210 Yanagiba as veggie knife??

[Cahudson42]

Looking for opinions - is the following common? Does it make sense, or not?

Hiroyuki Terada is a Miami sushi chef with a popular youtube channel. For years he used a Kikuichi TKC Gyuto as his main knife..

Recently, he started to use a 210 Yanagiba instead. I'm curious if you guys think this makes sense, or perhaps is it mostly PR for pushing the knife.. (just thinking..) Here is a rather long video of him using the 210 as a veggie knife:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VcLWqt93W2Y

If time is short or you get bored, go to about the 13min 30sec spot - and watch what he does with a small slice of cucumber.. I tried that with my 210 PS60 and couldn't come close.

You will see Hiro has adjusted to the knife shallow height by keeping his hand in front of the board. And what do you call the grip he is using with his index finger extended like that? Whatever, it seems to give him superb control..

Thoughts and opinions appreciated! (Including if I should use my new Saji Ginsan 210 Yanagiba - which I got for my small galley camp kitchen - as a general purpose knife like this? Initial impressions - it is a fantastic knife for $142..)

Chris

[Kalaeb]

Re yangiba for veg: Personally, no...Too much steering. I have tried it with a 210 tojiro. Fine for softer fruits and veggies but for everyday meal prep, too much of a PITA and the edge is too delicate for any real board work.

[jared]

Kind of looks hard on the wrist for any long sessions as well. But you never no try it and let us no what you think.

[ckreef]

He definitely has some serious kinfe skills. Most knives can be used for anything but not necessarily the best knife for the job. I would think the average person would have a hard time wielding that big of knife for some of those delicate tasks. My skills aren't good enough to even try.

[TommyB]

The extended index finger seems to be standard practice for trained sushi chefs when slicing fish. The technique is a long draw single cut per slice; starting on a slight angle with a slight roll to the vertical as the cut nears the end. Check various YT vids for details.
Tom

[Turbochef422]

Not for veg but I have a 200mm yanagiba I use to clean and portion chicken breast and stuff like that and it works great. I know Jki sells a 180 single bevel petty that gets lots of praise

[ken123]

You can use a yanagi for what he's doing, but an usuba is more commonly used or a mukimono for more decorative garnishing techniques, especially for performing katsuramuki . You will see him using an (kamagata) usuba a few times in the video.

---
Ken

[Chefcallari]

Looking for opinions - is the following common? Does it make sense, or not?

Hiroyuki Terada is a Miami sushi chef with a popular youtube channel. For years he used a Kikuichi TKC Gyuto as his main knife..

Recently, he started to use a 210 Yanagiba instead. I'm curious if you guys think this makes sense, or perhaps is it mostly PR for pushing the knife.. (just thinking..) Here is a rather long video of him using the 210 as a veggie knife:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VcLWqt93W2Y

If time is short or you get bored, go to about the 13min 30sec spot - and watch what he does with a small slice of cucumber.. I tried that with my 210 PS60 and couldn't come close.

You will see Hiro has adjusted to the knife shallow height by keeping his hand in front of the board. And what do you call the grip he is using with his index finger extended like that? Whatever, it seems to give him superb control..

Thoughts and opinions appreciated! (Including if I should use my new Saji Ginsan 210 Yanagiba - which I got for my small galley camp kitchen - as a general purpose knife like this? Initial impressions - it is a fantastic knife for $142..)

Chris

The knife hiro uses is actually a 210 sujihiki. If you go to the knife merchant website you can see it.

[Chefcallari]

www.knifemerchant.com/products.asp?productLine=521

[Cahudson42]

Thanks Chefcallari and everyone. FWIW, I decided to use my 210 Saji Yanagiba only for soft seafood and raw thinly sliced beef.

For veggies I currently use a Yahiko 240 VG-10 for stuff like cross-cutting heads of Romain, a 210 Kanehide PS60 for smaller fiberous stuff, and a Misuzu sks93 160 Bunka for herbs and tomatoes..

Seems I've learned to like the 'right tools for the job' rather than 'one size fits all'..
Chris