Sakimaru Knife: Meaning, Uses and vs Yanagiba

A sakimaru is a long Japanese slicing knife whose tip curves up into a rounded, katana-like point. The shape adds length and weight at the front of the blade, which helps it finish a single pull-cut through fish or roast meat cleanly.

Sakimaru is one of those words you meet once and then keep seeing: on sushi counters, in knife forums, attached to blades that cost more than the rest of the block put together. It is not a separate category of knife so much as a tip profile — a shape that gets applied to slicers. Once you understand what that curved tip is doing, the whole family of Japanese slicing knives becomes much easier to navigate.

What does sakimaru mean?

Sakimaru (先丸) breaks down as saki, meaning tip or point, and maru, meaning round. A sakimaru blade is simply one whose tip is rounded rather than squared off or brought to a fine spear point. In practice the tip sweeps upward in a shallow curve that mirrors the profile of a katana, which is exactly where the visual association comes from.

The important thing is that sakimaru describes the tip, not the whole knife. That is why you see it bolted onto other names: sakimaru takohiki, sakimaru yanagiba, sakimaru sujihiki. Each is a slicer with the rounded, upswept point.

Sakimaru vs yanagiba vs takohiki

These three get used almost interchangeably online, and they should not be. All are long, narrow Japanese slicers designed for pulling a cut rather than pushing it. The difference is the tip and the region.

• Yanagiba — "willow blade". A long slicer with a pointed, angled tip, traditionally single bevel. The Kansai-region standard for sashimi.
• Takohiki — "octopus puller". The Kanto-region answer: same length and narrowness, but with a blunt, square tip. The flat end makes it easy to lift and place a slice.
• Sakimaru — the rounded, katana-style tip applied to either. A sakimaru takohiki is the most common pairing, and it reads as the most decorative of the three.

Functionally, the sakimaru tip sits between the other two. It keeps more steel at the front of the blade than a takohiki, which adds forward weight and helps the knife carry through the end of a long pull. But unlike a yanagiba it has no fine point, so it is poor at anything that needs the tip to lead — scoring skin, picking out pin bones, opening a joint.

Sakimaru sujihiki: the double-bevel version

A sujihiki is the double-bevel, Western-usable cousin of the yanagiba: narrow, long, ground on both sides so it works equally well in either hand. Put a rounded tip on one and you get a sakimaru sujihiki — and for most home cooks, that is the genuinely practical version of the shape.

Single-bevel sakimaru blades are beautiful and they slice fish better than anything else, but they are handed, they need a specific sharpening technique on a flat stone with an urasuki hollow to maintain, and they steer in the cut if your technique is off. A double-bevel sakimaru gives you most of the geometry benefit with none of that maintenance burden. Our own Torii 10" Sakimaru is built this way: hand-forged 7Cr17MoV high carbon steel, a narrow 40mm blade, a 12-degree edge, and an octagonal maple wa-handle that works either-handed.

What is a sakimaru knife used for?

Anything you want to come off the blade in one clean stroke, with an unbroken surface. That means:

• Sashimi and raw fish. The original job. A single pull from heel to tip leaves the cut face glossy instead of torn, which is most of what separates good sashimi from bad.
• Smoked salmon and cured fish. Long, thin, flexible cuts where any sawing shreds the flesh.
• Roast meat and poultry. A 10-inch sakimaru carves a turkey breast or a rib of beef in single passes. If that is your main use, read our turkey carving knife guide for the full method.
• Brisket and barbecue. Long slicers are the right tool for any large muscle you want cut across the grain evenly.
• Terrines, roulades and anything layered. The narrow blade parts layers rather than compressing them.

What it is not for: chopping, bone, frozen food, or any cut where you would twist the blade. A sakimaru is narrow and thin, and prying is how narrow thin blades break. Keep a cleaver for that work.

How to use a sakimaru: the single pull

The whole technique is one stroke. Start with the heel of the blade on the far side of what you are cutting, and draw the knife toward you, letting the cut travel from heel to tip as your hand comes back. You should finish the slice as the tip clears — not saw back for a second pass.

Length is what makes that possible, which is why sakimaru blades are long. If the blade is shorter than the thing you are cutting, you will saw, and sawing is what tears the surface. Keep your guiding hand flat on top of the fish or roast rather than gripping it, and let the blade do the work; pressure is the enemy of a clean face.

How long should a sakimaru be?

Traditional sashimi blades run 240mm to 330mm (roughly 9.5 to 13 inches). For a home kitchen, 10 inches is the sweet spot: long enough to cross a turkey breast or a salmon fillet in one pull, short enough to wash in a normal sink and store on a normal magnetic strip. Beyond 12 inches you are buying a professional fish-counter tool, and it will be awkward everywhere else.

What does a sakimaru cost, and why?

Traditional single-bevel sakimaru takohiki from named Japanese smiths routinely run into four figures, and there are two honest reasons for it. First, the grind: a single-bevel blade with a hollow-ground back face takes far more skill and far more time than a symmetrical grind. Second, the length — a 300mm blade needs a larger billet, more forging and more finishing than a 200mm one, and it is harder to keep straight through heat treatment.

A double-bevel sakimaru made by the same forging process but ground symmetrically removes most of that cost without removing the geometry that does the cutting. That is the trade we made on the Torii, and it is the reason a sakimaru does not have to be a collector's purchase.

Sakimaru alternatives in our range

If the rounded tip is not what you are after, two other long blades do the same job with different geometry:

• Dynasty Series 12" Slicer — San Mai construction around an AUS-10 core, straight profile, the most length of anything we make. The simplest answer for large roasts.
• Torii 9" Kiritsuke — an angled k-tip rather than a rounded one, with a near-flat edge. It slices long and also handles board work, which a sakimaru does not. Our kiritsuke guide covers the difference.

Both live in Butcher & Slicing Knives, alongside the rest of the long blades. The wider Japanese chef knives collection covers the other traditional shapes, and the full Torii series shares the same 7Cr17MoV steel and wa-handle across nine blades.

Caring for a sakimaru

Thin blades reward a little attention. Hand wash and dry immediately — never the dishwasher. Cut on end-grain or edge-grain wood, never glass, stone or bamboo. Sharpen on a 1000-grit stone and finish at 3000, holding the same shallow angle the blade came with; a narrow slicer loses its advantage the moment the edge gets fat. Store it on a magnetic strip or in a sheath so the long edge never meets other cutlery in a drawer.

Every one of our blades is hand sharpened and oiled before it ships, so the first edge is a reference point you can sharpen back to.

Sakimaru knife FAQs

Is a sakimaru the same as a yanagiba?

No. A yanagiba has a pointed, angled tip. Sakimaru describes a rounded, katana-style tip, which can be applied to a yanagiba, a takohiki or a sujihiki. A "sakimaru yanagiba" is a yanagiba with that rounded point.

Is a sakimaru single bevel or double bevel?

Traditional ones are single bevel and right-handed. Modern double-bevel versions exist and are far more practical for a home kitchen, because they work in either hand and sharpen on any standard stone.

Can I use a sakimaru as an everyday knife?

Not really. It is narrow, long and has no useful tip for detail work, so it cannot chop, mince or scoop. Pair it with a chef knife or a kiritsuke and use the sakimaru only for long slices.

What is the difference between a sakimaru and a sujihiki?

A sujihiki is a double-bevel slicer, usually with a pointed tip. Round that tip off and you have a sakimaru sujihiki. The blades are otherwise the same idea: long, narrow and built for pulling a cut.

Try one for 99 days

The Torii 10" Sakimaru comes with a 99-day home trial and a free lifetime guarantee. Carve a roast with it, slice a side of salmon, and if it is not the cleanest cut you have made, send it back. Every blade we ship is hand sharpened and oiled first — the sharpest blades you will ever use or your money back.

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Keep reading: Kiritsuke Knife: Uses, Single vs Double Bevel · How to Butterfly a Fish · Japanese Chef Knife Guide: Shapes, Steel & How to Choose