And one major sub-category that positively fizzes with excited chatter is Japanese knives. The sheer breadth and variety of Japanese knife styles can be overwhelming: deba, gyuto, kentsuke, honesuki, ...

Out of a strong group of competitors, our favorite nakiri knife was the Tojiro A-1 Nakiri, which was light and nimble but still conquered denser ingredients (like sweet potatoes) with ease.It ...