What to Know about the Best Sushi Knife (and Top 3 Picks)

What is the best sushi knife on the market? If you love Japanese style cooking, including preparing sushi and sashimi, then you should find a special knife that is meant for that specific way of cooking, not just using any electric appliance.

I’ve put up a guide together to help you decide and get the most out of your spending by looking into three best products that you can consider when shopping around. They have their strong points based on the following criteria.

• • Performance
  • Material
  • Price
  • Comfort and convenience

What to Know about the Best Sushi Knife (and Top 3 Picks)

PERFORMANCE

We’re buying a knife to get the most out of our experience in preparing homemade sushi and sashimi. And for that aspect, I have carefully looked into the performance function of each of these products to help you decide which to buy.

• • TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba: This chef knife works well in cutting and slicing hams, meats, and fish without causing damage to the food texture with its precise blade that stays sharp for giving you an easier time in filleting fish or slicing vegetables.
  • Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi: Ideal for cutting and slicing food without putting pressure on the food, ensuring it keeps its texture and fresh look, this long knife lets you cut and pull it back, ensuring uninterrupted strokes as compared to the TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba. It is handcrafted to ensure quality, and it works for both beginner and intermediate chefs.
  • ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife: This standout sushi knife works best versus TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba and Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi for its unique performance and precision. You will certainly get what you would pay for, as the knife helps you cut meat, vegetables, fruits, hams and other foods without putting pressure to them to retain their flavor and texture. No squishing and tearing are guaranteed for using the knife that offers precision all the time.

Our Top Choice For Performance: ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife

MATERIAL

Looking into the materials used is another important consideration to ensure durability and performance, so I have listed our products here and reviewed their material for an idea of what to expect.

• • Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi: It comes with a sharp blade and a D-shaped handle made of either rosewood or magnolia, along with a magnolia wood sheath for a total package. It is made to last long, and it is handcrafted for superior performance of the materials used. The product is made of high carbon steel so you might notice staining due to frequent use. To avoid it, dry the blade and apply Tsubaki oil that comes with it before storage, or if rust developed, just use a rust eraser.
  • ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife: It is made of high-quality VG10 Damascus SUS410 high carbon stainless steel that proves better than the material used for Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi. The VG10 ensures long-lasting performance. It also used cryogenic cooling to achieve HRC hardness 61+. As an added feature, it comes with triple riveted rounded handle decorated with ZELITE mosaic rivet.
  • TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba: The product is superior to Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi and ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife when it comes to edge retention and strength with its VG10 steel like that of the ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife, but with added feature regarding material. It is handcrafted with sandalwood handle for a visual appeal, non-slip and ergonomic benefits. The blade is also single-beveled, which is preferred by most sushi chefs, and it comes with a single blade cutting angle of 35 degrees for precise gliding through food while preventing tearing and bruising.

Our Top Choice for Material: TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba

PRICE

Just like when buying a slicer, the price is an important aspect in the decision-making phase when shopping around for a sushi knife. For that matter, I have looked into this aspect in each of the featured products we have today.

• • Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi: If the price isn’t a concern, then you might consider the sushi knife that is the most expensive in the group. It offers top precision for cutting rolls and it also works for beginners in Japanese cooking.
  • TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba: This is the middle range priced product among the products featured here. It is more affordable than the Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi, yet it also comes with high technology, and it is crafted to last long without constant re-sharpening needed.
  • ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife: When it comes to price, this is the most affordable versus Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi and TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba. You might want to consider this one if you are low on budget but want to get the best value for your money.

Our Top Choice for Price: ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

Ease of use, especially for beginners, is important so that you can have better control through a well-designed and balanced chef knife, and for that, let’s look into our featured products to assess their comfort and convenience features.

• • ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife: This product offers a non-stick convenience, ensuring no smooth gliding through the food you’re cutting each time. It is also nitrogen-tempered, giving you peace of mind for a long-lasting investment, and it does not require a rust eraser because it is rust and stain resistant. Its handle is also triple riveted and rounded for comfortable and secured grip.
  • TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba: It comes with a unique and well-balanced handle, which is 360°CNC-lathed along with a cooper ring for smooth maneuvering, proving it is better than ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife. It handle is with ebony for added appeal and durability, and its design is octagonal for control and comfort.
  • Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi: Maximum grip and control, these are outstanding features that you cannot miss when you get this product for your kitchen. When it comes to convenience, this product stands out versus TUO Cutlery Professional Yanagiba and ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife for it also comes with knife oil, knife sheath and rust eraser in the package. It has a simple design that allows for maximum precision, and its blade has a D-shaped handle for better balance.

Our Top Choice for Comfort and Convenience: Yoshihiro Shiroko Carbon Sashimi

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the world, Japanese cuisine is one of the most sought after even by Westerners, so they flock to restaurants offering sushi and sashimi. However, you might not have to hit any of these dining spots to eat these foods, as you can have them in a more affordable way – that is through preparing them yourself. To get started, you need to pick the right cutting tool designed for perfecting your slices and cuts of fish, meats, fruits and vegetables, and our list above is a good place to start.

Upon careful consideration of the features to consider, I recommend the ZELITE INFINITY Chefs Knife that can offer us the most precise cutting and slicing of the three, although I am not discounting that the other two are also best in the category, which is why I included them here. Pick yours based on the technology, features, materials, and price, among other things you deem essential in your case. I hope you can find your best sushi knife using this guide now.