In 180mm size, which one is better, Santoku or Gyuto?

Hey guys, need your input if I may please, for quick and light chopping, which one would be better if size is strictly 180mm? (Knife in mind is Fujiwara Teruyasu Maboroshi)

Purpose:
Light preparation, strictly no cutting of raw proteins, 95% of the time it will be used to cut vegies, onion, shallots etc for 2-3 people only.

Knife Skill level: normal people

Thanks

The gyuto has the better tip and its curve allows forward motions as with 'guillotine and glide'. Santoku is wider, if that matters.

i think a taller 180mm gyuto would be great. My hiromoto 185mm is about 47 to 48 in height and its lovely for small meals.

Gyuto

I'd lean toward santoku - gyuto is general purpose but specific application for veggies and aromatics is essentially nakiri work. I find the santoku to be best for the same tasks as the nakiri, except with the curved profile and point that many Westerners are accustomed to having on a knife so there's less new technique to learn. It probably comes down to the cutting style though -- for the GG/locomotive action the gyuto is likely better.

Looking at Teruyasu's website, from the picture it looks like the 180mm santoku is higher (more blade) compared to the 180mm gyuto?

But I can't be 100% sure as it's just from pics...

These are the pics of the 2 knives:

http://www.teruyasu.net/upload/save_image/07141422_5001020bcc6fe.jpg

http://www.teruyasu.net/upload/save_image/07141428_5001037893378.jpg

djmm said:

Looking at Teruyasu's website, from the picture it looks like the 180mm santoku is higher (more blade) compared to the 180mm gyuto?

But I can't be 100% sure as it's just from pics...

These are the pics of the 2 knives:

http://www.teruyasu.net/upload/save_image/07141422_5001020bcc6fe.jpg

http://www.teruyasu.net/upload/save_image/07141428_5001037893378.jpg

Click to expand...

i can actually confirm this, and the shape usually is more k tip looking for the santoku (a bit diff than the photo) - at least this is what I saw from the quite a few in his shop.

The Santoku is known as a versatile blade and with good reason. You can forward push, chop, peel, even slice with one. In general they are taller than a gyuto of same length.

Have restored some Japanese knives from the 1940's. They are flatter profiles with drop nose tips. Even my Carter 140mm looks more like a Santoku than a western chef blade.

Not saying one knife is better than another, like a sharp pointed tip on a petty.

Is their gyuto taller than usual too?

djmm said:

Is their gyuto taller than usual too?

Click to expand...

no but it can vary to a great degree.

Comparing those two specific knives I'd now go with gyuto.

I just remember that TF knives can vary in dimensions by quite a bit. So looks like it might not matter what I chose i might get gyuto looking santoku or santoku looking gyuto lol

As long as not deba looking gyuto i am fine I guess lol

djmm said:

I just remember that TF knives can vary in dimensions by quite a bit. So looks like it might not matter what I chose i might get gyuto looking santoku or santoku looking gyuto lol

As long as not deba looking gyuto i am fine I guess lol

Click to expand...

he has quite a number of premade blades in his store, i recommend reaching out to them to make sure you get a tall santoku or tall gyuto.

Another consideration is if you have other favourite knives in combination with this one. At 180 a Santoku is more of a nakiri with a gyutos tip. A Gyuto at 180 is closer to a petty and Gyuto combination.

I went with nakiri 180 and a Gyuto 180. If I only had 1, it would likely be a Santoku 180.

Last note: height is great for push cutting, especially for vegetables. Lower height is ideal for precision work and slicing.

Well, asked my missus and I told her that she may find Santoku not suitable for rock chopping, but Gyuto can still do Santoku's push cut, so we decided to try the short 180mm gyuto. (We got Misono UX10 Santoku as well). Hope this is not too similar to the 210mm Gyuto we ordered earlier.

I have a 180mm TF Gyuto and it's quite santoku-ish. With the variation from knife to knife I think it's almost a coin toss

+1 badge
Here's my 180 Watanabe ats-34 'gyuto'

May look like a fat tip but it's plenty thin enough for most things. Good heel height.

Wow if you didn't tell me I'd guess it's a santoku

Badgertooth said:

I have a 180mm TF Gyuto and it's quite santoku-ish. With the variation from knife to knife I think it's almost a coin toss

Click to expand...

That's what I thought too. I know this sounds crazy but I kinda like the aspect of not knowing what sort of dimension knife you will get - it gives you the element of surprise.

Badgertooth said:

I have a 180mm TF Gyuto and it's quite santoku-ish. With the variation from knife to knife I think it's almost a coin toss

Click to expand...

Hey Badgertooth, how does your 180 compare to you new 240 regarding evenness of grind etc?

Here's a comment thread on a knifewear IG post which is interesting in its own right as my red-handled, expensive 240 has the swordsmith stamp and is palpably of a better quality than the 180 which does not have the stamp

Badgertooth said:

Here's a comment thread on a knifewear IG post which is interesting in its own right as my red-handled, expensive 240 has the swordsmith stamp and is palpably of a better quality than the 180 which does not have the stamp

Click to expand...

not sure though, knifewear never replied to my follow up question hehe.

Well I have ordered the knife, so when it arrives I'll update you guys with some pic to see what gyuto lottery I have won lol
But we're just the average joe home cook, so I doubt minute difference in geometry really affects us in real life usage.

djmm said:

Well I have ordered the knife, so when it arrives I'll update you guys with some pic to see what gyuto lottery I have won lol
But we're just the average joe home cook, so I doubt minute difference in geometry really affects us in real life usage.

Click to expand...

that's my thoughts as well unless you really grind down that knife where any major low spots or high spots on the knife becomes an issue. I really sharpened my Hiromoto 185 honyaki alot - as it was my learning knife and it's lost ONLY 1.5mm at most LOL.

Oh wow, what is the heel height of your Hiromoto santoku now?

wind88 said:

Oh wow, what is the heel height of your Hiromoto santoku now?

Click to expand...

about very close to 47, maybe 46.75. New one is 48mm i believe as per Koki's page back then and it was accurate when i measured it when it was new.

I think I've heard a nakiri profile described as the back half of a very long gyuto... would this model apply to a santoku too, if you view it as a nakiri with an emergency tip?

LifeByA1000Cuts said:

I think I've heard a nakiri profile described as the back half of a very long gyuto... would this model apply to a santoku too, if you view it as a nakiri with an emergency tip?

Click to expand...

Pretty much a good way of thinking of it. The Santoku tip will never compete with a petty or a Gyuto tip, but if you wanted a single blade to do most jobs in a home or low volume prep, it is great!

As always, it depends. Some santokus are almost flat, with a very, very low tip. Not so funny with a forward motion as in 'guillotine & glide'. No problem though with a rounded 'tip' as with a good nakiri.
If the tip is a bit higher, difference with a small typical Japanese gyuto isn't that large.

Benuser said:

As always, it depends. Some santokus are almost flat, with a very, very low tip. Not so funny with a forward motion as in 'guillotine & glide'. No problem though with a rounded 'tip' as with a good nakiri.
If the tip is a bit higher, difference with a small typical Japanese gyuto isn't that large.

Click to expand...

Do you guys guillotine and glide with a 180mm? For me it is too short unless for herbs where guillotine height is less of an issue.