Soba kiri knife in use. Chris 73 / wikimedia / 2009 / CC BY-SA 3.0
Soba Kiri (aka Sobagiri, aka Udon-giri. Japanese: 蕎麦切) cleavers were designed to cut rolled out sheets of soba dough by hand into the long, thin strips known as soba noodles.
The blades are a very unusual shape. One end of the blade is solid, the other end is like the bottom of an H with two prongs. One prong is embedded in the handle. The other prong forms a cutting edge that extends along the prong and all along the sold part of the blade as well. The bottom of the blade presents one long, straight cutting edge.
When holding the knife, the handle is in the air, directly above the cutting edge, so that you can both press and pull the knife at the same time.
The whole knife will be about 7 1/2 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) tall.
The blade is made of stainless steel; the handles are wood.
Soba kiri knife blade, without the handle. Chris 73 / wikimedia / 2004 / CC BY-SA 3.0
History Notes
The cleavers originated in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.
Language Notes
“Soba Kiri” means “buckwheat noodle slice.”
Videos
Demonstration of a soba kiri knife in use.
Sources
Japanese Kitchen Knife Types And Styles. Accessed October 2019 at http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/usetype/all/index.shtml