Two knives can share a shape and a length and still be very different to own. The difference is the steel at the core of the blade: the part that forms the edge.

What Japanese homes use

Online, carbon-steel knives get most of the attention. In Japanese homes the picture is different.

Carbon steel: the Japanese “paper steels”

Many traditional Japanese knives use carbon steels made by Proterial, formerly Hitachi Metals. They are known by the colour of the paper label they were sold with: Shirogami (white paper) and Aogami (blue paper). Aogami adds tungsten and chromium, which help the edge last longer.

Carbon steel takes a keen edge and is quick to sharpen on a stone. In return it reacts with water and acid. Left wet, it rusts. Looked after, it slowly turns a grey-blue colour that many owners come to like.

Stainless steel: less care, still very sharp

VG-10, from Takefu Special Steel in Echizen, is the most common named steel in our catalog. Ginsan (silver steel #3) is often described as the stainless steel that sharpens most like carbon. SG2, also sold as R2, is a powder steel: very hard, and slow to lose its edge.

Cladding: carbon inside, stainless outside

Many knives sandwich a carbon core between stainless layers. Only the edge can rust, so care is easier, and you keep the carbon edge. Listings call this “stainless clad”.

What is in our catalog

Of the 308 knives we list, 188 are stainless, 60 are carbon and 30 are powder stainless.

From the catalog Stainless santoku, low care
  1. Ginza Steel Japan Kurenai Santoku 170mm 170 mm Molybdenum stainless Care: Low JapanChefKnife.com
  2. Kazan Ginsan Migaki Santoku 170mm 170 mm Ginsan (Silver #3) HRC 61 Care: Low Chubo Knives
  3. Misono 440 Santoku 180mm 180 mm Molybdenum stainless HRC 58–59 Care: Low Chubo Knives
  4. Miyabi 4000 FCV2 KOYA Santoku 180mm 180 mm Stainless (other) HRC 61 Care: Low JapanChefKnife.com

Picked by rule, not by payment: in stock, one knife per maker, ranked by beginner score and then by how many specs the store states. Compare all 37 stainless steel santoku knives →

From the catalog Carbon gyuto, for people who like to sharpen
  1. Hitohira TD Stainless Clad Aogami 2 Nashiji Walnut Western Gyuto 240mm 240 mm Aogami #2 Care: Medium Bernal Cutlery
  2. Kazan Kurouchi White #1 Gyuto 180mm 180 mm Shirogami #1 HRC 60 Care: High Chubo Knives
  3. Sakai Takayuki Homura Guren Wa Gyuto 225mm 225 mm Aogami #2 HRC 62 Care: High Chubo Knives
  4. Akira-Saku White #1 Funayuki Gyuto 180mm 180 mm Aogami #2 HRC 59 Care: High Chubo Knives

Picked by rule, not by payment: in stock, one knife per maker, ranked by beginner score and then by how many specs the store states. Compare all 29 carbon steel gyuto knives →

Questions people ask

Will a carbon steel knife rust?

It will if it stays wet. Wipe it dry after use and it will instead build a grey-blue patina, which helps protect the surface.

Will a stainless Japanese knife rust or chip?

Our editor's experience: not unless you leave it out wet, and not as long as you are cutting food rather than bone or frozen food.

What does HRC mean?

It is the Rockwell C hardness scale. Japanese kitchen knives usually sit between about 58 and 64. Harder steel holds an edge longer but can chip if twisted or used on bone.

How we made this

Knife counts, lengths and shortlists come from our catalog: 5 stores that ship to the US and UK, checked on 12 Oct 2026. Notes from our editor, Shota Ando, come from recorded conversations, dated on each note. Text is drafted with AI from those two sources and reviewed before it is published.