I want a nice Santoku knife, less than $100 if possible.

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kgriggs8

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Can I get a decent Santoku for $100 or less? I could go higher but I want the most bang for the buck.

How does the Wustoff Santoku stack up against the Kershaw Shun? What other Santoku knives should I consider? I am new to the whole Santoku thing but it looks like the knife for me.

What is the best bang for the buck for around $100?
 
kgriggs8 said:
Can I get a decent Santoku for $100 or less? I could go higher but I want the most bang for the buck.

How does the Wustoff Santoku stack up against the Kershaw Shun? What other Santoku knives should I consider? I am new to the whole Santoku thing but it looks like the knife for me.

What is the best bang for the buck for around $100?
Click to expand...

I would only guess the shun is nicer, but what do I know, I use a MBS-26 steel Spyderco Santoku at 59-60Rc for about 40 bucks (less if you shop around). Very thin blade and the hardness is only an Rc point or so below the 100.00+ knives. The handle material is not fancy though...
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=67
 
Also check out the Global Santoku. Around $80.00. Global makes a great knife.
 
Check out the Fallkniven K2: VG10 blade, very comfortable zytel handle, and it can be had for around $90.
 
Another vote for the Spyderco version. Great knife for the money!
 
I would definitely go with one of the japanese brands like Shun, Global, Ryusen instead of the German brands for this one. There are so many good ones out there. Personally I would go with one that has a VG-10 blade like the Shun. But best bang for the buck should certainly go to the Spyderco.
 
My only problem with the Spyderco model is that it is very hard for me to keep it sharp, and maybe that's me more than it is the knife. I've used it for 90% of my kitchen work over the last 4, almost 5, years and it's still in good shape. Buy a good steel to maintain your kitchen knives between sharpenings.
 
Spyderco Santoku would be the one to consider, top quality and less then 100 bucks.

regards.
 
Let me give you may case against the santoku briefly. The santoku is a compromise knife designed for kitchens with a single knife. It has a point for coring, an edge for slicing and a heel for chopping. Those are the "three virtues" (santoku) of the knife. But, unfortunately, it is too short to be a good slicer, too short to be a chopping knife and the sheepfoot front of the blade makes the coring tip almost useless.

I would recommend you buy a Japanese gyuto. It is their version of the Western chef's knife but with a thin, hard blade. It will do everything the santoku will do but will do it better since you would buy a longer one (at least 210mm.) You can buy models for less than $100 in stainless from Tojiro, Mac, Kiyotsuna and others. Carbon steel models are available from most Japanese makers for less than $100. If you go to $150 you can have a state of the art gyuto that will outperform every chef's knife made anywhere in the world outside of Japan. Good cooking.
 
I am leaning towards the Kershaw Shun. I can get one for about $90 delivered. Is that a good deal and is that a good knife or are there better ones for the money?
 
if you want a Santuko at that price that feels a bit more "special" you could get a hand-forged one from Sinichi Watanabe [watanabeblade.com]. I think I paid about $95 for mine, shipped...and it is an amazing knife. The edge is extremely thin, but it holds a great edge for a long time. You do have to treat it well though, drying it thoroughly before putting it away.

Mine came in 3 days - from Japan!

Nitin
 
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