When you think about Japanese kitchen knives Australia, a lot of things come to mind. Some people think about extremely sharp knives, others think about high-carbon steel knives while others think about expensive knives. However, there are a lot of things you need to know about these popular knives.
The knives trace their roots to ancient Japanese swords
Japanese swords put more emphasis on their sharpness rather than size. It has been proposed that the main reason for this is that Japanese people are smaller in size. Because the smaller men were not able to swing heavy and large swords, they invested in the sharper and more agile katana sword.
The history of these swords is long. Before the 3rd century, the country produced sharp weapons made from iron. The bladed weapons were straight instead of curved. The sori curve allows the user of the katana to cut whilst pulling the sword out. This was meant to inflict as much damage as possible with little effort. Japanese swords continued to evolve until 1876 when it was prohibited to carry swords by ordinary people. Until then, the katana was forbidden to anyone below the samurai rank but this limited the right to carry swords to soldiers and the privileged few. Nowadays, dedicated craftsmen continue to make katana but owning swords is limited to people who have been certified by the government.
The skill of making Japanese swords went into making Japanese kitchen knives that are found in most professional kitchens. It is why they are still being praised around the world for their sharp edge.
Japanese chefs like single-bevel knives
The wabocho knife has a similar history to the Japanese sword. It appeared in the 10th century for the first time and was experimented with and improved with and perfected between the 18th century and the 19th century.
Compared to double-bevel knives, single-bevel knives require more precise techniques. E.g., if you want to dice something using a double-bevel kitchen knife, you just have to bring it down vertically and cut straight. However, with single-bevel knives, it takes practice to make accurate and straight cuts. For this reason, wabocho knives are difficult to use. However, Japanese knives are best for pull cutting.
Wabocho knives come in endless varieties
There are ten main types of wabocho Japanese knives but that is only counting the other categories of specialty blades. e.g., there is a type of tuna kitchen knife with a one-meter-long blade used for cutting tuna. It also comes in different varieties differing in application and blade length.
There are left-handed and right-handed Japanese knives
When choosing Japanese kitchen knives Australia, it is important to keep in mind that there are knives designed for left-handed people and knives designed for right-handed people. Among single-bevel knives, which are right-handed, there are also knives with the edge on the opposite side designed for left-handed people. So, make sure you choose the right knife for your needs.
