Our blog articles on Kaitsuko Japanese Damascus steel knives and cooking.

These blog articles are written by the Kaitsuko team, the people who design the knives, answer your messages and use them in the kitchen every day. Most articles start from a question you have asked us, and we answer it with what we have learned from more than 100,000 customers. Here are the topics you will find.

Choosing the right Japanese knife

This is the heart of the blog. We compare blades that look alike and are always hard to choose between: Santoku or chef's knife, Nakiri or Santoku, Kiritsuke or Gyuto, Japanese knife or German knife. We also publish guides by profile, for a beginner, a left-hander, a passionate home cook or someone looking for a gift, and we give an honest answer to the question of how many knives you really need in a kitchen. Once you have made your choice, you will find these blades among our individual Japanese knives or brought together in our Japanese knife sets.

Types of knives and their uses

Every blade shape has its reason for being. Santoku, Gyuto, Nakiri, Kiritsuke, paring knife, boning knife, not forgetting traditional blades such as the Yanagiba or the Deba: we explain what each one is for, what it does better than the others and who it suits.

Cutting techniques, food by food

Having the right knife is not enough; you also need the right technique. Deboning poultry, filleting fish, carving a joint of meat, slicing vegetables without crushing them, cutting fruit cleanly: our guides pair each preparation with the right blade and how to use it.

Steels, blades and craftsmanship

Damascus steel, hammered finish, HRC hardness, sharpening angle, San Mai construction, handle materials: we translate these technical terms into concrete differences, the ones you feel once the knife is in your hand. We also tackle the bigger questions, such as what really defines a Japanese knife or how we design our own, from the initial idea to your kitchen.

Care, sharpening and repair

A Japanese knife lasts for years as long as you look after it. Washing, drying, storage, choosing between a whetstone and a honing steel, rescuing a chipped blade, taking your knives with you when travelling: every situation has its article. The equipment we talk about can be found in our Japanese knife accessories.

Japanese cooking and culture

A knife only makes sense through what you do with it. We share recipes where the cut changes the result, and we look back at the history of Japanese cutlery, from the swordsmiths to today's kitchen knives.

A question that no article answers yet? Write to us, it may become the subject of the next one.