A thin but strong blade is needed to slice through salami. German knives are usually too thick for this task and you will not be able to cut thin, precise slices. Takamura’s HSPS Pro is a great choice for slicing salami but if you are looking for something a little more affordable, check out Haku. Since salami is pretty hard to cut through, you may find that a gyuto is the best style of knife to use.

Based on feedback from our customers, Haku, Takamura’s red handle series and Ikkaku Donryu are the more affordable knives that offer great value.

Kyocera’s ceramic knives are a good choice because they offer lifetime sharpening services and warranty but if you don’t want a ceramic knife, Ajimisaku or Ikkaku Donryu’s smaller gyutos may be good options for you.

If you have never used a Japanese style single bevel knife, you may not want to splurge for you first purchase. If that’s the case, some good choices are the stain-resistant yanagi from Sakon, Kanetsugu and Sakai Takayuki. If you, however, want to experience all the advantages of a Japanese style knife, you should consider the Tsukiji Masamoto Nami Kasumi yanagi or Sakai Takayuki's Kikutaka (coming soon). Just be aware that single bevel carbon steel knives are more delicate than stain-resistant double edge knives so don’t ever use them for rough tasks. Also keep them dry at all times.

The Takamura Damascus Hana series is highly recommended for those who do fine knife work- the blade is exceptionally thin and sharp and you can slice through effortlessly with minimal cell damage on the food’s surface. You won’t even need to use the mandoline anymore for thin slices. The thin blade will allow you to cut precise brunoise and juliennes with clean corners. Any of the paring knives from Takamura are also highly recommended. Nenohi's Sakura series is another great option because they combine the best characteristics of Japanese and Western knives and have a thin blade. Traditionally, the usuba is used for fine knife work with vegetables, so Tsukiji Masamoto's Usuba is also recommended.

Haku or Ikkaku Donryu are the go-to knives for many of our line cook customers. They are affordable and easy to maintain.

There are many Western-style knives from Japan like gyuto (chef’s knife), sujihiki (slicing knife) and yo-deba (Western version of a deba). Japanese knives tend to have thinner blades and the types of steel that Japanese manufacturers use tend to be harder. You may think that Japanese knives would be harder to sharpen because of that, but because of the thickness of the knife, it is usually easier to sharpen Japanese knives. You have to remove a lot more steel on thick knives to make it sharp again.

The main difference is that traditionally, Japanese-style knives have a single bevel edge and are made with carbon steel (not stain-resistant). Japanese knives are modeled after katana swords, and are either made with carbon steel and a softer iron put together (kasumi) or with one single piece of carbon steel (honyaki). Many people claim that traditional Japanese knives are much sharper because of the single bevel but also because of the amount of carbon in the steel. They are more prone to rusting, but they have better edge retention and superior sharpness. Using a sharp knife to make precise and fine cuts has always been vital in Japanese cuisine because a lot of food is served in its raw state. It is much harder to mask poor knife skills when the food has not been cooked and altered.

Oilstones come in several varieties. The most common are Norton India or Economy stones and these are typically coarser and less friable than Japanese whetstones. These coarse particles can often dislodge and cause a thin, hard knife to chip so we recommend against using oilstones.

We recommend the Takamura red handle or HSPS Pro series, Haku or Sakai Takayuki Western style knives for serious home cooks. These are all great for professional use but also suitable for those who cook a lot at home. They are all stain-resistant and easy to maintain. For those who are looking for extra sharpness and don’t mind a carbon steel knife, the Western style Tsukiji Masamoto knives are popular. If you are looking for a Japanese style knife to use at home, the stain-resistant single bevel knives from Sakon, Kanetsugu and Sakai Takayuki are all reasonably affordable and suitable for home use.

For Western style knives, the Takamura knives have the thinnest blades. For Japanese style knives, any of the usubas have the thinnest blades (usuba literally translates to mean “thin blade”).

Japanese knives (traditional and Western style) tend to be lighter than German knives and many people would say that they are more well balanced as well. Some prefer the feel of heavier knives but they strain your hands after long hours of use. Poorly balanced knives will not sit still in your hands when you grip it lightly because either the blade or handle is too heavy. In the video below you can see that Nenohi Cutlery care a lot about knife balance so their knives will sit comfortably in your hand without toppling over.

For line cooks, Haku and Ikkaku Donryu are the most popular because they are affordable and good value for the quality. People who don’t mind spending that little bit extra for an even better experience will go for the Takamura HSPS pro or Nenohi G-Type series. As for people who want a Japanese style knife, the most popular is Tsukiji Masamoto (not honyaki or blue steel but the others).

We highly recommend Haku to culinary students because it offers great value for its quality. We collaborated with Nenohi Cutlery with the needs of culinary students and line cooks in mind.

The original method for producing Damascus steels is not known but it has roots in South Asian and Middle Eastern sword making. Two different types of steel are layered and folded to product the beautiful Damascus pattern. Many modern day Damascus knives are actually just etchings of the pattern, but some are made with Damascus steel. The higher quality Damascus knives are actually produced by the blacksmiths themselves (instead of purchasing from the steel manufacturer). Examples are Sakai Takayuki Damascus series and Takamura’s Hana Damascus HSPS series.

As you can see, the sujihiki is longer and thinner than a gyuto. A gyuto is a multipurpose knife that is great for a variety of tasks such as cutting and chopping vegetables and cutting boneless meat or fish. A sujihiki is not very practical as a multipurpose knife because of its length, and is better used for slicing (using long strokes). It can be used for slicing cooked meats, terrines, pates, fish and cake. But some cooks like to use sujihikis as their multipurpose knife.

Get a 1000 or 2000 grit stone if you only want one stone. If you sharpen regularly and only need the stone for finishing touches and to realign the edge, these medium grit stones will do the job.

It is definitely great to find a knife with a sharp initial edge but it shouldn’t be the only factor to consider when purchasing a knife. You might find a knife that has an amazing initial edge but find that it doesn’t have good edge retention. A kitchen knife is a tool that can be used for a very long time (sometimes a lifetime), so you should look for a knife that is sharp, easy to sharpen and also has good edge retention. Quality Japanese knives are made to be sharpened.

Applicable sales tax will apply to shipments to addresses located within the state of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania. For other states, you will be responsible for paying the appropriate use tax.

MTC accepts credit cards (Visa®, Master Card®, Discover® and American Express®), PayPal® and Amazon Pay. Unfortunately we do not accept payments made with wire transfer, checks or money orders through online store.

Yes, all order transactions are completed using a secure processer.

Sales tax must be applied to any order that is being shipped to a state where MTC is registered to conduct business.

Please view Cutlery 101. If you do not find any information you are looking for, please contact us at 201-806-1827 or info@mtckitchen.com

Please view our Return Policy.

Please notify our customer service team at info@mtckitchen.com within 48 hours of receiving your shipment, and include pictures of any incorrect items. We will replace or exchange the incorrect item or provide a full refund of the purchase price.

Please notify our customer service team at info@mtckitchen.com within 48 hours of receiving your shipment, and include pictures of any incorrect, damaged, or defective items. We also ask that you keep all packaging and packing materials for future inspection of damaged items by the carrier. We will provide a full refund of the purchase price and assist you with a new order if you would like a reshipment. Any shipments replacing an incorrect item must be shipped to the order’s original shipping address only.

If the carrier claims that your package has been delivered but you have not received it, please contact us at info@mtckitchen.com for further assitance.

We use UPS by ground service as our primary shipper unless you specify otherwise at the time of purchase. Shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & other U.S. Territories will be made by air service unless you specify otherwise at the time of purchase.

UPS Ground: 5-9 business days; UPS 3 Day: 3-4 business days; UPS 2nd Day: 2-3 business days; UPS Next Day Air Saver: 1-2 business days from the date when you receive a shipping confirmation email. At Shopping Cart page, when you click "ESTIMATE SHIPPING & TAX", you can check the estimated delivery date. Of please refer to the map below to see the delivery times for UPS Ground from our warehouse:

"Business Days" are Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. We are unable to ship or process orders on Saturdays, Sundays or the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Holiday, Day after Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Holiday, and New Year's Eve. If you have any concerns regarding when your order will arrive, please contact us at info@mtckitchen.com.

UPS delivers Monday - Friday during regular business hours.

MTC Kitchen ships to addresses within the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii. Unfortunately we do not accept P.O. address as UPS does not deliver to P.O. Boxes, unless UPS SurePost can be used for small packages.

We will be happy to re-send your order to your correct address. However, orders that are delivered to old or incorrect addresses due to incorrect shipping information provided by the customer cannot be refunded.

Please contact info@mtckitchen.com or call 201-806-1827 right away with your order number and let us know the updated shipping address. If the shipment is already in transit or has been returned to our warehouse, the order will be considered as a return and a partial refund will be issued. The return fee will be deducted from the refund.

Please call us at 201-806-1827 or e-mail us at info@mtckitchen.com.