Seki or Niigata? The Best Nakiri Knife Japanese Makers Sell

A nakiri is the Japanese home cook’s vegetable knife: a thin, rectangular blade with a straight edge that meets the board along its whole length. It makes clean, straight cuts through onions, cabbage and herbs, and it is just as handy for the tomatoes, chiles and cilantro of a Mexican kitchen. The name simply means “leaf cutter”.

Plenty of knives on Amazon call themselves Japanese nakiri while being made elsewhere in Japanese style. This guide is narrower than our main best nakiri knife roundup: every pick below is made in Japan, in knife towns such as Seki and Niigata, and none of them repeats a knife from that page, so you get eight more options to weigh.

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Quick verdict: which Japanese nakiri to buy

Below, the five standouts side by side, then all eight in detail and how to choose between them.

Five Japanese nakiri knives compared

Our five standout picks, one for each kind of cook, with the specifications each maker or listing states. All eight knives are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Specifications are as stated by each maker or its Amazon listing.

Our eight picks for the best nakiri knife Japanese makers build

These eight cover the main choices in a made-in-Japan nakiri: hard VG10 and SG2 steels for edge retention, a softer, thicker blade for heavy chopping, compact and full sizes, hammered and hollow-ground finishes, and wood, micarta, polymer and steel handles. Each pick says who it suits and gives one honest reason to skip it.

What makes a nakiri Japanese

Nakiri started as the everyday vegetable knife of Japanese home kitchens. America’s Test Kitchen describes it as “one of the most important knives found in Japanese home kitchens”, with a rectangular blade, a relatively straight edge and a blunt tip. Three things set a made-in-Japan nakiri apart from the many Japanese-style versions made elsewhere.

Where it is made

Most of the knives here come from Seki in Gifu Prefecture (Enso, Miyabi, Shun, Yaxell) or Niigata (Global X). These towns have long histories of blade-making, and the makers state the origin on their listings. A listing that says “Japanese steel” or “Japanese style” without naming where the knife is made usually means it was made somewhere else.

Harder steel and finer edges

Japanese makers tend to use harder steels than German ones. On this page that runs from Global’s CROMOVA 18 at 56 to 58 HRC up to SG2 at 63 HRC, with VG10 in between at about 60 to 61. Harder steel can take a finer edge, often 12 to 16 degrees per side, and hold it longer. The trade-off, as America’s Test Kitchen notes for nakiri in general, is a thin, hard blade that can chip if you use it like a cleaver.

Single or double bevel

Every knife on this page has a double-bevel edge, sharpened on both sides, so it works the same for right- and left-handed cooks. Traditional single-bevel vegetable knives are usually sold as usuba and are a different tool for specialist cuts. If you are deciding between a nakiri and other Japanese shapes, our main nakiri guide covers nakiri, usuba and santoku side by side.

How to choose a Japanese nakiri

Five things decide which of these knives suits your kitchen.

1. Steel and hardness

VG10 (Enso, Yaxell, the edge of the Shun Sora) is the common middle ground: hard, stainless and not too difficult to sharpen. SG2 (Miyabi Mizu) is harder and holds an edge longer but is less forgiving. VG-MAX is Shun’s own variation of VG10. AUS10A (Shun Kanso) and CROMOVA 18 (Global X) are a little softer and tougher. If you are new to Japanese knives, VG10 is the safest place to start.

2. Blade length

A 6.5-inch blade crosses most onions and a half cabbage in one stroke and is the standard size. Go to 7 inches if you prep large batches, or down to 5.5 or 6 inches if you have small hands or a small board. Match the knife to your board too: a 6.5-inch blade wants a board at least 12 inches wide. Our wood cutting board guide covers boards that are kind to a fine edge.

3. Weight and spine

The knives here range from about 6 ounces (Shun Premier) to more than 10 (Global X). Light nakiri are nimble on herbs and scallions; heavier ones push through carrots and squash with less effort. A thin spine, around 2 mm, slices cleanly; a thick one, like the Global X’s 4 mm, is sturdier but wedges in dense vegetables.

4. Handle

Riveted micarta (Enso), D-shaped micarta (Miyabi), Pakkawood (Shun Premier, Mac), hardwood (Shun Kanso), polymer (Shun Sora) and seamless steel (Global X) are all here. Wood and Pakkawood feel warm and grippy; polymer and micarta shrug off water; steel is easiest to clean. If you can, hold a knife before buying, or choose a shape close to the knives you already like.

5. Finish and food release

Wet slices of potato, cucumber and onion stick to a flat blade. Hammered (tsuchime) finishes on the Enso, Miyabi and Shun Premier, and the hollow-ground scallops on the Shun Kanso and Sora, help them fall away. The Mac and Global X have plain blades.

Cutting vegetables with a nakiri

A nakiri works differently from a Western chef’s knife. Because the edge is straight, America’s Test Kitchen points out that you “can’t rock through a cut from tip to heel”. Instead, use an up-and-down motion, or push the blade forward and down so the whole edge meets the board.

• Onions: halve, lay flat, and slice straight down; the straight edge cuts through every layer at once, which is useful for pico de gallo.
• Cilantro and herbs: bunch them tightly and chop with short downward strokes rather than rocking.
• Tomatoes and tomatillos: a sharp edge pierces the skin without crushing, which keeps a fresh salsa from turning watery. Our guide to salsa roja vs salsa verde explains what each needs.
• Cabbage: quarter it, cut out the core and shred thin for slaw or tacos.

Keep the edge off bones, frozen food and hard squash rinds, all of which can chip a hard Japanese blade, and never scrape chopped food across the board with the edge: turn the knife over and use the spine.

Sharpening and care for a Japanese nakiri

Wash by hand with warm water and a little soap, dry it straight away and store it in a block, on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard rather than loose in a drawer. None of the knives here is sold as dishwasher safe.

For sharpening, a whetstone is the right tool for hard Japanese steel and fine edges: our whetstone guide explains grits and technique. Between sharpenings, a ceramic or fine rod helps straighten the edge; see the honing steel for Japanese knives guide. Shun offers free sharpening for its knives, which is a real advantage for the three Shun picks here.

How we picked these eight Japanese nakiri

We started from what a working kitchen asks of a vegetable knife: a straight edge, a sharp, hard blade that holds up to a lot of onions and herbs, and a handle that stays comfortable through a long prep session. Then we limited the field to nakiri that the maker or its Amazon listing says are made in Japan, and that were in stock on Amazon US when we checked. We left out the knives on our main nakiri roundup so this page adds options rather than repeating them, and we passed over the many listings that call a knife “Japanese” while naming no maker or country of manufacture.

Specifications come from the makers’ Amazon listings, Kai USA’s Shun pages and, where a maker publishes little, named retailer spec sheets (each review says which). For how nakiri behave in general we relied on America’s Test Kitchen’s nakiri coverage. We have not used these products ourselves; where we describe how a blade or steel behaves, we say whose findings those are. Several good Japanese nakiri, from Kikuichi, Masamoto, several Kai Seki Magoroku models and the Miyabi Birchwood, showed limited stock when we checked and were left out for now.

Japanese nakiri questions, answered

What is the best Japanese knife for nakiri-style vegetable prep?

For most home cooks, a 6.5-inch double-bevel nakiri with a VG10 core, such as the Enso HD. It is hard enough to hold a fine edge, tough enough to forgive the odd mistake, and easy to find a whetstone for. If you would rather have one Japanese knife for everything, a santoku or gyuto is more versatile; our best Japanese knife guide compares them.

Is a nakiri better than a santoku for vegetables?

For pure vegetable work, often yes: the straight edge meets the board along its full length, so cuts go all the way through without rocking. A santoku has a pointed tip and slight curve, which makes it more versatile for meat and fish. Many cooks own both. See our santoku guide if you want one knife for everything.

Can you cut meat with a nakiri?

Boneless meat, yes, carefully. A thin, hard nakiri should not meet bones or frozen food, which can chip the edge. The Global X, with its thick spine and softer steel, is the only knife here its maker describes as a light-duty cleaver for meat.

How do I know a nakiri is really made in Japan?

Look for a named maker and a stated town or country of manufacture, such as “handcrafted in Seki, Japan”, on the listing or the maker’s own site. “Japanese steel”, “Japanese style” or a Japanese-sounding brand name alone does not tell you where the knife was made.

Are Japanese nakiri dishwasher safe?

None of the knives on this page is sold as dishwasher safe. Hard, thin blades and wood or Pakkawood handles last longer with a quick hand wash and an immediate dry.

Our final pick for a made-in-Japan nakiri

Buy the Enso HD if you want one Japanese nakiri that does everything well and tells you exactly what you are getting. Choose the Miyabi Mizu SG2 for the longest-lasting edge, the Shun Premier if a lighter, shorter knife suits your hands, and the Global X if most of your prep is carrots, squash and cabbage. The Mac Japanese Series is the simple, lower-cost way in.

For more nakiri choices, including our overall favorites and how nakiri compare with usuba and santoku, see the best nakiri knife. And if you would rather someone else did the chopping tonight, see the menu or call to order.