# Japanese Knife Anatomy & Terminology Illustrated



## Dave Martell

*Japanese Knife Anatomy & Terminology by Gator (zknives)*


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## marc4pt0

And here I thought machi was the whole neck... good grief


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## Asteger

Funny how 'handle' is the same in both languages :eyebrow:


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## orangehero

Maybe I don't understand all of the terms, but I would disagree with some of those. I don't see any choil on the knife (although maybe you could call it that) and I would call K the ricasso. Is machi the tang or the shoulders of the ricasso? And shinogi primary bevel (naming from the spine)?


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## ecchef

Japanese knife terminology differs from Western. _Machi_ is the gap between _emoto_ (neck) and front of the _tuka_ (handle) where a tiny bit of the tang is exposed. Not all knife makers incorporate this feature into their product. The _shinogi_ is the demarcation line between the _tsura_ (face) and the _kireha_ (blade road). These terms are usually associated with traditional 'single bevel' knives only.


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## Gator

I did send that image to Shinichi Watanabe for review before publishing it. What you see is the version he was ok with, can't think of a better reviewer/critic


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## orangehero

So _shinogi_ is the line where the faces meet, is _kiriba/kireha _the primary bevel then or is something else meant by "blade road"?


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## Korin_Mari

Is there any place that I can look for English terminology? (i.e. for terms like profile, f&f, etc) I think I understand, but clarification would be super helpful.


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## Dave Martell

Korin_Mari said:


> Is there any place that I can look for English terminology? (i.e. for terms like profile, f&f, etc) I think I understand, but clarification would be super helpful.




Try this Mari

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...n-Knife-Glossary?p=29709&viewfull=1#post29709


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## larrybard

Dave Martell said:


> Try this Mari
> 
> http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...n-Knife-Glossary?p=29709&viewfull=1#post29709




As someone who came to KKF recently to learn about knives and sharpening -- both of which I knew virtually nothing about -- the glossary was one of the first resources I went to. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Among other things, there are a number of commonly used terms, such as "choil," which don't seem to appear at all in the glossary (unless I have overlooked them). Don't get me wrong -- I'm grateful for the resource, and appreciate the fact that probably several people went to the time and trouble of putting it together. It's just that it's a bit frustrating to me that it seems a bit incomplete.


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## Dave Martell

larrybard said:


> As someone who came to KKF recently to learn about knives and sharpening -- both of which I knew virtually nothing about -- the glossary was one of the first resources I went to. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Among other things, there are a number of commonly used terms, such as "choil," which don't seem to appear at all in the glossary (unless I have overlooked them). Don't get me wrong -- I'm grateful for the resource, and appreciate the fact that probably several people went to the time and trouble of putting it together. It's just that it's a bit frustrating to me that it seems a bit incomplete.




The glossary will likely need to be updated, corrected, or added to over time. We just have to find a volunteer to take on the task.


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## Korin_Mari

Dave Martell said:


> Try this Mari
> 
> http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...n-Knife-Glossary?p=29709&viewfull=1#post29709



Oh hey!! Awesome thank you.


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