[jyl]

I have a hankering for a Japanese sashimi knife.

One of those elegant sword-shaped hand-forged blades, about 10-12" long, with a slim wood handle, no bolster, one-side sharpened. I would probably spend about $150 since I have no legitimate reason to spend $500.

But I realize that I have no idea if such a knife is suitable for any kitchen work other than preparing sashimi - which I do not do - and I am not sure what it is like to use a single-sided blade. I am also unclear how one sharpens and maintains such a blade.

Can anyone enlighten me? Should I skip this? I have a perfectly good selection of kitchen knives already, so any knife I add to the stable has to be functional.