Santoku knives are similar to Western-style chef’s knives with a few key differences in size and shape. The longest Santoku you are going to get is 7 inches. The Santoku is great for slicing vegetables, fruit, or chicken. Get it as soon as Fri, Oct 9. The added weight and wide blade means you can use the flat of the knife to crush garlic, ginger, or anything else you want to render into a pulpy mess. Like a chef knife, the Santoku knife can be used for almost any cutting task. An example of this limitation can be demonstrated in dicing an onion—a Western knife generally slices downward and then rocks the tip forward to complete a cut; the Santoku relies more on a single downward cut and even landing from heel to tip, thus using less of a rocking motion than Western style cutlery. Blackened Fish Tacos with Creamy Coleslaw. Santoku is a word that refers to three cutting tasks in the kitchen. Buy on Wayfair. German knives use slightly "softer" steel, but have more material behind their cutting edge. Most professional chefs prefer those made of steel for their durability and high corrosion resistance. If you buy a traditional Santoku knife, which, as mentioned, are meant to use in a slicing or chopping motion rather than a rocking motion like we often use Western-style chef knives, you may find yourself uncomfortable. But, I have to be honest with you, most of what we’ve heard about this Japanese wonder, in my opinion, seems to be a Food Network creation. It’s quite amazing to think that the nakiri knife still has a place in the world today. It means ‘the three virtues’. It’s especially popular with female chefs, and Giada de Laurentiis uses one religiously. It’s a bit odd that this knife should become some elite and trendy professional tool. Santoku are derived a lot from japanese vegetable knives (nakiri), and are optimized - flatter though not completely flat profile, harder material on a quality knife - for techniques where the pivot point is the hand/wrist of the user and the knife is lifted off the board in its entirety between cuts. But, I have to be honest with you, most of what we’ve heard about this Japanese wonder, in my opinion, seems to be a Food Network creation. Besides just being a guard, the inward curving design of the bolster allows you to choke up on the handle and place your finger along the guard giving you more control of the knife. A santoku knife, like already mentioned, offers great balance and is comfortable for … Typically a cook’s knife comes to mind as most people think about knives. A sheep's foot design essentially draws the spine ("backstrap") down to the front, with very little clearance above the horizontal cutting plane when the blade is resting naturally from heel to forward cutting edge. $184.95$184.95 $231.00. In view of its uses, the three virtues of a Santoku knife are “meat, fish, and vegetables” however it is also popularly referring to the three main functions of a knife, “chopping, slicing, and dicing”. For the average user, a German-style knife is easier to sharpen, but a Santoku knife, if used as designed, will hold its edge longer. Ironically, the Santoku craze in the United States has led to most currently available knives being made with a more curved blade, making them more like the Western chef’s knife. With few exceptions, Santoku knives typically have no bolster, sometimes incorporate "scalloped" sides, also known as a Granton edge, and maintain a more uniform thickness from spine to blade. The most all-purpose knife. This knife is not used the whole blade for cutting. 4-7/8" Double-D®-edge blade.