I have always wonder if I can cut sushi with just a regular knife. I tried it and they definitely do not cut as nicely as the sushi knife. With this sushi knife, I was able to cut my homemade sushi with a very CLEAN and nice sharp cut. I am not sure what it is but it came out nice and clean every single time. There is one trick that I do to ensure the pieces come out nice every single time and that is to either rinse the knife under the water after each cut or to wipe the knife with a wet paper towel. I make sure the knife does not have any extra sticky rice on it which makes cutting more difficult.