''Usuba bōchō'' ( 薄刃包丁, lit. thin knife) is the traditional vegetable knife for the professional Japanese chef. Like other Japanese professional knives, usuba are chisel ground, and have a bevel on the front side, and have a hollow ground urasuki on the back side. Usuba characteristically have a flat edge, with little or no curve, and are tall, to allow knuckle clearance when chopping on a

cutting board A cutting board (or chopping board) is a durable board on which to place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food; other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting bo ...

. Usuba literally means "thin blade" indicating its relative thinness compared to other knives, required for cutting through firm vegetables without cracking them. Due to its height and straight edge, usuba are also used for specialized cuts such as katsuramuki, shaving a vegetable cylinder into a thin sheet. The ''Usuba bōchō'' is used by professionals and differs from the related

Nakiri bōchō ''Nakiri bōchō'' ( 菜切り包丁, translation: knife for cutting greens) and ''usuba bōchō'' ( 薄刃包丁, thin knife) are Japanese-style vegetable knives. They differ from the '' deba bōchō'' in their shape, as they have a straight ...

, which is preferred for home use. While the ''nakiri bōchō's'' cutting blade is sharpened from both sides, the ''usuba bōchō's'' blade is sharpened only from one side, a style known as ''kataba'' in Japanese. This ''kataba'' style edge gives better cuts and allows for the cutting of thinner slices than the ''ryōba'' used for ''nakiri bōchō'', but requires more skill to use. The highest quality ''kataba'' blades have a slight depression on the flat side. The sharpened side is usually the right side for a right hand use of the knife, but knives sharpened on the left side are available for left hand use. The ''usuba bōchō'' is heavier than a ''nakiri bōchō'', although still much lighter than a ''

deba bōchō Deba may refer to: Geography * Deba (crater), a crater on Mars * Deba (river), a river in the Basque Country * Deba, Gipuzkoa, a town in the Basque Country * Deba, Gombe, a town in the Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria ...

''. There are several variations of the ''usuba bōchō''. The Kanto variation has a square blunt tip, making it appear like a small

meat cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through t ...

. The Kansai, kamagata style variation has a spine that drops down to the edge at the tip, allowing the usuba to do fine delicate work. However, this tip is also delicate and can be broken easily. The usuba is particularly popular with

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

chefs, who use the Kamagata usuba for most of their work. Since Kyoto is landlocked, they rely more heavily on vegetables than

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, making the usuba the quintessential knife of professional chefs there. In Kyoto cuisine, the versatile tip allows for intricate cuts and preparations.Photo of an usuba knife
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usuba bocho Japanese kitchen knives