Styles and Uses of Traditional Japanese Knives
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A Fine Edge for Fine Cuisine
A sharp blade will cleanly slice through ingredients. A dull blade, on the other hand, will damage the cell walls of fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, altering their texture and flavor. A simple example: Try to chiffonade basil with a dull knife and you'll find that it will turn black almost instantly. Now try it with a very sharp knife; the same chiffonade will retain its vibrant green color for hours or even days.
The single-edged blade is a unique feature of traditional Japanese knives directly linked to Japanese cuisine. Traditional Japanese cuisine aims to preserve and accentuate the true flavors of fresh and seasonal ingredients, and a sharp knife is essential to this process.

The Single-Edged Blade
To achieve their "unforgettable sharpness," traditional knives are razor sharp on one side and slightly concave on the reverse side. This design creates an overall sharper cutting edge, makes resharpening easier, and allows for more sensitive culinary work. Individual Japanese knives were designed to handle specific tasks: the deba used to fillet the fish, is shaped so that the hefty blade can nimbly separate flesh from bones without damaging any of the delicate meat. The usuba, or vegetable knife, is often used for katsuramuki, traditional-style hand turning of vegetables into thin sheets, and dicing vegetables. And lastly, with its long, fine edge, the yanagi excels at thin, clean slices of fish for sushi and sashimi. The design of the blade allows for quick cutting of delicate ingredients in a single stroke.

Honyaki Knives
   Honyaki (or "true-forged") knives are constructed entirely out of one material,usually high-carbon steel. They are difficult to forge and shape so they are often expensive. Honyaki knives have the greatest kirenaga, or duration of sharpness, of Japanese knives. However, because the steel is so hard, Japanese knives are quite easy to chip, crack, or break if used improperly. Also, the increased hardness makes sharpening them a real challenge. Craftsmen require a great amount of skill to forge honyaki knives and chefs need a lot of experience to use and care for them.

Kasumi Knives
   Craftsmen forge kasumi knives by joining a piece of soft iron with a piece of carbon steel. After forging, hammering, and shaping, the carbon steel becomes the blade’s edge. The soft iron portion becomes the body and spine of the blade. This reduces brittleness and makes sharpening easier. Kasumi knives are much easier to use and quicker to sharpen than honyaki knives; but their kirenaga is shorter. Kasumi means "mist," which refers to the hazy appearance of the soft iron part of the blade in contrast to the glossy appearance of the carbon steel cutting edge.
   Hongasumi knives are high-grade kasumi knives. They are often made of higher quality materials and special attention is paid in their forging, tempering, and finishing processes.
   Layered steel, often called "Damascus steel," is becoming increasingly popular due to its added benefits and attractive appearance. To create these blades, high-carbon steel is layered with soft iron then forged and hammered. Among the kasumi knives, layered steel blades have the longest kirenaga.