[2025] How to use a knife

I am Okudaira, the owner of "Japanese Kitchen Knife TOKU''.
We want to sell knives made in our hometown of Sakai, Osaka, so we purchase and sell knives made in Sakai from a knife manufacturer in Sakai.
We don't just sell knives, we visit a number of blacksmiths and bladesmiths in Sakai to help our customers understand knives, experience the actual work, and hear from the craftsmen. I'm here. In addition to Sakai, we also visit Seki in Gifu, Tsubame-Sanjo in Niigata, Tanegashima in Kagoshima and Katsushika in Tokyo, in an effort to deepen our understanding of the characteristics and commitment of each.

How to use a knife

How do you all use your knives?
Also, do you know how to cut it?
"Of course I know how to use a knife. If I just pull it down from top to bottom, it's bound to cut."
Some of you may have thought this.
So, is this the correct way to use and cut it?
Have you ever thought, "Because my parents or school taught me this, it must be correct?"
But think about it. In Japan, elementary school students have the opportunity to use knives in home economics classes.
At that time, the only thing the teacher taught me was to turn the fingers of my left hand inward. I don't remember being taught anything about the knife movement in my right hand.

Think about the image of using a knife.
In TV dramas from the Showa era, there are scenes in the morning when a mother prepares breakfast in the kitchen, and don't you imagine her slicing with a knife on a chopping board, making a loud knock-knock noise?
From that image, don't you understand that if you bring the knife down against the cutting board, it will cut?
Also, the knock-knock sound when you cut makes it look like you are cooking.
In other words, cutting with a loud noise is a filming effect.

No matter how sharp a knife is, if you simply move it down from top to bottom it won't cut anything and will end up crushing the ingredients.
So how do you actually cut it neatly?
That means moving the knife back and forth. You can cut ingredients by pushing the knife forward or pulling it toward you. Even people who use knives regularly often don't know this fact.
In fact, in the knife sharpening classes we hold, we have participants try cutting a knife after sharpening it, but many of them end up cutting a newspaper by lowering it from the top down.
So, if you hold the knife at an angle and pull it towards you, you can cut cleanly, but some people find this difficult.
So, I thought I had been taught how to use a knife and how to cut, but in fact I had not been taught the correct way to use a knife and how to cut. Of course, I think that people who have gone to culinary school know the correct way to use a knife and how to cut.

There are two ways to cut: push cutting and pull cutting.
When thinking of oshikiri, it's best to imagine it as a cutting technique where you push the knife forward, while when thinking of hikikiri, it's best to imagine it as a cutting technique where you pull the knife towards you, like when cutting sashimi.
The basic way to hold a knife is to grip the handle firmly with your dominant hand and place your index finger on the ridge of the knife.

So, having read this far, how do you use your knife and cut with it? Were you using it correctly?
If you haven't been using it properly, why not take this opportunity to improve it?
I think that changing how you use it and cut will affect the sharpness and therefore the taste.
Learn how to use knives and cut properly to enrich your food experience.

Let's go to a knife store!
Sakaitoku Knife Shop opened a store in Asakusa, Tokyo on April 5th. The store is located on the 6th floor of a building right outside the north exit of Tobu Asakusa Station. It is also about a 3- minute walk from Asakusa Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.
We also hold sharpening classes and sharpening experiences, so please feel free to stop by if you are in the area.
Sakaitoku Knife Shop also has channels on YouTube , Facebook and Instagram .
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Sakaitoku Knife - YouTube