Do you santoku?

[Jenise]

I have never picked out my own knives. Rather, I recognized early on in my marriage that all things kitchen and orderable on the internet would make perfect gift opportunities for a grateful husband who loves to buy for me but never knows quite what to buy, so I have only had to think out loud that there's a shape or size I'd like to have, and voila!, I have rarely had to live through one more holiday before it shows up. It also means that my stuff is a hodgepodge of various makes, mostly Henckels and Wusthof that are at least satisfactory regardless of what I would now, all these years later, ultimately choose for myself. And I actually like the mix--the handles are all just different enough that I can usually eyeball the knife I want without having to pull it out of the block to see the blade.

When the santokus first became popular, I didn't think I wanted or needed one. I had never used a cleaver type knife and when Bob started sniffing around about my desires for one, I discouraged him. So what he did, to my surprise, was buy me another 10" chef's knife, my weapon of choice, with santoku-type bevels. I've never warmed to it--that is, I like it fine, but I use it fairly interchangeably with the other 10" chef's knife and have never developed a preference for it vs. the unbeveled one. Then last summer we had a need for a reasonable knife to take on campouts and stuff so at TJ Maxx, I spent $25 on a Calphalon brand santoku knife for our picnic bag. Not sure of the size, but it's a larger one, probably 9".

Anyway, come winter it migrated into the house and got blended into my collection. And the other day when I went to chop some parsley, I realized that for the second day in a row for the same task, I found myself reaching past the two big chef's knifes to grab that santoku. And three days before when I had to peel and slice almost ten pounds of naval oranges, it was the santoku I'd reached for as well. Completely without realizing it, that lowly discount store purchase has become my favorite knife. It holds an edge better than either of my chef's knives so it's always sharp and ready to work, and there's something about that bull nose and slight curvature of the blade that just fits the way I do things. So of course now I'm wondering how much happier I'd be with a real race horse of a santoku--which is not a question anyone can answer for me, I'm just thinking out loud.

But I am wondering if anyone else has developed a similar affection for their santoku?

I know what you mean. Don't have a santoku (but am now very tempted), but I found the same thing with my cheap old Chinese cleaver. Unconsciously, I'd skip over my Henkels and other fancy knives and grab it any time I wanted to do something that required precision cutting.

I recently purchased a 7" santoku by Shun. I love love love that knife. I use it for pretty much everything, and sometimes find myself saying, "Patti, you really need to use a paring knife for this job". I had the opportunity to try out some knives at a cooking class and really liked the feel of this one. It fits my hand well. And the curved blade does a lot of the work for me.

[Robin Garr]

Santoku? You mean that crossword kind of game where you put numbers in? Never have really warmed up to it.

Oh, the knife! Never mind! I wrote an article praising it (and sold quite a few through Amazon) a couple of years ago, and I still have the Wusthof Santoku that I purchased to write about.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 51013.html

I loved it when it was new. Now I like it. I keep it handy and tend to use it most often for jobs that remind me of sushi - cutting fish, etc.

But curiously, after the attraction of novelty wore off, I realized what I should have known all along: I have a simple, well-kept, sturdy and still like-new 8-inch Chicago Cutlery chef's knife, and I love it. I've had it for at least 25 years, it's still like new, and it fits my hand like it was made to go there.

Sure, I like my Santoku. But I love my old reliable chef's knife. When my hand reaches out for a knife, it almost invariably goes to my one true love.

Anyway, come winter it migrated into the house and got blended into my collection. And the other day when I went to chop some parsley, I realized that for the second day in a row for the same task, I found myself reaching past the two big chef's knifes to grab that santoku. And three days before when I had to peel and slice almost ten pounds of naval oranges, it was the santoku I'd reached for as well. Completely without realizing it, that lowly discount store purchase has become my favorite knife. It holds an edge better than either of my chef's knives so it's always sharp and ready to work, and there's something about that bull nose and slight curvature of the blade that just fits the way I do things. So of course now I'm wondering how much happier I'd be with a real race horse of a santoku--which is not a question anyone can answer for me, I'm just thinking out loud.

But I am wondering if anyone else has developed a similar affection for their santoku?

Jenise, I don't have santoku knives, but when you are ready to replace all the nice knives you have, bundle them up and tell me the price shipping included, and I will gladly send you a check!

I got a 17cm Wusthof a couple of years ago and it is my go-to for virtually everything, especially for anything very thinly sliced or minced. The only other knives I use regularly are a Henkel 10-inch chef and 5-inch utility.

I used to love my Ming Tsai Kyocera ceramic small chef's knife but it has dulled and chipped and I'm too lazy to send it in for sharpening.

Honestly when I read the header I thought it was going to be about the macrobiotic diet. You know, "sanpaku" -- a way your eyes look when you are unhealthy.

Which is weird because I also use my Santoku knife every time I walk into the kitchen. "San" means three in Japanese, and my colleague Fumio says it means that it will do "three good things" which is something like cutting meat, vegetables and, um, fruit? Sanpaku means "three sided" -- you see the white around three sides of the iris.

Does your Santoku have Kullenschliff grinding? I like that too although I am not sure it really helps in the way that it's supposed to. Slices still stick to my knife.

F

Adore them, Jenise. I now own two - a Furi one with scallops to stop it sticking, and a Felix Solingen one that was on sale and I couldn't resist. My main cutting knife. I find them aesthetically pleasing and less aggressive looking - it's probably a girl thing.

Swore I wouldn't buy one for myself. My sister gave me one as a present and I use it as my preferred chef's knife. It has the right balance of size/weight/handle fit and sharpness that makes a terrific difference. When I first started using it I was surprised at how little effort I was expending compared to my old chef's knives.
Sorry- can't remember the brand but it is very sharp and has remained so for 2 years now.
This year she sent me a beautiful boning knife. Different brand but same balance and I use it all the time. The right knife for the right job - you're not struggling.

Yes, I Santoku. I have two Wüsthof Santoku, a larger and a smaller one. I love the 'granton edge' for it's ease in releasing thin cuts and how it holds the sharp edge. They each serve a purpose in my kitchen. I have heard cooks say that the Santoku do not "rock" as well as the Chef's knives and I suppose it is true. But I do not find that to be a negative, they are just different. They are my "go to" knives as are my Kryocera Chef's Knife and the paring knife.

I was using mine again tonight, and it really is gorgeous. The graceful top curve, the cute little scallops. I thought to myself, "if knives had gender, the chef's knife is very definitely male, but the santoku is all lady.."

Sigh. And then I thought..

"That ain't no lady, that's my knife..."

Completely without realizing it, that lowly discount store purchase has become my favorite knife. It holds an edge better than either of my chef's knives so it's always sharp and ready to work, and there's something about that bull nose and slight curvature of the blade that just fits the way I do things.

But I am wondering if anyone else has developed a similar affection for their santoku?

Funny thing. When we got the place in NC, we had to furnish it from scratch--from furniture, to bedding, to kitchen items. While I have some really nice knives back in CA--a 10" Chicago Cutlery Chef's knife (that was given to me by a chef I used to work with) and a six inch Henkel with the most comfortable handle -- I wasn't ready to put any effort into a major knife purchase while just trying to stock a basic kitchen here. During a housewares/linens buying spree at I think Ross Dress for Less (which is the only one of those discount places we have nearby) I grabbed a two-pack of Kitchen Aid Santoku knives -- one six inch and one about 3 inches, as well as an Oxo chef's knife with a really comfortable slightly squishy rubber handle. I figured I could get by on those until I could get to a Williams Sonoma or somewhere similar. Well, this is our third summer here and I still have not replaced those knives and don't think I will in the near future. I reach for the Santoku and the Oxo equally as often. Their blades are both still as sharp as the day I bought them. Needless to say they exceded my expectations.

I figure I'll santoku until I need glasses.

I have a santoku, but I gotta admit, I invariably reach for my #4 carbon steel cleaver.

No, I don't santoku. I gyuto, and takohiki. I will soon deba, too.

rwj

Jenise,

I am not very knife knowledgeable and I had never heard of these. So after reading this post I researched them and I think I could be very happy with one of these. As you know, I normally use a steak knife for most of my work...I think this would be much better. I added a 7" Henckel Santoku to my wishlist (heck, it's only $11.40!).

I have 4 shun knives, but none in the santoku shape, so will have to get one to see if it becomes my favorite. I do love the Shun knives and I use them more than any other knives in my kitchen, which like yours, has been equipped mainly by my husband listening to me say, "Oh I wish I had a (blank) to work with". Since I am running out of space to keep ANYTHING, I have to be very careful what I wish for!

"That ain't no lady, that's my knife...";)

Celia,

You are an absolute ratbag!

Luv ya,
JB

I have five knives - all relatively inexpensive, that I use regularly. A small paring knife, a 6" "utility" knife that is getting worn out from hundreds of honings, and three relatively large knives, in the 8" bracket: a stiff boning knife, a chef's knife and a santoku-style knife, but it doesn't have the fancy expensive scallops. Hoechsner, Victorinox, and unlabeled, all bought at a restaurant supply place that closed after the owners retired.

I use them for what seems best. For instance, I made an apricot upside down cake this afternoon. The paring knife was what I picked to cut the cots. And I used the boning knife to slice up a culotte steak to make fajitas for supper.
The santoku-ish knife finds most of its use when I'm doing a lot of chopping, such as making spaghetti sauce.

Often if I happen to have a knife out, I'll use it for whatever. I'm not really very particular.

John

While I do in fact have some pretty nifty knives, I don't think knife choice is that big a deal.

I think this is definitely one of those instances where it's the singer, not the song.

Much like John above I find that I can do just about any "knifing" job with whatever knife happens to be in my hand.

Folks can basically be broken down into two groups it seems to me - the "equipment" people and the "doers." I had a line cook years ago when I was cheffing in Sausalito - he had the spiffiest knife set I'd ever seen. (Grad of one of the large culinary schools.) BIG array. All the other line cooks were envious.

Unfortunately he was lazy as hell and couldn't cook. I fired him.

Hmmm, I'm lazy as hell, but I *can* cook. Where do I fall on your spectrum?

Jenise,

I am not very knife knowledgeable and I had never heard of these. So after reading this post I researched them and I think I could be very happy with one of these. As you know, I normally use a steak knife for most of my work...I think this would be much better. I added a 7" Henckel Santoku to my wishlist (heck, it's only $11.40!).

Maria, I think that you will, most likely, enjoy the santoku. This type of knife had actually been developed in Japan (before the 1980's, I believe) as a smaller, light-weight knife that would be suitable for the small hands of a woman. It really wasn't intended to be an all-purpose knife at all as it was made to make cleaving and chopping easier for women.

Eventually someone in the west saw the design as the quintessential Japanese style and they caught on like wild fire over here (sometime in the mid-1980's is the first I remember seeing them). I can't remember what company first introduced them.

I have to agree with Chef, though. It is a case of the singer and not the song. While I have just gotten some knives custom made in Japan, and just adore them, I had them made with specific jobs in mind (all purpose, sashimi, etc.). If I were to take a picture of all of my knives you would see that I have two really fine knives (Watanabe) and six knives that are probably worth $10 total. I can do just about any job with any knife I happen to be holding. I have actually de-boned a chicken with a pairing knife before.

rwj

[Jenise]

I have to agree with Chef, though. It is a case of the singer and not the song. While I have just gotten some knives custom made in Japan, and just adore them, I had them made with specific jobs in mind (all purpose, sashimi, etc.). If I were to take a picture of all of my knives you would see that I have two really fine knives (Watanabe) and six knives that are probably worth $10 total. I can do just about any job with any knife I happen to be holding. I have actually de-boned a chicken with a pairing knife before.

rwj

I agree with him, too, actually. I don't need most of the knives I have, but because they were gifts I can't get rid of them. I've always thought that all I really need is one 10" chef, a boning knife, a serrated tomato or bread blade, and for a myriad of special occasions my beveled ham knife (best slicer for cheese and soft/fragile stuff like some terrines, as well as being indispensible if one happens to order a whole Spanish ham leg) and about six paring knives so I can always grab a clean one. My affection for this santoku knife just snuck up on me.

Hmmm, I'm lazy as hell, but I *can* cook. Where do I fall on your spectrum?

In the immortal words of Wilberforce Humphries, that's neither here nor there with me.

However, you would be forced to fall on your own sword if you were a lazy line cook. Your peers would not abide it. In all my years in the professional kitchen I have fired maybe a half dozen people. Not a task I enjoy. Nor was it one I had to perform terribly often. There is a code among line cooks. They take care of their own.

5 years and I am still happy...http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=2&tid=45596&mid=382459

Kudos to Robin Garr for archiving our old posts. There is some really great stuff there.