Ryky, just some constructive criticism. You shouldn't need to apologize for things in your video. I would just start with a disclaimer in the beginning and that's it. Address your fans not the haters.
Totally agree Greg and Riky, your skills are probably similar to the majority of your subscribers including me and probably Greg, thank you for your comments on the Gyoto vs Yanagiba, keep up the good work
agreed, sometimes I feel you talk too much or ramble too long on unimportant stuff instead of getting to the point. I think you can probably shave 10% of time off most of your videos without negatively effecting the content. otherwise great content. (I do realize you just being yourself and you don;t edit your stuff, but its feedback for ya, take it how you will)
This video is so wholesome. A dad who loves knives and cooking for his family. Who takes the time to make healthy food for his family. And you can tell how much he loves his daughter by the way he smiles whenever he talks about her. Great video as usual! I agree with Greg, don’t focus on the haters, have a disclaimer and do your thing because it’s fun to watch
Ryky, I've been a professional chef for 10 years, and a line cook for long before that. Your knife skills are on par with most of my line cooks. Give yourself some credit, man.
@@drewdabbs418 i dont want to start any debate with someone. But quick answer is, chefs are people who manage cooks. So basically they are both cooks (because they cook obviously) but chefs are more management base.
@@ailyn7920 ok most of the kitchens I worked in if you are doing anything with food you are a chef. Even if you are a commis on your first day you're still a chef
You do have knife skills. Just because you are not a professional chef, does not mean you need to apologise for them. I am very interested in gyuto vs nakiri on vegetables, and gyuto vs sujihiki on meat comparisons.
Ryky, dont ever feel ashamed of your knife skills. Yours are comparable to the chefs and cooks who work in most restaurants just seeing how fast and precise you can cut. Dont address anybody who hates and keep going. This is coming from somebody who works in the sushi business as well.. dont feel ashamed when you have nothing to be ashamed of.
I love how much he loves his family! He’s such a nice and wholesome guy from this viewpoint so I just wanted to commend you Ryky! I grew up with great parents and I was the exception not the rule because of this. I’m glad you have the same care and decency as what I’ve seen in my own family. Good on you and honestly wish you and you’re family the best!
Yanagibas are strongly geared toward slicing motions (no pushing/chopping). Sushi for example; slicing is the primary motion required to cut fish and to cut sushi rolls. Gyutos are more all round. They are more appropriate for all round different tasks as the heel is taller which allows for comfortable chopping motions. If you're looking for something practical, easy and for all round use I would recommend a gyuto. If you're looking for something that requires clean slicing aggression I would recommend a yanagiba. Plus as mentioned in the video the length of the knife makes a big difference. For yanagibas especially when it comes to sushi, you want to take advantage of the whole length of the knife so you can make a clean cut for each piece of fish. So for yanagis the blade tends to be longer than other knives, and they are skinny so there isn't as much surface area contacting whatever you may be cutting. Gyutos do not require such a long dimension as it's used primarily for cutting and chopping. The thickness adds to the durability of the knife. So if you want something strong, durable, easy to use, and for all round daily tasks I would highly recommend a gyuto.
Indeed yanagibas are for slicing fish… that is, they are best for foods that emphasize long slicing motions. But like most things, if you’re cooking dinner for your family without any hard time constraints do whatever makes you happy with whatever knife makes you happy: period. Efficiency concerns are real when you’re doing a job 10 hours a day, otherwise it’s way more important to enjoy doing it. I’ve known cooks I’ve worked with to make each other use paring knives for vegetable prep just to screw with each other, have fun, and stay engaged.
I watched a video by a professional sushi chef, he said that when he cuts with a yanagiba he does pull cuts. He does not like chopping, he says that the less the edge hits the cutting board the less you need to maintain it.
That is probably better for fish, but many vegetables probably are better being chopped. The material being cut probably has as much of an effect on how you cut it as the knife being used.
The pull cuts are essential when cutting fish for the aesthetic nigiri 🍣. Yes, when the edge contacts the board, its dulling the edge. Ry sharpened the gyuto to 6k and the yanagiba to 10k (Snow White) which means they will lose their peek sharpness within a few contacts to the cutting board. Just get better steel to combat the loosing sharpness. Blue steel vs white steel
best tip ever for knife handling. stand 45 degrees from your work surface. hold your product and knife in such a location that the knife is perpendicular to the edge of your counter. helps with accurate cuts.
I have recently started watching your videos and I am very inspired.I learned various knives quality and their maintenance from your videos. Hope for more videos to learn.Thank you.
To be honest (for beginners) getting an allday knife, I'd recommend a (western) chef knife or a (eastern) santoku. I never use a meat/fish knife to cut vegetables - I simply can't use the technique I'm used to cut fast. Like you I like to cook for my family and everybody likes the way I cook. Unfortunately my boys don't want to use my knifes, they are so frightened of the sharpness of my tools.
Finally we get to see your knives in action! I don't think I've ever heard anyone apologize so much for giving their viewers what we've all repeatedly asked to see. lol Your knife skills aren't bad at all and are, perhaps, superior to many of your non-pro viewer's skills. Just do your thing and let the haters hate, they have nothing better going on in their lives. For those looking to just start buying knives, always, always, always start with a high quality chef knife/gyuto, particularly if cost is a factor. Specialty knives can be awesome to have and perform great for whatever they're designed to do, but the chef's knife/gyuto is designed to do just about everything you need done in the kitchen. That paired with a high quality paring knife for those times when an 8"+ blade is just too cumbersome to use is pretty much all most home cooks really need for a basic knife set. You can build your knife set from there, but always start with those two. :)
I'm not a professional either, but I do cook quite a bit. I think the reason your potato cuts with the Yanagiba aren't thin is because you are attempting to use it like a chef knife. I've got a (first time sushi) video where I use my brand new Minonokuni Matsu Yanagiba to literally shave a very small piece of skin off of a salmon block (millimeters thin). I think of blades like these more as swords, so they require a slicing motion rather than a chopping motion. That being said, cutting on a bias is better with a Yanagiba, and will produce much thinner slices than a chef knife. I've also used my Yanagiba to cut vegetables, and a Yanagiba is far superior on an onion, especially if you chop it in half and use it to score the onion to make a uniform chop. For future reference, for better control on your blade while chopping, hold it between your thumb and middle finger and use your pointer as a guide on the top. This will cause less slippage but will cost you time. I consider the control more favorable when using the Yanagiba, as it's a supremely sharp blade (which tells you exactly how poor my chef knives are).
Your videos are top of the line you are very humble and down to earth, yet with that is a level of professionalism unsurpassed, keep them coming. God bless.
For someone that has never cooked for a living, your knife skills aren't terrible. Keep up the practise! Good video. Also, with the Yani, push cut with it rather than trying to chop.
Great in depth comparison! Speaking as someone who's worked in a kitchen pretty much all their adult life (and maybe a bit before that), your knife skills are just fine, quite good actually! Not all professionals are super adept at knife skills, you're actually cutting better than some of the cooks that I've worked with.
If you're chopping with a yanagiba, watch your pinch grip finger holding the handle doesn't get under the blade. Ouch! This is another advantage of high sided knives and why my go to choppers are Chinese cleavers or nakiri style knives. The yanagiba is not suitable for chopping anyway. A sujihiki would be a better comparison, but the limited height of the blade would produce similar shortcomings compared to a gyuto. Also, as much as i enjoy your channel Ryky, a bit of editing wouldn't go amiss. Do we need to see you peel six carrots? Less is more!
Hi Ryky, you should always slice with the Shushi Knife regardless what you like to cut! Just keep the time - no fast cuts, precise slices will work well. Fish or vegatables.
Using a Yanagiba slicing knife, meant mostly for long slicing fish (or meat in a pinch-though a Sujihiki is preferred there) for chopping vegetable prep really doesn't make much sense. If you're doing vegetables, just use a Nakiri, or one of the all purpose options like Gyuto, Santoku, or Kiritsuke that are preferred for Vegetables, Fish and Meat.
Ryky... your knife skills are amazing. Please do not apologize for your lack of them...you have them. As a loyal subscriber of your channel... I have crazy sharp knives and am constantly worried about chopping off my fingertips or scraping my knuckles. Please walk us through the differences between chopping&slicing and when&why we should use one vs. another. Thanks. Brian
That is honestly why I myself have been started cooking more. My 6 year old son. I love sharpening my cutco knife but does hold and edge at all! So I watch your channel to pick my favorite and hopefully one day get it. So great job on cooking for your daughter. 234
No matter your knife skills, the food cutting demos are a really logical choice for you since you show us so many great knives. I really like seeing them in action. It was actually informative to see you do a quick "chop-chop-chop" with a gyuto. I've been meaning to ask my knowledgeable knife friends if that is considered proper use. I am considering a gyuto so that helped a lot. You don't need professional knife skills to make delicious food so I'm sure you're doing just fine. Thanks for all the great vids, bro.
yes yanagiba is not designed from the beginning for everyday chopping use ... however if this is the only option i had a little trick that worked a bit for me is to get you hand out of the cutting board so your knuckles doesn't hit the the surface and gives more leverage ... but you still will deal with the problem of starchy veggies sticking to the flat surface
Your knife skills are far better than the average home cook and probably on par with some line cooks don’t feel the need to constantly apologize about it.
Not anything to do with your demo but I will comment on peeling veggies. I have picky kids too. I once had a client who insisted that I peel bell peppers! He thought that they could not be digested! Your slice and dice is spot on, sir! I don't think it has to do with your good knives. Cheers to you for your love of cooking.
Great video for those wondering! A yanagiba knife is for cutting meat (fish mainly). You pull through the meat not chop. Since I'm plant based now I never use mine anymore. I'm actually trying to find more ways to use but its not practical at all for what I do on a daily basis
Just a quick tipp from me as a hobby cook: When you chop something like a potatoe into thin slices and you reach the end so you tip it over to regain stability, start chopping at the thick side and not on the thin side. This makes cutting easier and you waste less food :)
Great video Ryky, though I'm sure you'll get complaints (from the same people who complain that you never cut anything, I'm sure...). Looking forward to more cutting demos with different foods and knives. Showing off the best way to use each type of knife is really helpful for those of us looking to build a collection. I recently bought a 'compact' 250/1000 stone, because I can't read, apparently. Compact means that it's narrow (3.05cm wide and tall, and 13.72cm long). Have you used any stones this narrow? Is there anything I should be doing different compared to using a wider knife, other than just being a bit more careful and slow than on a bigger stone? It's my first stone, and the next purchase I'm eyeing is a King KDS, so it shouldn't be a problem for me for long. Second thing is that I recently bought a Chinese vegetable cleaver. I noticed you don't have a video for this type of thin, sharp cleaver; have you used them before? Any tips for sharpening? Cheers, keep up the great content!
that compact stone you got USUALLY is made for a sharpening jig, and WICKED EDGE. pretty hard to use by hand, but you can use it for pocket knives. when getting a KDS, amzn.to/2fl5CpN make sure it has the black plastic divider. that's the newest compound. KDS stones can handle knives up to 62HRC OK. anything higher, would be really slow to sharpen. here is a video for a Cleaver ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sSl-qaUw4ec.html. it's not great since it was my first, but i'll make a better one soon.
Burrfection Awesome, thanks for the response! I'll be more careful when I pick out the KDS to make sure I get the right one. And thanks for the video link, must've missed it going through your archive.
9:10 I don't wanna do any video of knife skills, because I don't have any knife skills 😳😁😂 Well if 'burrfection' is not a knife skill, you don't have one, correct. I have seen so many people (chefs) not taking care of their tools at all - they just want to be fast. Cooking for me is fun and joy, what I really can't use is hectic. When preparing a meal, I haven't cooked before I do some planning in my mind, when to start, how long it will take for every step to get all things finished to the point - if I tell my friends, we'll eat at 6 pm, they know they should not be late: it will be ready at 6 p.m. exactly. So knife skills are not important at all, if you don't want to show off. I prefer to impress my guests with a meal that brings a smile on their faces...
I agree Ryky. I spent 7 1/2 years in a kitchen and you are just fine. I developed bad habits in the beginning and never got them corrected, so now I'm trying to learn how to cut stuff the right way. At least you started off right.
Even though this video is 2 years old I will say as someone who works in a professional kitchen you have better knife skills than a majority of people in kitchens
That's a killer cutting board. Wish my kitchen were big enough to justify one like that. BTW, that is a great looking studio. I'd scrape a bit more paint off the bright white board at shoulder height, because it draws the eye to it just by being brighter -- kinda like photos where a telephone pole is sticking out of the subject's head. Back to the gear... your skills are better than mine, so no worries.
Yes, the right tool for the right work..... The yanagi-ba is also more dangerous to people learning cutting, to learn cutting you perfer a knife with a higher blade, makes everything much easier, the yanagi-ba is more for slicing movements then cutting and Gyuto you do not want to slice-drag the whole way through something because it got so much blade and you can not change direction. To buy a yanagi for daily cooking, its not so much a use, like shown, I think most people wanna buy a special knife becaue they like the shape of it, but the shape is functional, it has not much to do with to make it optical more pretty. The yanagi still much better for slicing and redirect while cutting and the Gyuto a good allrounder and tool for cutting on a board boneless things into small pieces. When you like to chop a lot of Vegies the Nakiri or a Banno Bunka is even much better and much faster, but not such an Allrounder like the Gyuto, with the Gyuto you can slice easy a bit with the Tip but Nakiri has not that option and the Banno Bunka only a little bit. Lenght of a knife is shorter much faster and better handle but bad to cut giant food, a large knife slower but can cut also bigger food. And the curve of the edge say you the stayle of cutting - choping or more rocking, Gyuto can provide both.
YAY a cutting video. However, I think the comparison would be better if you used the yanagi in a pushcut or slicing motion for the food. Hiro Terada does a lot of cutting with his yanagi, but he holds it a bit differently than you. He doesn't use a pinch grip.
yes, I'm one of those that believes that a K should be single bevel. But the ones that make it to the usa rarely are, and the mass market ones never are. they are going to be cutting the same product that a gyuto will be. And for almost all people, the gyuto is a better shape. And remember that a gyuto is usually going to be a double bevel knife of a asymetrical bevel like 60/40 or 70/30, etc. People also need to recognize that K/sukes should be FLAT profile. they are meant for push cutters or pull cutters. NOT Rockers. Another way most of the mass market kiritsukes are fake is most don't have a concave "back" Chefs use it on TV because it looks cool, but it has limited use for the average cook and has a high likelihood of breaking Most Americans are rockers so some companies are making stupid fake kiritsukes with bellies. When you rock that puts the tip right into the board. Bad because it limits your stroke, but doubly bad because it causes chip breaks. Remember that a tip break caused by the user is NOT covered under a warranty. That is almost always USER error even in a gyuto, but in a kiritsuke, it can be 100% placed on the user. Kiritsukis look cool, because of that, they are used on TV alot. But remember those TV chefs usually get free knives, so if they chip one, it's no big deal to them. To the average consumer, it means buying another one.
"Can I use a yanagiba over [instead?] of a chef's knife?" You handled the question with far more grace and patience than I could have. Comparison tests, especially between two very different types of knives, should not use freshly sharpened knives. Much more meaningful would be a test between knives that have been used for a few days. Pros and cons will really stand out when both edges are less than pristine. That being said, people who really want a yanagiba should get one. There are some good, modestly priced yanagibas available (Masahiro makes one for under $100). We all know that for anyone who wants a certain knife, nothing will do but to go ahead and buy one and get it out of your system. But a single-bevel, chisel-ground blade performs very differently from a traditional western knife, so no one should be shy about admitting that their yanagiba doesn’t suit. It’s still fun to have one, and you can lecture your friends about the relative merits of yanagibas vs. sujihikis (you’re gonna want one of those, too).
Forget the knives i am in love with tht butchers block 😍😍😍 we cant readily get stuff like that here in england which is a damn shame cause i would love one like that!!
Another great video ryky ! Got my 800/3000 grit stones that you recommend and so glad I listened to you; love the combo. The cutting edge that I'm getting are scary now, makes hairs pop just by touching them... But I notice that I'm getting different angles when I flip the knife any suggestions? thinking it's due to thinner Stone. P.s liking the food cut test, you could just mount one camera inside with a POV angle like you have in this video with the cutting bored, then comment over the video or side by side while you review the knifes.
Tip on the potato, Your chop is good just work from the tall end down, having a thin tall piece is very unstable and is harder to work with, if you go top down you'll be able to have easier and more consistent pieces :D
Ha! I just pre-ordered one of the new Yanagibas from your store. It's mostly to replace the slicer that came with my knife set from our wedding registry, so I think it'll do fine for cutting meat. (no bone of course!) I was looking at the sujihikis, but they were just too thick to fit in the old slicer slot. >_
I'm not a chef, and I won't say I know Japanese knives a lot, but at least I know that yanagiba is designed for slicing, not chopping, and is for preparing raw fish and seafood, particularly sashimi, so using it as a veg knife or as a daily knife is really putting it to the wrong use (not saying you (Ryky) are using it wrong, you probably know it and this is just for demonstration). And I do think that unless you (viewer) is a sushi chef, or you make your own sushi at home, you shouldn't buy a yanagiba for home use.
I was watching in 2x and when u started cutting the potato I was like :-O is this his "I'm not good" ? hahaha But then I remembered I was 2x and put it back on regular speed.
Ongison, could you do a video showing the ability of the "all in one" chopping cleaver? Thank You for considering this request. At 74 years old I have just discovered the uses of Japanese cleaners as a universal use knife including sushi, sashimi, vegetables and meat fileting. What are your thoughts ? Thank you in advance for reading this request. Domoarigato.
I love using the yanagiba for slicing. Use the the tip half of the blade for better results. Try a little wrist action too. Makes sense that you don't because of all of the sharpening you do.
Thanks for this vid Ricky. It was cool to see the comparison. I wish you also did a slicing of meat or fish with the yanagiba vs. the chef's knife to see if the yanagiba excels. Maybe for another video. wink wink
yanagi is very thin also only one side beveled its not supposed to chop . it will screw the blade quickly... slice and cut are the proper technic for the knife
he has decent chef knife skills, and should definitely apologize less for them. however the yanagiba is literally designed for long smooth slicing techniques on proteins, hence the length of the blade. chopping veggies with it just kind of isnt the right technique.
I am learning a lot about knives. I do 95 percent of the cooking in our family and have decided to focus on developing the appropriate skills to keep my tools in the best shape. While I have an electric sharpener, I also have welt stone that I will try to develop the skills to use. Keep doing the videos. Develop your knife skills. I am willing to learn - if you are willing to demonstrate.
If you go to a Japanese smith and ask for a yanagiba, there's a fair chance he will dissuade you and point you towards a santoku or a gyuto if you are not (or at least, don't look like) a professional. It's a niche knife designed for a very specific role - slicing and the occasional carving/cutting of decorations. Not saying you can't chop vegatables with it, but it would take a lot more effort to compensate for the lack of knuckle clearance, you pretty much have to adopt a "thrust cut" using the upper 1/3 of the knife. You'd also find that what you chop seem to "run away" from you due to the nature of single bevel knives. If you MUST buy a Japanese single bevel knife, I would suggest getting a deba in a length that suits your body (and size of food you use).
35:30 cutting a carrot through the length with a long knife - wrong technique in my humble opinion. That's the way I do it: Lay the carrot on the cutting board, start at the tip, take your time to measure out the middle, , hold the carrot with thumb and index finger. Carefully put the knife in position, a tittle away from the carrots tip, so it will start cutting in the middle of the front curve of the bleeding edge. Slowly move the knife to the tip of the carrot in a pulling motion and just press the handle of the knife down in a swing motion and pull the knife out between your fingers holding the carrot. Quite difficult to explain for a Geman in English, but I hope you have got the idea...
