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Basically the Japanese model of the chef’s knife, the santoku is an all-purpose blade that must 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 rooster for tacos and dicing dense root greens for cozy fall soups.
In the event 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 sooner. There are many choices on the market, and I examined 12 fashions to seek out the most effective santoku knife.
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We’re huge 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 exams in addition to right here.
This santoku is beautiful, 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 easy and fast chopping. I did need to put in some further effort and sawing to get by means of 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 remainder.
The primary damaging of this knife is its worth. It was the most costly santoku in my take a look at. I say it is value each cent, however there are additionally worthy choices at a far decrease price.
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 slicing onerous candy potato, the Miyabi Kaizen one impressed me most with the way in which it dealt with softer components. It went by means of 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 lots of further weight to cut by means of the dense flesh.
The Miyabi santoku is likely one of the heavier knives I examined however felt notably gentle in my hand, a testomony to its glorious steadiness. The blade is an ordinary 7 inches however the entire knife is longer than regular, due to an prolonged bolster. This leaves a lot of room to accommodate completely different grip kinds and slicing strategies. I maintain knives fairly far ahead, which left lots of further house on the butt finish for me. That is not essentially a nasty factor but it surely’s completely different from the remainder of the santokus in my take a look at.
By way of price, the Miyabi is a bit cheaper than the Made In however nonetheless a great 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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In addition to the under-$40 worth, my favourite factor about Mercer’s santoku is the deal with. The gentle, rubbery Santoprene materials has an nearly 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, but it surely’s nonetheless well-balanced. Mixed with the grip, that makes this a really agile santoku.
The place you sacrifice to avoid wasting price with this knife is in sharpness. It did…okay in my exams, needing lots of drive to get by means of 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 components did not follow the blade as a lot as with different knives.
The reality is which you could get a better-performing santoku than this one — however you will need to pay 4 or 5 instances as a lot. The Mercer’s low worth makes it a really superb 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 to be like fairly completely different from others, with a extra rounded blade edge that lends itself, because the identify 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 means of the onerous candy potato, although that might result in extra fatigue should you’re utilizing it for hours at a time.
The opposite distinctive design ingredient of the Zwilling Rocking Santoku is that the top of the blade angles to a degree, somewhat than the standard curve. I am truthfully unsure if this makes a lot distinction in efficiency, as both fashion helps you to use the purpose for element work. From a purely aesthetic perspective, it is placing.
My most major problem with this knife in my exams was how badly the whole lot caught to its floor. Regardless of the hole edge divots which might be supposed to stop this sort of 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 slicing board each few chops.
Blade Size: 7 inches | Blade Materials: Chrome 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 exams with its sharp blade, attractiveness, and excessive efficiency in all conditions. For a price range possibility, the Mercer Culinary Genesis Santoku did fairly effectively in testing regardless of its shockingly low worth.
How I Examined Santoku Knives
Meals & Wine / Jason Horn
I examined 12 completely different santoku knives. Starting with common design, deal with consolation, and weight steadiness, I rated the knives on a wide range of traits as I put them by means of a collection of similar exams.
- Candy Potato Take a look at: I used every santoku to halve, peel, and chop a candy potato into cubes. Chopping by means of the dense flesh was a great way to evaluate every knife’s energy and precision with heavy objects, and peeling helped observe the extent of sharpness.
- Mozzarella Take a look at: To measure efficiency with gentle, sticky components, 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 means of 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 Take a look at: To charge chopping efficiency, I used every santoku to cut three peeled garlic cloves completely. I famous how effectively every knife lower by means of the garlic and the way a lot effort and time I wanted to scale back it to a completely minced texture.
- Steak Take a look at: I used every santoku to chop 3 ounces of steak into cubes, noting whether or not any blades had bother slicing by means of meat and the way simply they have been in a position to make even items.
- Cleansing: Between exams, I hand-washed every knife, noting those who wanted further scrubbing on the blade or deal with, and any that have been particularly slippery when moist.
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Solely after finishing all my different exams 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 Appeared For within the Greatest Santoku Knife
Blade Materials and Design
Metal is by far the most typical materials used for knives of every kind. Japanese knives specifically are sometimes created from carbon metal, which incorporates further 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 prone to rust. Chrome 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 mixtures 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 essential, too. The underside of the knife must be rounded for a rocking slicing movement, however completely different fashions have completely different curves that work finest with completely different knife strategies. A santoku’s broad blade provides it energy and is helpful for issues like crushing garlic cloves, however the form additionally makes it heavy for its dimension — and every santoku is a bit completely different in top, size, and weight.
One other design facet to search for is a Granton edge. This can be a collection of divots carved into the blade that create air pockets so meals does not stick. It is an particularly useful function should you plan to slice lots of meat, cheese, and different moist or sticky components.
Deal with Materials and Design
It does not matter how sharp the blade is; if a knife is painful to carry or slips out of your hand, it isn’t a great knife. There are many completely different deal with shapes out there, and I discover that the most effective ones are neither completely spherical nor completely sq.. Sharp corners are safe within the hand, however they don’t seem to be notably comfy. 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.
By way of 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, it’s best to take a look at the feel, which may vary from completely easy (straightforward to wash however doubtlessly slippery) to tough and sandpapery (good for grip however can maintain onto bits of meals). One other deal with design facet to concentrate to is the rivets that join the deal with and blade: Ideally, these ought to really feel completely easy, with no gaps the place corrosion can start to kind.
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Weight and Steadiness
Santokus are pretty gentle knives basically: Those I examined ranged in weight from 3.5 to eight.8 ounces. This isn’t meant to be a knife that is powerful to raise, however there was a noticeable distinction in really feel between fashions. A heavier knife does not provide as a lot management, however the weight helps lower by means of powerful 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 essential as general weight is weight steadiness. Ideally, the deal with and blade offset one another completely, which makes the knife as secure as doable and offers 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 means of meals, whereas a knife that is balanced towards the deal with needs to tug the blade backward out of the meals.
Incessantly Requested Questions
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What’s a santoku knife?
A santoku is an all-purpose knife that may cope with most on a regular basis components within the kitchen. It has an analogous design to a European-style chef’s knife, however the blade is often a bit shorter and lighter, with a slight curve on the underside that permits you to use a rocking or up-and-down chopping movement. The santoku combines design components of three completely different Japanese knife kinds: the nakiri, designed for greens, the gyuto, made for slicing meat, and the deba, supposed for filleting fish.
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What’s a santoku knife used for?
Properly, absolutely anything. The identify 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 could possibly be meat, fish, and greens; or slicing, dicing, and chopping.) You should utilize a santoku nearly anyplace you’d use a chef’s knife.
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How do you sharpen a santoku?
You may sharpen most santokus the identical means you’d sharpen any kitchen knife. Any whetstone, guide sharpener, or electrical sharpener ought to have the ability to deal with the blade form.
However some santokus are single-bevel, which 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 doable to sharpen a single-bevel santoku at dwelling, but it surely requires extra superior strategies. You are most likely finest getting a single-bevel knife sharpened professionally.
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What ought to a santoku knife not be used for?
You should utilize 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 precise selection for breaking down giant cuts of meat, or something that requires hacking by means of bones. You desire a thick meat cleaver as an alternative. To make skinny, correct slices of crusty breads and delicate uncooked tomatoes, a serrated bread knife is finest. And for detailed, delicate work like slicing garnishes or sculpting a centerpiece, a small paring knife could possibly be the precise selection.
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 a fantastic job in my exams. The rationale it isn’t on my checklist 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 means and the Masamoto was the one one with this downside, so it is loads much less forgiving than rivals in terms of care. (Notably, Masamoto’s nakiri didn’t discolor in my nakiri testing and was my choose for finest 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. Nevertheless, 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 means of the garlic.
Victorinox 7-Inch Rosewood Santoku ($67 at Amazon)
This wood-handled santoku is a superb price range purchase, with a particularly sharp blade that carried out significantly better than I anticipated given the light-weight design and plain wood deal with. It might have been my choose for the most effective 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 nasty performer; the fashions not included above simply fell a bit behind the remainder, both in efficiency or worth. All 5 come from manufacturers that we belief and which have produced winners in different knife class exams: International, Mac, Misen, Shun, and Wüsthof.
Our Experience
Meals & Wine senior author Jason Horn examined 12 santokus at dwelling 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 Critical Eats. Our resident knife-testing professional, he is additionally examined and reviewed butcher knives, meat cleavers, oyster knives, brisket slicers, and extra.
