Miki Yanagiba Shirogami 240mm (9.5″)

Miki Yanagiba Shirogami in 240mm (9.5″) blade length is a traditional Japanese knife originally used for cutting thin slices of raw fish – yes, sushi! 😃 Its fine sharpness ensures very little cellular damage in the cut surface, which is particularly important for dishes where the fish is eaten raw because it helps to preserve the original flavor and texture of the fish. Nowadays it can also be used for cutting large pieces of meat (especially for steaks) due to its long, thin blade. The single bevel blade is suitable 🚨 for right-handed users only!

Yanagiba roughly translates to English as a “willow-leaf blade” which perfectly describes the long and slender leaf-shaped blade of the knife that is primarily used to fillet fish. Its fine sharpness ensures very little cellular damage in the cut surface, which is particularly important for dishes where the fish is eaten raw, because it helps to preserve the original flavor and texture of the fish.

Miki Hamono uses the purest carbon steel available, produced by the Japanese steelmaker Hitachi. Shirogami steel #2 or “white steel 2” with a hardness of around 62-63 HRC, which is then forged welded with a second layer of softer steel. A two-layered blade construction, also known as ni-mai.

White steel can produce the highest level of sharpness and cutting ability from all Japanese steels, but it comes at a price. Very high maintenance is needed, rust resistance is very low so it will develop patina very fast, the blade has to be wiped dry after every use and oiled regularly to prevent rusting.

When you ask Japanese blacksmiths or sushi chefs why they all like white steel so much, you always get the identical answer: “Because it has a GREAT EDGE!”

»Great edge« in Japanese terminology translates as:

• very high hardness and toughness (not being overly brittle)
• very fine and homogeneous martensite steel structure (steel structure after heat treatment) which will after polishing produce a very fine/smooth edge
• very easy to resharpen.

The blade is polished and hand engraved with the blacksmith’s signature. The transfer between jigane and hagane has a nice kasumi finish created by whetstones. The out-of-the-box sharpness is 7/10 because Japanese chefs like to put the final edge by themselves. If you prefer, we can sharpen it for you free of charge, just let us know when placing the order (leave a note in the cart).

Handle is a simple traditional round Wa handle, made from magnolia wood. Magnolia wood is a soft, light-colored wood that needs some extra maintenance as it can stain easily, so we recommend having clean hands before using the knife. It is the preferred wood of Japanese sushi chefs due to its antiseptic properties and it is easy and cheap to rehandle as there is an abundance of magnolia handles on the market. The ferrule is made from water buffalo horn.

Due to the choice of materials and precise final treatment of the blade by hand, the blade is simple to maintain, retains its edge for a very long time and is perfect for sharpening on water stones. These are essential characteristics of a traditional Japanese single bevel knife, such as Yanagiba. 

About Miki Hamono:
Miki Hamono is a small-scale blacksmith from the Miki area in Japan. Miki is a very famous blacksmithing area located in Hyogo prefecture in the center of Japan. They use an old Japanese forging technique that originated from making samurai swords (katanas). Miki Hamono is mostly known among Japanese sushi chefs for forging traditional single bevel shirogami (white) steel knives. Their knives are the perfect example of the Japanese traditional knives where every part of the knife is made the »right way«, like in the old days, but separates them from other similar blacksmiths by a very good price performance.