Yanagiba translates as “willow blade” since the narrow, long and curved blade shape on the back side resembles a willow leaf. The specialty of the Yanagiba is slicing fish in a precise and clean way for cutting sashimi or nigiri for example. It can also be used for filleting certain fishes and slicing meat. The very fine cutting edge can be damaged easily, so we advise you to be careful with bones. The concave back of the knife (urusaki) creates an air gap between the fish flesh and the blade, making it easy to detach the blade from the fish flesh, while the bevel on the face of the knife (shinogi) makes it easy to detach the piece of fish being sliced. The Yanagiba is generally found between 210 mm and 330 mm.
Ginsan is a steel very similar to Shirogami 2 in its composition. An addition of 14% chromium results in a stainless steel with low impurities. As a result, blades forged from Ginsan have a high hardness and cutting retention capacity that rivals most blades made from traditional high carbon steels. The purity of Ginsan makes it a preferred steel for blacksmiths who work with steel in the traditional way and is pleasant to sharpen.
