Kiwi knife

476 – Kiwi Brand java knife with a six inch blade and a black plastic handle.

The Java Knife is possibly developed from the Japanese Santoku knives, as they also have the distinctive sheepsfoot profile and are used in the same way. A sheepsfoot blade would have originally been developed for trimming the hooves of sheep. The Japanese word Santoku roughly translates a “three uses” as the Santoku knife is an all-purpose kitchen knife that is used for slicing fish, cutting meat and chopping vegetables.  Java knives are also suitable for these tasks and they are particularly suited to cutting vegetables into julienne strips.

The cutting edge on a Java knife has a gentle curve from the handle to the tip and the spine is straight for around 3/4 of the length and then it curves down steeply towards the tip (see the diagram for more details).

The blade is made from Japanese Martensitic stainless steel (SUS420J2), which is a high carbon stainless steel alloy that has been specially heat treated and tempered to ensure sharpness and unrivalled durability.  The handle is made from  a durable and hygienic, black polypropylene plastic handle.