Christopher Kimball 6” Nakiri Knife

Traditionally used for vegetables, the Nakiri has a thin blade that makes it ideal for slicing through onions, cabbage, radishes, scallions, leeks, carrots and any other vegetable. The thin blade also makes for a lighter knife, which is ideal for the home cook. (Over the past 100 years, European knives have competed with each other on heft, which makes little sense to us here at Milk Street—lighter, thinner knives are both easier to handle and to slice through foods.) I designed this Nakiri during a meeting in Albacete, Spain, where I met with the folks from Zwilling J. A. Henckels. This town has been making knives for a couple of centuries, today through a combination of handcrafted labor and robotics. The Nakiri's cutting edge measures 6 inches, and it is 2 inches high, half the height of a Chinese cleaver. The handle and blade are well balanced, and the blade is high-carbon stainless steel. The edges are expertly honed, and the smooth polymer handles are triple-riveted. Years ago, I bought an artisanal Nakiri knife with a gorgeous inlaid wood handle, but it cost hundreds of dollars. This knife—at an incredibly low price—does the work just as well and requires no maintenance other than occasional sharpening (the blade of my other knife rusts easily). It also has a bit more heft, which helps when cutting through tougher vegetables such as squash and potatoes. This knife will make cooking fun again, since the food prep will be quicker, safer and easier.