The Best Nakiri

The lightest knife we tested, this nakiri was a true pleasure to use and seemed nearly weightless in our hands. With a thin, relatively tall, medium-length blade, it was capable of both coarser work (chopping greens or delicata squash) and fine, precise cuts (making carrot brunoise, mincing parsley). Its oval-profile handle felt great in our hands, and the magnolia wood used to make it helped us keep our grip on it, even when it got wet.

The carbon-steel blade on this nakiri was the tallest we tested and one of the thinnest, so it was able to corral wide swaths of greens and large cabbages with aplomb while still making beautifully precise cuts when making brunoise carrots. And because the blade is clad in stainless steel, you won’t have to worry quite as much about rust and perfect maintenance; the carbon steel is exposed only at the edge. Its octagonal wood handle was grippy and comfortable to hold.

Although this nakiri has a full tang, it was one of the lightest we tested, thanks to its ultrathin blade, making it especially airy and effortless to use. That thin stainless-steel blade also excelled at precise tasks—slicing cabbage paper-thin and making perfect, tiny brunoise. The blade is a tiny bit narrower than our top models, so it isn’t quite as commanding when handling tall piles of greens or herbs, but this was a minor quibble. Its polished wood handle is comfortable to grip.

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A touch heavier than other models we tested, this stainless-steel nakiri was still easy to use for long periods. Its medium-length blade was thin, making for keen, decisive cuts, though we wished it were just a hair taller to help keep tall piles of greens or herbs in line. Its composite handle was comfortable to grip.

Lightweight and agile, this nakiri made quick work of all the produce placed before it. Its blade was just a touch narrower than our top two options, so it didn’t command large cabbages and piles of greens quite as authoritatively. And its oval handle was comfortable to hold, if a mite slippery due to the composite material used to make it.

This gorgeous, lightweight hammered stainless-steel-clad carbon-steel knife did a nice job of handling produce of all sizes and shapes, and its octagonal rosewood handle was warm and responsive in our hands. Its slightly thicker spine meant it was particularly adept at powering through dense delicata squash, though occasionally it felt a little less precise when making more delicate brunoise or other cuts; its blade was also a touch shorter than we preferred.

This nakiri was lighter than its all-metal construction might suggest, though still a bit heavier than our top options. The blade itself was thin, long, and relatively tall, so it did a great job of corralling wide swaths of greens and herbs and making controlled, even, paper-thin slices of large cabbage. We just wish that the handle—made of the same slick metal as the blade—were a little easier to grasp.

Made in Japan by Zwilling J.A. Henckels, this nakiri had an unusual pointed tip, which aided in making precise cuts, such as when dicing onions. Its blade was relatively long and thin, handling piles of greens and herbs well. With a full tang, it was a bit heavier than some of our favorites, though still pleasant to use. One small flaw: Its composite handle is a little slick, but it’s otherwise comfortable to hold.

This stainless-steel nakiri chopped and sliced beautifully, thanks to its tall, medium-length blade. And its hybrid handle—oval in profile like a traditional Japanese handle, but with a full tang for balance—was usually comfortable to hold, although its composite wood handle could be a touch slippery. Perhaps because it had a full tang and a slightly thicker spine, this nakiri was on the heavier side, so it excelled at powering through delicata squash; at times, however, it felt a tad imprecise because of that weight.

Because its blade was relatively long and tall, this American-designed nakiri was serviceable when used for tasks that didn’t require any precision, such as chopping greens. Its handle was comfortable enough to hold, though a touch slippery when wet. While its heavy weight and thick spine made it useful for powering through denser delicata squash, it was awkward and cumbersome to wield elsewhere, wedging unpleasantly into cabbage and peppers and crushing onions as we diced them.

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We liked the length of the blade on this American-designed nakiri, which allowed it to corral lots of greens and herbs easily, and its plastic handle was comfortable to hold, if a little slippery when wet. But otherwise, the blade was a little narrow, so it didn’t command bigger piles of food or large cabbage as well, and its very thick spine made it harder to make brunoise and paper-thin slices of cabbage, wedging into the food more than it cut; it felt clumsy even when dicing onions, though it got the job done. Because the metal in its blade and full tang was thick, this nakiri was also one of the heaviest we tested, so it wasn’t as easy to lift and chop with for longer periods.

This very heavy, short-bladed knife felt more like a small meat cleaver than a nakiri in hand, delivering far more power than finesse. Its thick blade felt imprecise when used to brunoise carrot and dice onions, and when we used it to slice delicata squash, it got wedged in halfway through and couldn’t be easily removed. Because it weighed far more than any other model we tested, our arms tired more quickly when wielding it. A composite handle was reasonably comfortable to hold but a tad slippery.