Somehow I missed this discussion. In case anyone notices it:
The usuba is the Japanese traditionalist professional's vegetable knife, teamed with a deba (for breaking fish and for very heavy mincing) and a yanagiba (for slicing raw fish). All other knives are, from this point of view, specialists; these three are the generalists, and most especially the usuba is the workhorse or anchor of the kitchen. It's fabulous for vegetables, and pretty rotten for everything else.
The usuba is very expensive: a cheap one is not worth the effort unless you are working in a traditionalist's kitchen, with all the background support that entails. Expect to spend $200 minimum, for right-handed. Don't go less than 180mm, and preferably start at 195mm or 210mm.
You will need instruction, in a book or from a human being, on how to use it. It doesn't handle like anything else in my experience. If you fight it, you will chip it and probably cut yourself into the bargain. No joke. You must cut the way it wants to cut, which is more or less backwards and inverted from everything normal to a French chef's knife or the like. As a rule, you cut up off the board when possible, flat parallel to the board when possible, and straight down only under deliberately chosen circumstances -- and then you MUST NOT use the stock down-a-bit-and-roll-or-flatten-out cut that is normal for French-style knives; if you do this, you will chip the tip at best, and at worst you could end up with very serious damage to your knife, your hand, or both.
Short answer: the usuba is its own world. In the hands of an expert, there is simply nothing like it: no knife cuts most vegetables like this, fast and clean, perfect every time. An expert can literally beat out a mandoline for cutting potato chips from raw. I have seen it done, and not for show. The problem is that it's a complete re-training of everything, and in the meantime you will be stuck with a knife that doesn't like you. Be under no illusions: an usuba is out to punish and preferably maim every beginner who isn't utterly focused on obeying its weird whims. It's sort of like trying to drive an old Bugatti or something, where if you shift wrong the thing blows up and kills you. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it's in the direction of truth. At base, a French chef's knife wants to be your friend; an usuba is out to get you. If you master it, it's wonderful, but in the meantime it pretty much stinks.
I adore mine. I fought with it, and for most things I would want to do, I have more or less won. I am not especially good with it, but I can use it without fear, and I find it quick, clean, and reasonably easy. It's just altogether different from my chef's knife. But it took 6 months to be functional, and a year to get where I am now. To improve and get actually good with the thing would take another 6 months of focused effort, and then I'd start to get really rolling. In the meantime I am basically treading water, but then, I'm not a professional so I can afford to do that. Mastery, well, that's another thing, but the same goes for any really great knife.
If you want to try one, you're making a mistake, but I'll give you a piece of advice. Everything you read that suggests that some knife is a little cheaper, or a better deal, or easier to sharpen, or a great compromise, or whatever -- it's all BS. Buy a good-quality piece of white steel professional cutlery, have it professionally opened, keep it literally sharp enough to shave your face in the morning, and expect to suffer for a good long time. Eventually, you might thank me for this. Bear in mind that you will need a lot of good sharpening stones, because you will chip it often and badly and have to resharpen thoroughly. This is not for "in-case": you will chip it badly, more than once, and at least once you will take the whole point off. Don't even think about having someone else sharpen it for you: you must be able to do this yourself or it's not even worth contemplating buying an usuba.
For some reason, every time I write a post like this, people say I'm nuts for encouraging people to take up the usuba. Did I ever say it was a good idea?
