tadafusa, Iwasaki etc.
Santoku	Three virtues	Toku also means benefit. Knife shape, great for everyday use.
Sasanoha	Bamboo leaf	Knife shape between Sujihiki and Gyuto, made by Takeda-san.
Saya	Sheath	Made for specific knives, usually from wood. Some higher-end blades come with them.
Seki	City in Gifu prefecture famous for factory made kitchen knives. Also 700yrs history of sword making	Famous for manufactured made kitchen knives. Also 700yrs history of sword making. Shun, Miyabi, Mcusta, Seki Kanetsugu, Shizu
Semi-stainless Steel	Steel that isn't quite stainless, but doesn't rust easily	We created this terminology to reference stainless steels that can oxidize more easily than most stainless steel.
Shinogi-Suji	The line separates primary bevel and belly of the knife.
Shiro	White	Used to describe White carbon steel.
Shirogami	White paper	White carbon steel
Shun	Seasonal	Knife brand by Kai in Seki
Sobakiri	Soba cutting	A knife for cutting soba noodles. Very tall and has very flat edge
Stainless Steel	Steel with >10.5% Chromium	It generally will not develop a patina.
Steel	Iron and Carbon alloy	All our knives are made of steel!
Sujihiki	Flesh slicer	Knife shape, great for slicing raw and cooked meat.
Suminagashi	Ink Flow	Named for a paper/ silk dyeing technique of swirling ink on top of water, used to describe knives made from layered steel.
Takefu	Name of the city now known as Echizen	Known for Echizen knives, also where Masakage knives are from.
Takefu Special Steel	Steel company in Fukui	Known for VG-series and SG2.
Takobiki	Octopus slice	Sashimi slicing knife.The tip of the knife is cut off straight.
Tamahagane		Traditional steel used on certain kamisori and Japanese swords.
Toishi	Sharpening stone
Tosa	Old name for Kochi prefecture	Famous for handmade knives, known for their Kurouchi blades. Strong ties to Sakai knives.
Tsuchime	Hammered pattern	Hammered Finish on blade.
Uchi	Hit or hammered	Often referred as "forged in", i.e. Echizen-uchi, Sakai-uchi, Tosa-uchi
Usuba	Thin edge	Single bevel knife for vegetables.
Wa	Prefix meaning Japanese style	Wa-handle refers to a traditional Japanese knife handle.
Yanagiba	Willow leaf blade	Single bevel knife for slicing
Yo-	Western	Prefix used to indicate western-style, such as yo-handle.

Naoto Fujimoto

Naoto came to Canada in 2007 and we aren't letting him go back. After getting angry with his roommate's dull knives, he started to dream of sharp Japanese knives. Naoto graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor degree of art, majoring International Relations and finds that selling Japanese knives is his own way of doing international relations. Naoto is our Cultural Ambassador bridging Japan and Canada. You can also see him in SpringHammer looking cool and holding it all together.