Yanagiba

A yanagiba (柳刃, “willow blade”) is the knife most associated with preparing sashimi and sushi. It is long, usually 240-300mm, narrow, and ground on one side only, like the usuba and the traditional deba. The single bevel and the length let a cook slice through a piece of fish in a single pull, leaving a clean, undamaged face on the cut.

Because it is a single-bevel knife, a yanagiba is sharpened almost entirely on one face and is made for a specific hand: a right-handed yanagiba does not work well in a left hand, and left-handed versions are a special order. Double-bevel “yanagiba-style” slicers exist as a more forgiving, ambidextrous alternative.