Sharpening to the ideal angle. Very sharp knives sharpen at about 10 dps (degrees per side) (which implies that the knife's edge has an included angle of 20-degrees). Generally speaking, razors, paring knives, and fillet knives should be the sharpest knives at an angle of 12° – 18°. Most kitchen knives, like utility/slicing knives, chef’s knives, boning knives, carving knives, should be sharpened to 15° – 25°. The exceptions are Japanese style knives that are usually sharpened to 14° – 16° depending on the knife maker. Japanese style knives utilize a much harder steel, and are therefore more brittle than their
Sashimi for the purpose of identifying the fish being eaten. Another possibility for the name could come from the traditional method of harvesting. "Sashimi-grade" fish is caught by individual handline. As soon as the fish is landed, its brain is pierced with a sharp spike, and it is placed in slurried ice. This spiking is called the ikejime process, and the instantaneous death means that the fish's flesh contains a minimal amount of lactic acid. This means that the fish will keep fresh on ice for about ten days, without turning white or otherwise degrading. Many non-Japanese use the terms sashimi