Looking for a Santoku and new cutting board!

DAVE_M

DAVE_M

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
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I just moved into my first house and I made sure that I had an open kitchen with plenty of counter space. Now that I'm no longer in the tiny studio apartment, I can chunk my well used bamboo cutting board and JA Henckels 6" Santoku (Two cheap gifts from Bed Bath and Beyond). I've been looking at Shun knives and also see that the Wusthof knives get a lot of attention.

I would prefer a Santoku style blade, but am open to other styles as well.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on a large cutting board? Say at least 24"x12".
 
Well made wooden cutting boards are a joy. Do you want a heavy one?

There is a nice "chop n slice" heavy maple Boos board available on Amazon for about $54.00

I do like Shun for their higher end kitchen knives. Boker's higher end products with laminated blades are also nice, and if you do a web search on "Japanese Laminated Santoku" you will have some interesting options!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I just got my father a tojiro dp santoku and it seems pretty nice though I only used it once. The Fujiwara fkm line is also a highly recommended. I have a richmond artifex gyuto that I like a lot.


I would say check out kitchen knife forum. Theyre pretty helpful and knowledgeable. They will definitely steer you away from shun and honestly for the money you can get a knfie that will perform at a much higher level.
 
All good advice here.

I like BOOS cutting boards, not cheap but not expensive either. Featured on many cooking shows.

For knives, fijiwara is good for its price. I'd avoid shun. Shun isn't favored on many chef forums, must be a reason ;)
 
Thanks for the replies!

Yes, I would like to get a heavy cutting board. Definitely something that can take daily abuse!
I am by no means a chef, but I do cook dinner daily and use my tools for what they were made for.

Except when I used my new Hest as a cheese knife :D
 
HwangJino said:
Shun isn't favored on many chef forums, must be a reason ;)
Click to expand...

The reason is that Shun heat treats hard, and the edges can be "chippy", many professional chefs don't "coddle" their knives and have bad results, accordingly.

I HAVE used Shun in a professional environment(Whole Foods Seafood Department, Encinitas) and found the knives to work quite nicely.....but I was not cutting with unrealistic expectations(directly on stainless media, hacking through frozen product.....)...this is something that pro Eurocentric chefs do, and expect....in reality, it means a much softer and forgiving steel recipe, which is not how the Japanese view knives.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Shun and Wusthof get a lot of mainstream attention due to their popularity and how much they are sensationalized in some cooking magazines.

Wusthof generally uses steel that is softer and blades that are generally thicker, heavier, and very robust. They can stand up to most anything. The downside is they do not give anywhere near the performance of other knives with thinner and harder blades, and they generally cause more fatigue.

I do not like Shun myself. While I like the looks, I find the prices to be way overpriced, the steels to be less than impressive (especially VG-10), and find their VG-10 models to be quite chippy. My favorite inexpensive maker is Tojiro. IMHO they make a nicer knife and for a lot less. Both their VG-10 and damascus VG are excellent performers.

Masamoto makes a very nice Santoku for a very affordable price. If you are looking for a little higher-end, offerings from Konosuke and Takeda may interest you.




Cutting-board wise, this is really hard to beat for the price as the quality is exceptional. IMO, end grain maple is the best way to go.
http://www.amazon.com/Maple-End-Gra...qid=1405651049&sr=1-4&keywords=Michigan+Maple
 
Once again, thanks for the replies! I see a few things on my "want" list lol!
 
Fujiwara FKM from japanesechefsknife dot com, they also carry Hiromoto, Misono, Masamoto and many others.
 
Check out Kumidori, Yasuda Cutlery.

Less than $100 and a good value. Available in stainless and carbon steel.
 
As olpappy said, JCK. The best value represents IMHO the Hiromoto Aogami Super 190mm santoku. A bit longer than most santokus, not deadly flat, an exceptional steel that offers a crazy, aggressive edge and great retention. As the carbon core is clad into soft stainless you have only to -- minimally -- care for the edge area. You only wipe off the edge -- just as one should do with a stainless.
 
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