I love santokus

[roaduck]

My girlfriend and I both love santoku`s because of their size, profile and versatility; if the balance and weight is good and they`re thin and sharp they can be potential dream knives.
I have a couple of decent ones but I bet you discerning guys can spot the budget ones haha !
I am not a big fan of heavy German and French traditionally shaped knives with big bolsters - I much prefer Asian style knives that are light to medium weight - having lived in the Far East for a third of my life.
I can handle big heavy choppers for butchering carcases though - great for feeding the multitude !
The ceramic one with the black blade is a 5" inch chef`s but I like the colour.
I especially love kiritsuke`s because I am so used to using Asian knives with a flatter blade profile.

 

[RokJok]

Hmmmmmm ... According to the Mayo Clinic report I just made up in my head:
"Santoku therapy may be indicated in more advanced cases."



But seriously, the style has earned its reputation as a great all purpose blade among veggie oriented cultures. If it works, go ahead and use it.

 

[roaduck]

Haha thank you RokJok, SwissHeritageCo and Gato do mato - truth is stranger than fiction - I lived and worked in Hong Kong and Macau in the mid 80`s for twenty years so I changed my whole orientation going East from NW England.
I did high-end Hi-Fi sales during the day and forged yellow, white and blue carbon steel knives at night and weekend in a 19th Century forge with no electricity to de-stress - it grounded me and stopped me going mad - I needed it to keep my sanity !
Apparently kiritsuke`s are used by top sushi chefs for precision push cutting raw fish and sometimes doing decorative fruit and vegetables.Most have a more pointed tip than a santoku as well.
The traditional Japanese ones are mostly carbon and mostly single bezel that are meant to be kept sharp enough to push-cut any raw / cooked fish or meat.
I like using them because they generally have a flatter belly than a santoku or a gyutou - which is cow sword in Japanese - santoku means 3 purposes apparently.
I`m not a chef and never want to be one - too limiting and boring following recipes and hierarchy.
A lot of my Chinese chef`s knives have quite straight blades; which I`m used to using every day since the late eighties.

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

My santoku knives are upgrades from a foundational nakiri--and they all have just a little belly to facilitate rocking. To me, a nakiri and a santoku are interchangeable.

 

[Chefget]

I`m not a chef and never want to be one - too limiting and boring following recipes and hierarchy.

Boring?

 

[RokJok]

Here's a little bit of santoku love for the brotherhood. The top KitchenAid of the matched pair has a rattle in the handle, like a nut or other metal lump was clattering around loose in there. The red rubber handle on the Groovy Boi at the bottom fits my small'ish mitts quite well. The thumb divots just behind the bolster bevels give a natural & intuitive landing zone for the pad of my thumb when using a saber grip.

 

[Khromo]

My question is "What kind of person doesn't love santoku's?!?!"

The second-from-the-bottom-on-the-left-side is the sweetest kitchen knife I've ever handled. SG2 core cladded with stainless, 125 grams, this sucker cuts effortlessly once you get accustomed to the light weight and forward balance. Considering the simple construction, it is more pricey than the more elegant mongrels from Shun and Miyabi, but still well under $300US. I absolutely love using this knife.

The humble AUS-8 entry level just below it is almost as dreamy to use. I keep it sharp between stonings with a ceramic rod. It is sharp enough for fish, and aggressive enough for brocolli and big giant carrots. Everything you want in a kitchen knife, nothing that you don't need. Under $100US after I replaced the magnolia handle with this sandalwood wa ($16 for two) from China.

I've been a fan for many years. From when there was a West Germany.

By the time Germany had re-united, they were kind of getting with the Japanese style of less handle and thinner blades. The older Burgvogel's were well over 200 grams, the later version simply branded Solingen was only 186 grams. Still a great deal heavier than the traditional Japanese style, but retaining the industrial strength and durability of German kitchen knives.

They all cut like demons, and the wide blade doubles as a spatula. Everybody loves the santoku.

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

Here's a little bit of santoku love for the brotherhood. The top KitchenAid of the matched pair has a rattle in the handle, like a nut or other metal lump was clattering around loose in there. The red rubber handle on the Groovy Boi at the bottom fits my small'ish mitts quite well. The thumb divots just behind the bolster bevels give a natural & intuitive landing zone for the pad of my thumb when using a saber grip.
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Very interesting designs. Are they yours?

 

[Dr. Rayeye]

My question is "What kind of person doesn't love santoku's?!?!"

The second-from-the-bottom-on-the-left-side is the sweetest kitchen knife I've ever handled. SG2 core cladded with stainless, 125 grams, this sucker cuts effortlessly once you get accustomed to the light weight and forward balance. Considering the simple construction, it is more pricey than the more elegant mongrels from Shun and Miyabi, but still well under $300US. I absolutely love using this knife.

The humble AUS-8 entry level just below it is almost as dreamy to use. I keep it sharp between stonings with a ceramic rod. It is sharp enough for fish, and aggressive enough for brocolli and big giant carrots. Everything you want in a kitchen knife, nothing that you don't need. Under $100US after I replaced the magnolia handle with this sandalwood wa ($16 for two) from China.

I've been a fan for many years. From when there was a West Germany.

By the time Germany had re-united, they were kind of getting with the Japanese style of less handle and thinner blades. The older Burgvogel's were well over 200 grams, the later version simply branded Solingen was only 186 grams. Still a great deal heavier than the traditional Japanese style, but retaining the industrial strength and durability of German kitchen knives.

They all cut like demons, and the wide blade doubles as a spatula. Everybody loves the santoku.

Really great collection--cultural fusion between East and West for sure!

 

[Khromo]

The difference between the older German knives, which I used for decades, and the traditional Japanese knives was much greater than I expected! Even after reading up on them, I did not expect the Japanese blades to feel and operate so differently. A sturdy pickup truck, or a sports car suitable for public streets.

The wa handles and light weight took some practice to get used to, but the learning process was fun, and I think my technique when using the Japanese style knives is more precise and efficient than it was before I branched out in this direction. I'm still on the double bevel, because my wife is right-handed, while I am a leftie.

I'm checking out classes at the local community college.

They all have great utility. I've gifted a lot of these over the years, and they always come back for sharpenings, which tells me that people are using them!

 

[roaduck]

Boring?

Yep Chefget I like a lot of 3/4/5 way fusion cooking and I never want the same meal twice.
I was doing family meals at seven and by sixteen I was catering for 300 wedding guests - plus making the whole cake from scratch.
I don`t measure, weigh or time things - I don`t need to - been cooking in over 60 Countries since the early seventies.
Our ancestors cooked without knowing the exact time or quantities and weights.
My Mother and Grandparents were amazing cooks - they regularly cooked for the whole village and catering for big groups like the Armed Forces, Holiday fetes, jamborees, Country Shows, Religious celebrations and even passing film crews so I learnt a lot from them at an early age.
My Mum had a pilot`s licence at 21 so my brother and I went to Europe, North Africa and The Med every 2 weeks on biz - we loved eating at sea - was really good for the appetite.
A chef with 25 years experience in the Middle East and Europe said I was a natural and I cooked with Keith Floyd and Graham Kerr in the seventies and eighties.
I help feed thousands of homeless people a week - for Crisis, Shelter, The Hare Kryshnas, and a few different Churches.

 

[roaduck]

My question is "What kind of person doesn't love santoku's?!?!"

The second-from-the-bottom-on-the-left-side is the sweetest kitchen knife I've ever handled. SG2 core cladded with stainless, 125 grams, this sucker cuts effortlessly once you get accustomed to the light weight and forward balance. Considering the simple construction, it is more pricey than the more elegant mongrels from Shun and Miyabi, but still well under $300US. I absolutely love using this knife.

The humble AUS-8 entry level just below it is almost as dreamy to use. I keep it sharp between stonings with a ceramic rod. It is sharp enough for fish, and aggressive enough for brocolli and big giant carrots. Everything you want in a kitchen knife, nothing that you don't need. Under $100US after I replaced the magnolia handle with this sandalwood wa ($16 for two) from China.

I've been a fan for many years. From when there was a West Germany.

By the time Germany had re-united, they were kind of getting with the Japanese style of less handle and thinner blades. The older Burgvogel's were well over 200 grams, the later version simply branded Solingen was only 186 grams. Still a great deal heavier than the traditional Japanese style, but retaining the industrial strength and durability of German kitchen knives.

They all cut like demons, and the wide blade doubles as a spatula. Everybody loves the santoku.

I love all your posh knives Khromo and Dr. Rayeye - most of mine are cheapies but I can get nice meals out of them.
Friends are bringing me some gorgeous homegrown fruit and veggies from their gardens and allotments so I`m truly blessed this Summer.Plus homemade cheeses, hams, pies and bread - I am so lucky to have such lovely friends.
I only have one decent santoku - it`s top piccy - third one down - It`s a Japanese handmade aogami carbon #blue 2- 7 inch - 5 1/2 oz hardened to HRC 64 with blacksmith kurouchi finish and oval red sandalwood handle.
It can push cut cigarette papers and paper towels and didn`t need sharpening in a restaurant for over four months - just an occasional strop / hone.

 

[RokJok]

Very interesting designs. Are they yours?

Yessir. Thrift store orphans one and all. Take them home, make them edgy, eventually give them away. In my stash is also a Spyderco santoku I got at a knife show many years ago, likely from Sal himself. But I'm on the road at the moment, so no pics of that one just now, though pics of that model are all over the web.

 

[roaduck]

Here's a little bit of santoku love for the brotherhood. The top KitchenAid of the matched pair has a rattle in the handle, like a nut or other metal lump was clattering around loose in there. The red rubber handle on the Groovy Boi at the bottom fits my small'ish mitts quite well. The thumb divots just behind the bolster bevels give a natural & intuitive landing zone for the pad of my thumb when using a saber grip.
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I Love Ikea knives RokJok I have a heavy ( about a pound ) 6" chopper from the nineties - it is totally bomb-proof - it only cost a fiver - about $6 - it is brilliant; it is so versatile.
It`s the bottom one with the black plastic handle and 2 rivets.
All four of the above are heavy ( 1 pound to 2.4 pounds ) bone choppers - gaidao in Chinese - they are much thicker and heavier than a caidao - Chinese Chef`s Knife - used for veggies and meat and fish with no big bones in it.
The second one down is an eight inch blade that is over 1/3rd of an inch thick and is nearly 40 ounces ; it`s chunky.
I need them at work for sides of beef or pork, half a lamb etc.

 

[roaduck]

Here's a little bit of santoku love for the brotherhood. The top KitchenAid of the matched pair has a rattle in the handle, like a nut or other metal lump was clattering around loose in there. The red rubber handle on the Groovy Boi at the bottom fits my small'ish mitts quite well. The thumb divots just behind the bolster bevels give a natural & intuitive landing zone for the pad of my thumb when using a saber grip.
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I love Ikea knives RokJok I have a heavy ( about a pound ) 6" chopper from the nineties - it is totally bomb-proof - it only cost a fiver - about $6 - it is brilliant.
I love your red-handled Groove-tech knife RokJok - it`s right up my street.
Pretty and practical - a winner.

 

[RokJok]

I gave one of these to a friend. It has a very thin spine with acute gind angles. Consequently it will take a very keen edge. He reports that he and his wife fight over who'll get to use it. It's so heartwarming to know I've done my part to sow a bit of marital discord in this world.

 

[roaduck]

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I gave one of these to a friend. It has a very thin spine with acute gind angles. Consequently it will take a very keen edge. He reports that he and his wife fight over who'll get to use it. It's so heartwarming to know I've done my part to sow a bit of marital discord in this world.

What a wonderful gesture RokJok - I give knives away with a chopping board / steel / diamond plate because it gets people to cook more and perhaps eat better / socialise more.
My gf does sewing and upholstery for the needy so she gifts scissors, needles and thread to help people mend things in these hard times.We both do our best.
Most houses and restaurants where I know the owner have blunt knives and scissors and I try and remedy that HaHa !

 

[garry3]

My question is "What kind of person doesn't love santoku's

 

[garry3]

I especially love kiritsuke`s because I am so used to using Asian knives with a flatter blade profile.

Moritaka, they can be a bit rough out of the box and a little wedgey for my taste but If you can thin to your liking you get great heat treat with AS steel and wonderfully flat profiles.

 

[Alex Topfer]

yeah, i'm not a huge fan personally. I think it's more to do with what i cook, my go to for the last couple of years has been a tall nakiri and a current kitchen test mule is more of a sujihiki

But to get on the subject here's a WIP santoku a friend commissioned