Why do you hate santokus?

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Greenbriel

Greenbriel

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Sorry for the inflammatory subject 😀

They seem to get much less love here than other styles. Am I wrong? Interested to hear your thoughts.
 
Patinated said:
Maybe you dont see many Santokus on BST because everyone love them so much that they dont wanna sell theirs ;)

I personally love them and use them the most.
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Thanks! I don't use them the most, that's gyutos, but I have three or so and I like them as much as any other style when it feels like the right tool.
 
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👍
 
No hate. Just dont prefer them.

I also don't often recommend them, since almost every time i would opt for a gyuto in the same size. Thats just me though.
 
Lots of thread's on this already with answers ranging from "they aren't good at anything, I'd rather use a gyuto" (somewhat valid) to "its a woman's knife" (absurd).

I think in general its because we're hobbyists and optimizers. There is nothing a santoku does that another knife - petty, nakiri, small suji - couldn't do better so most people want just the right tool. On the other hand, I quite like mine, and not just because it is top tier steel. Its great for nights where I want to quickly break down a chicken, cut a few veggies, and chop some herbs and alliums with just one knife to clean up. Could I do that better with 2-4 different knives, duh, but the santoku works well enough.
 
Greenbriel said:
Sorry for the inflammatory subject 😀

They seem to get much less love here than other styles. Am I wrong? Interested to hear your thoughts.
Click to expand...
I cringe every time I see a TV celebrity chef brought up on Western chef knives trying to do justice to a Santoku. Personally though there are other knife styles I prefer
 
ethompson said:
Lots of thread's on this already with answers ranging from "they aren't good at anything, I'd rather use a gyuto" (somewhat valid) to "its a woman's knife" (absurd).

I think in general its because we're hobbyists and optimizers. There is nothing a santoku does that another knife - petty, nakiri, small suji - couldn't do better so most people want just the right tool. On the other hand, I quite like mine, and not just because it is top tier steel. Its great for nights where I want to quickly break down a chicken, cut a few veggies, and chop some herbs and alliums with just one knife to clean up. Could I do that better with 2-4 different knives, duh, but the santoku works well enough.
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Excellent reply, thank you. Apologies for a repeat thread.
 
For me, it's less about the knife category as much as it is about the individual specific knife. Sure, there's generalizations but these days there's a ton of crossover so I won't just rule out a knife with the santoku moniker attached. Profile, weight, height, steel, grind, all of those things are what I care about.

I like knives in the 180ish length. That's an interesting length to enjoy as there's limited offerings in all the makes. Santoku, bunka, and nakiri options are prevalent in the 165 range and of course gyutos ramp up in the 210 range. So when I have new-knife itch, I study all the categories.

That Yoshi I showed is a 180 and I doubt I'd like it as much in a 165. But, I damn sure won't kick it out of bed, er, off the strip because it's called a santoku! Yes it's flat at the back but it's an easy adjustment. Its performance eclipses some of my 180 and 210 gyutos.

Show me the knife, not the title. ;)
 
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I actually like Santokus but a lot of highly desireable knives simply don't come in that form. I certainly haven't found any FM or Tetsujin Santokus.
 
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