What Is A Nakiri Knife?

“Look at that! A mini Cleaver!”

Not quite. It may have similar features to a cleaver at first glance, what you are actually seeing is a Nakiri.

The Nakiri is a Japanese knife with a straight edge that is commonly used for vegetable preparation. The straight edge of the Nakiri is optimised for an up-down chopping motion and is perfect for the slicing and dicing of vegetables, it is especially useful when julienning vegetables.

The straight, symmetrical edge of the Nakiri means it will cut through to the chopping board along the entire length of the knife without the need for a rocking motion as you would with a santoku or Chef knife. Unlike the similar looking Cleaver, The Nakiri has a much thinner blade making it ideal for the delicate preparation of vegetables and should not be used for butchery or anything involving hard ingredients like bone (if you want to do that then you’ll definitely be wanting a Cleaver)

The Large surface area and squared shape of the Nakiri also makes it ideal for scooping up ingredients from the Chopping board and transporting them around the kitchen.

The Nakiri can sometimes be compared to the Usuba Knife, the real difference here is the Nakiri is a double bevelled blade while the Usuba is a single bevel.

Get stuck in this Veganuary with our selection of Nakiri Knives, Maybe kickstart that new year’s resolution?