Single Bevel vs Double Bevel?
Most knives that we use in our home or work kitchens are double bevel knives, where ‘bevel’ means angled cutting edge. These knives have been shaped and sharpened on both faces, resulting in a symmetrical grind, and giving your knife a robust edge that will cut straight down. Double bevel knives are appropriate for most kitchen tasks we undertake.
Some knives, however, have only a single bevel. This means they have an angled cutting edge only on one side, which gives them a very precise, delicate cutting edge. Single bevel knives are job specific and are primarily used in traditional Japanese cookery. For instance, a yanagiba is for slicing raw boneless proteins, a deba is for whole fish breakdown, and an usuba is for katsuramuki vegetable scrolling. Single bevel knives are not appropriate for general purpose kitchen tasks.
