Got this as a gift second handed and would like to sharpen it and make it usable again. The serrated top part started to just break off, so I am cautious about potential metal parts in my food. Any tips welcome, thanks.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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You need to go to a professional knife maker, your real pros and have them re-profile the blade. There is more than enough steel there to remove the current edge and grind in a new one, but will need a pro to inspect for cracks or delaminations.
Thanks! That sounds like a big job for big bucks. I will look into finding a blacksmith to get an idea about details.
That is a nice Nakiri (vegetable knife) - I am saying that because it looks like it has a hand-carved makers mark, which is indicative of a high-quality, hand-forged and -ground blade. I have one myself. It is intended for vegetable slicing, and you’re intended to just gently draw it across the thing you’re cutting with light pressure, and the blade does the vast majority of the work. If you’re using it as a general utility knife (chopping, whacking, mincing, deboning, etc)… that’s very much not what it’s for. The edge is too fine and fragile for general “chef knife” tasks.
As for repair: If you take it to someone and they don’t pretty immediately clock the exact type of the blade… don’t let them fix it, because they probably won’t do a very good job. A good nakiri is going to glide through an onion or tomato or daikon or potato like a goddamn lightsaber - it’s super satisfying to use - if it’s well taken care of.
This is good advice, cheers!
You make me want to get one based on how you talk about it haha. Any recommendations on brand?
Honestly, the best ones I have are from knife shops I’ve gone to while visiting Tokyo (thought I had some pics of the shops or the knives, but evidently I do not), as well as one from an old-school Japanese blacksmith in the Narita area that uses traditional sword making techniques:
That said, if you’re in the states, the best well-known importer I’m aware of is Korin. If you’re near NYC, their shop is downtown near the financial district. They periodically have sales where you can snap one up at a reasonable price.
Yes, they are a good bit more pricey than your bog-standard cooking knives, but they are truly a delight to use. And some of the more specialized types (like the aforementioned nakiri; or a boning knife (honesuki), which I’ve used to break down whole poultry and bigger bone-in cuts that I want the bone out of) are kind of a blast. No, you don’t need them, but if you’re into this sort of thing and really enjoy cooking, they’re a very fun and a delightful addition to your cooking process.
Material: stainless will hold its edge better, but is more of a pain to sharpen, though tends to be more difficult to get a truly insane edge on. Carbon steel is far more finicky in terms of care, but you can get that wicked sharp edge much more easily, and they’re not hard to re-sharpen.
If you go for carbon steel over stainless, do not neglect caring for your knife. If you want to get a good baseline for very good knife care, look at what a sushi chef at a nice sushi place is doing when they are slicing their fish. The actual technique (slicing the fish) is admittedly somewhat specialized to sashimi and nigiri prep, but the way they keep a damp cloth to the side to immediately wipe the blade after use is what I am talking about.
Do not use a sharpening steel, or those crappy v-slot sharpeners, or roller-sharpeners, or things that rely on ceramic or metalloceramic rods - you will immediately fuck up your blade. Invest in a decent whetstone (yes, really - if you do it a lot, get multiple grades of whetstone, as well as a stone fixer), and learn the technique appropriately (this includes understanding handed bevels, as well as getting a literal feel for how the knife edge is ground when you are sharpening it).
Look through Chef Knives To Go; the best ones aren't 'brands', they're made by individual craftsmen.
Thanks! This site looks great. Any other tips for a newbie to nice knives? If you had a budget of $500-600 what would you get?
If you’re starting out and want to dip your toe in without huge financial commitment: stay away from the ones with fancy handles/scales, and go for a yo-deba (much akin to a wusthoff or similar western chefs knife) or a gyuto (similar, though a finer blade). “Hand-hammered” finishes are a take it or leave it thing - it’s basically just an aesthetic they do for western buyers, and real blacksmiths don’t bother with that shit, but if you find a deal on one with that finish, that doesn’t mean it’s a “bad” knife.
I spotted this gyuto on CKTG, as well as this gyuto and this yo-deba on Korin. They’re definitely more basic, but they’ll work perfectly well if you don’t want to spend a ton. Note that many blades are “handed” - that is, a right handed blade is intended to be used with the right hand, as the side closest to you will cut almost straight down as you look along the flat of the blade. And of course the sky’s the limit in terms of price… so find the sweet spot that works for you in terms of price, quality, style, and cosmetic “extras” (if you like that sort of thing).
Thank you! You have been super helpful. I'm definitely going to explore this. I really appreciate the detailed reply :)
Depends on your idea of big bucks. I don't think grinding would be too expensive. If you happen to be anywhere near the Milwaukee area I know exactly the guy you could take it to.
Sharpening should be manageable, even DIY. Getting a blacksmith to forge in a new blade sounds very specialised and pricy, but worth asking around if the sharpening won't work
Yeah, and if it's like a fairly cheap knife or something, you could get a dude with a welder and have him weld in the missing steel, and then re-profile and sharpen the blade.
That's definitely more of a "make it work" fix rather than a "do it the right way" fix, though.
You should never weld a knife. It will ruin the hardening and temper. Just re-profiling the existing steel is a much better idea.
I mean, you can always re-temper as well, but now I do understand that that is going well beyond the pale of just grinding the metal down.
That being said, depending on the knife, it could have a relatively thin, harder edge and grinding it down could go into the softer core metal.
Heating, quenching, and tempering is not a great idea if it can be avoided. It stresses the metal and can introduce new weaknesses.
And very few knives will have a softer core. That requires extra work on the knife makers part, and is rarely worth it. And there are signs you could look for during the repair and reprofiling. So a decent knife maker should be able to tell if it will be an issue.