Primarily the Japanese model of the chef’s knife, the santoku is an all-purpose blade that ought to be the primary one you attain for while you begin any recipe. The sunshine, sharp, and nimble santoku could make fast work of just about something, from shredding cabbage for coleslaw to chopping grilled hen for tacos and dicing dense root greens for cozy fall soups.
When you’re used to a European-style chef’s knife, switching to a santoku could make your on a regular basis kitchen prep just a bit bit quicker. There are many choices on the market, and I examined 12 fashions to seek out the very best santoku knife.
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We’re massive followers of the Made In model right here at Meals & Wine, particularly its stainless-steel and nonstick cookware. And the model’s new Japanese Damascus Metal Knife Set has confirmed its value, too, taking the highest spot in my nakiri checks in addition to right here.
This santoku is attractive, with a swirling Damascus sample from 66 layers of metal. It proved as much as each process in my testing, standing out particularly effectively with candy potato, which peeled like I used to be utilizing a straight razor. It is on the heavier aspect, which was a assist in splitting the dense potato, but I had loads of management to chop it and the steak into very even cubes. It was additionally a pleasure to interrupt down garlic cloves with clean and fast chopping. I did must put in some additional effort and sawing to get by the sticky mozzarella; the Made In wound up in the midst of the pack in that take a look at, however on the high for all the remaining.
The principle unfavourable of this knife is its value. It was the costliest santoku in my take a look at. I say it is value each cent, however there are additionally worthy choices at a far decrease value.
Blade Size: 6.5 inches | Blade Materials: VG-10 stainless-steel | Whole Size: 11.75 inches | Deal with Materials: Plastic | Weight: 7.2 ounces
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The place the Made In santoku stood out chopping laborious candy potato, the Miyabi Kaizen one impressed me most with the best way it dealt with softer substances. It went by steak like a scalpel and was in a position to make paper-thin slices of cheese that did not follow the blade within the least. Alternatively, it did not carry out so effectively with the candy potato, needing a whole lot of additional weight to cut by the dense flesh.
The Miyabi santoku is among the heavier knives I examined however felt notably gentle in my hand, a testomony to its wonderful stability. The blade is a normal 7 inches however the entire knife is longer than regular, due to an prolonged bolster. This leaves plenty of room to accommodate completely different grip kinds and chopping methods. I maintain knives fairly far ahead, which left a whole lot of additional area on the butt finish for me. That is not essentially a foul factor however it’s completely different from the remainder of the santokus in my take a look at.
When it comes to value, the Miyabi is a bit of cheaper than the Made In however nonetheless an excellent bit above common.
Blade Size: 7 inches | Blade Materials: VG-10 stainless-steel | Whole Size: 12.5 inches | Deal with Materials: Micarta | Weight: 7.6 ounces
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Apart from the under-$40 value, my favourite factor about Mercer’s santoku is the deal with. The tender, rubbery Santoprene materials has an virtually sticky texture that is extremely safe to carry however rinses and washes off identical to the graceful plastic of different fashions. It is heavy sufficient to really feel substantial, however it’s nonetheless well-balanced. Mixed with the grip, that makes this a really agile santoku.
The place you sacrifice to avoid wasting value with this knife is in sharpness. It did…okay in my checks, needing a whole lot of power to get by the candy potato and making fairly uneven slices of mozzarella. It sliced the steak and chopped the garlic effectively, although, and it appeared just like the substances did not follow the blade as a lot as with different knives.
The reality is which you can get a better-performing santoku than this one — however you will must pay 4 or 5 occasions as a lot. The Mercer’s low value makes it a very wonderful worth.
Blade Size: 7 inches | Blade Materials: Carbon metal | Whole Size: 12.25 inches | Deal with Materials: Santoprene | Weight: 7.3 ounces
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Zwilling’s santoku appears fairly completely different from others, with a extra rounded blade edge that lends itself, because the title suggests, to a rocking chopping movement. I did certainly discover it very environment friendly at chopping garlic, and its very sharp edge made peeling the candy potato a breeze. That is the heaviest santoku I examined by a full ounce, which gave it extra energy to slice by the laborious candy potato, although that might result in extra fatigue in the event you’re utilizing it for hours at a time.
The opposite distinctive design component of the Zwilling Rocking Santoku is that the top of the blade angles to a degree, moderately than the standard curve. I am truthfully undecided if this makes a lot distinction in efficiency, as both fashion allows you to use the purpose for element work. From a purely aesthetic perspective, it is hanging.
My most major problem with this knife in my checks was how badly the whole lot caught to its floor. Regardless of the hole edge divots which might be supposed to forestall any such factor, I needed to peel every slice of cheese off the blade with my fingers, and I needed to hold sweeping all of the garlic again onto the chopping board each few chops.
Blade Size: 7 inches | Blade Materials: Stainless-steel | Whole Size: 12.3 inches | Deal with Materials: Plastic | Weight: 8.8 ounces
My Favourite Santoku Knife
The Made In Japanese Damascus Metal Santoku topped my checks with its sharp blade, beauty, and excessive efficiency in all conditions. For a finances possibility, the Mercer Culinary Genesis Santoku did fairly effectively in testing regardless of its shockingly low value.
How I Examined Santoku Knives
Meals & Wine / Jason Horn
I examined 12 completely different santoku knives. Starting with basic design, deal with consolation, and weight stability, I rated the knives on a wide range of traits as I put them by a collection of equivalent checks.
- Candy Potato Check: I used every santoku to halve, peel, and chop a candy potato into cubes. Chopping by the dense flesh was a great way to evaluate every knife’s energy and precision with heavy gadgets, and peeling helped observe the extent of sharpness.
- Mozzarella Check: To measure efficiency with tender, sticky substances, I used every knife to chop a small ball of mozzarella into slices. I famous how a lot effort and back-and-forth sawing I wanted to get by the cheese, how simply I used to be in a position to get skinny and even slices, and the way a lot the slices caught to the aspect of the knife.
- Garlic Check: To fee chopping efficiency, I used every santoku to cut three peeled garlic cloves totally. I famous how effectively every knife lower by the garlic and the way a lot effort and time I wanted to cut back it to a completely minced texture.
- Steak Check: I used every santoku to chop 3 ounces of steak into cubes, noting whether or not any blades had hassle slicing by meat and the way simply they had been in a position to make even items.
- Cleansing: Between checks, I hand-washed every knife, noting people who wanted additional scrubbing on the blade or deal with, and any that had been particularly slippery when moist.
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Solely after finishing all my different checks did I reveal the retail costs of the santokus to think about worth for cash. On the time of testing, the 12 santokus ranged from $38 to $199, with a median of $131.
What I Regarded For within the Finest Santoku Knife
Blade Materials and Design
Metal is by far the commonest materials used for knives of every kind. Japanese knives specifically are sometimes created from carbon metal, which incorporates additional carbon, making it tougher than regular and in a position to maintain a finer edge for longer. The drawback of carbon metal is that it is extra brittle and extra inclined to rust. Stainless-steel is made with added chromium, which makes it shiny and rust-resistant, however softer and fewer sharpenable. There are a lot of completely different “recipes” for metal which have completely different combos of properties, and a few knives additionally layer a number of steels collectively to attain completely different results.
With the santoku specifically, the precise form of the blade is necessary, too. The underside of the knife ought to be rounded for a rocking chopping movement, however completely different fashions have completely different curves that work greatest with completely different knife methods. A santoku’s broad blade provides it energy and is beneficial for issues like crushing garlic cloves, however the form additionally makes it heavy for its dimension — and every santoku is a bit of completely different in top, size, and weight.
One other design side to search for is a Granton edge. It is a collection of divots carved into the blade that create air pockets so meals would not stick. It is an particularly useful characteristic in the event you plan to slice a whole lot of meat, cheese, and different moist or sticky substances.
Deal with Materials and Design
It would not matter how sharp the blade is; if a knife is painful to carry or slips out of your hand, it isn’t an excellent knife. There are many completely different deal with shapes obtainable, and I discover that the very best ones are neither completely spherical nor completely sq.. Sharp corners are safe within the hand, however they are not notably snug. Round handles really feel good, however they’re slippery, particularly when moist. Spherical-cornered rectangles or oval shapes can each be very efficient, along with your favourite relying on precisely the way you maintain your knife.
When it comes to deal with materials, wooden and plastic are quite common, together with composites like Micarta and Pakkawood, that are layers of wooden and different supplies bonded collectively in a plastic resin. Whatever the materials, you must take a look at the feel, which might vary from completely clean (straightforward to scrub however probably slippery) to tough and sandpapery (good for grip however can maintain onto bits of meals). One other deal with design side to concentrate to is the rivets that join the deal with and blade: Ideally, these ought to really feel completely clean, with no gaps the place corrosion can start to type.
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Weight and Steadiness
Santokus are pretty gentle knives on the whole: Those I examined ranged in weight from 3.5 to eight.8 ounces. This isn’t meant to be a knife that is robust to carry, however there was a noticeable distinction in really feel between fashions. A heavier knife would not provide as a lot management, however the weight helps lower by robust or dense meals with much less effort. Lighter knives are extra agile however much less highly effective, however you do need some quantity of weight to carry the blade securely in your hand.
Simply as necessary as total weight is weight stability. Ideally, the deal with and blade offset one another completely, which makes the knife as secure as attainable and provides you essentially the most management. But when a knife is a bit unbalanced, it is higher if it is weighted towards the blade than towards the deal with. A heftier blade can really feel prefer it’s pulling itself by meals, whereas a knife that is balanced towards the deal with desires to drag the blade backward out of the meals.
Often Requested Questions
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What’s a santoku knife?
A santoku is an all-purpose knife that may take care of most on a regular basis substances within the kitchen. It has an analogous design to a European-style chef’s knife, however the blade is usually a bit of shorter and lighter, with a slight curve on the underside that allows you to use a rocking or up-and-down chopping movement. The santoku combines design parts of three completely different Japanese knife kinds: the nakiri, designed for greens, the gyuto, made for slicing meat, and the deba, meant for filleting fish.
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What’s a santoku knife used for?
Effectively, absolutely anything. The title means “three virtues” or “three makes use of” in Japanese, which refers to how versatile it’s. (Relying on which supply you ask, these three makes use of may very well be meat, fish, and greens; or slicing, dicing, and chopping.) You need to use a santoku nearly anyplace you’d use a chef’s knife.
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How do you sharpen a santoku?
You’ll be able to sharpen most santokus the identical manner you’d sharpen any kitchen knife. Any whetstone, guide sharpener, or electrical sharpener ought to be capable to deal with the blade form.
However some santokus are single-bevel, that means that they are solely sharpened from one aspect of the blade. (Most knives are double-bevel and sharpened equally from either side.) It is attainable to sharpen a single-bevel santoku at residence, however it requires extra superior methods. You are most likely greatest getting a single-bevel knife sharpened professionally.
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What ought to a santoku knife not be used for?
You need to use a santoku and solely a santoku to make nearly all of meals, however there are some duties it isn’t excellent for. As a reasonably light-weight blade, a santoku is not the suitable alternative for breaking down massive cuts of meat, or something that requires hacking by bones. You need a thick meat cleaver as a substitute. To make skinny, correct slices of crusty breads and delicate uncooked tomatoes, a serrated bread knife is greatest. And for detailed, delicate work like chopping garnishes or sculpting a centerpiece, a small paring knife may very well be the suitable alternative.
Different Santoku Knives I Examined
Sturdy Contenders
Meals & Wine / Jason Horn
Masamoto HC Japanese Santoku ($198 at Amazon)
I felt excellent management holding this knife, and it did an exquisite job in my checks. The explanation it isn’t on my record of winners is that it discolored fairly badly after a single rinse and wash. I washed all of the take a look at santokus collectively in the identical manner and the Masamoto was the one one with this downside, so it is rather a lot much less forgiving than rivals relating to care. (Notably, Masamoto’s nakiri didn’t discolor in my nakiri testing and was my choose for greatest splurge.)
Tojiro Skilled Santoku ($92 at Amazon)
Tojiro’s properly priced santoku gave me nice management, particularly when peeling the curved surfaces of a candy potato. Nonetheless, it was not as sharp because the higher-priced fashions above, needing a notable quantity of sawing to slice the steak and many chops to get by the garlic.
Victorinox 7-Inch Rosewood Santoku ($67 at Amazon)
This wood-handled santoku is a good finances purchase, with a particularly sharp blade that carried out significantly better than I anticipated given the light-weight design and plain picket deal with. It will have been my choose for the very best worth, besides the Mercer Genesis did even higher and is cheaper.
What Did not Make the Checklist
Not one of the santokus in my take a look at stood out as a foul performer; the fashions not included above simply fell a bit behind the remaining, both in efficiency or worth. All 5 come from manufacturers that we belief and which have produced winners in different knife class checks: World, Mac, Misen, Shun, and Wüsthof.
Our Experience
Meals & Wine senior author Jason Horn examined 12 santokus at residence and wrote this roundup. With a grasp’s in journalism and a culinary diploma, he is been writing about meals and drinks for practically 20 years, together with at Liquor.com, Playboy, and Severe Eats. Our resident knife-testing knowledgeable, he is additionally examined and reviewed butcher knives, meat cleavers, oyster knives, brisket slicers, and extra.