What distinguishes Japanese sushi knives from Western-style knives is that many types of Japanese sushi knives are honed on only one side, the right side, to create the sharpest cutting edge possible. Sushi knives primarily fall into three categories:
A heavy duty cleaver: Used for tough jobs, such as cutting through thick fish bones and filleting whole fish.
A sashimi knife: Used to work with raw blocks of fish and fish fillets. Raw fish cut with this knife is used in almost all types of sushi, but most conspicuously on top of finger sushi. It’s also the knife you use to cut sashimi, which is precisely sliced, best-quality raw fish that’s accompanied by a dipping sauce.
A vegetable knife: The Japanese vegetable knife is prized for cutting razor-thin pieces of food, as well as making quick work of chopping or mincing. It comes in single-edged and double-edged style.
