Help me buy a beautiful santoku

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guyskr

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Hi guys, my gf's dad asked me to help hem buy a santoku for his wife and daughters, so I need your help :wink:

It's really improtent that the knife will look good for the ladies, so I'll say that a nice handle is a must and damascus steel is a bouns.
Also, the knife should be stainless, or at least have a stainless cladding :)

I thought about this one - http://www.knivesandstones.com/tana...u-165mm-with-custom-octagonal-bubinga-handle/ altough it's way lower then the price limit.

LOCATION
What country are you in? Israel, but have family in the US



KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
santoku

Are you right or left handed?
right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
wa, preferably a semi-custom

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
around 165mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
or at least a stainless cladding

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
the budget is around 250$, but he's the kind of guy that will pay a lot more if he'll really really like the knife.


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
Every day knife, so mainly vegetables, but really everything

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
a 150mm global petty

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
Three different girls, three different grips

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)
Same as above

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
staying sharp, getting sharper and easier, looking better :)

Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
damascus is a bonus, and so is a beautiful handle

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
lighter, and good balance

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Defiantly easy to use

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
Good, but don't need to be extreme.



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Wood

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
No

Thank to all you guys!
 
Consider a search for Kikuichi Swedish warikomi damascus santoku. The one with a wa handle on CKTG looks pretty nice.
 
The Tanaka at Knives and Stones is not stainless - it is a blue paper steel core clad in carbon damascus.

It's a bit more than your target price, but the Bob Kramer Meiji by Zwilling is a good candidate. Visually striking stainless damascus, hybrid wa-handle and a nice profile with good geometry.

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-2138840/Bob+Kramer+Meiji+Santoku+by+Zwilling+J+A+Henckels

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He really likes the kikuichi. Does anyone have any experience with it?
 
They already have a heiji gyuto, so they want a thinner one too.
Is the watanabe thin?

These are the specs of Santoku i have:

Overall Length (mm) 308.5

The Handle
Handle Material Burnt Chestnut & Buffalo Horn
Shape D-Shaped
Length 127.5
Width(at thickest part) 27.2


The Blade
Steel Type Yasuki blue steel core with stainless outer
Hardness HRC 63-65
Blade Finish Kurouchi
Handle to Tip Length 181.0
Heel to Tip Length 169.0
Blade Height at Heel 50.7

Width of Spine
At The Handle 4.1
Above The Heel 3.3
At The Middle 2.2
1cm From The Tip 1.7

Cross Section, Halfway
At Spine 2.2
2cm from edge 2.0
1cm from edge 1.7
0.5cm from edge 1.2
 
Seems pretty nice!
How much does it weighs?
Is it blade heavy?
 
I like santokus myself too. If I was to buy a stainless one, I'd probably go for a Gesshin Ginga or one of these fancy Takamura Uchigumo blades. The latter comes with Western handle only, as far as I know. The Gesshin Ginga speaks for itself and you could get that one from a JKI and support a KKF-member!

Another intersting knife from JKI would be Gesshin Uraku. This is SKD steel with stainless cladding.
 
Seems pretty nice!
How much does it weighs?
Is it blade heavy?

My scale ran out of batteries and still looking for a new ones. It is blade heavy, tipping point is about 2.5cm from the handle. The D-handle itself is very comfortable, feels a bit oversized in the hand and compensates a bit for the tilt. It been in my rotation for 2 months now and I currently my go-to knife for most of the work.
 
If they want really really thin, I'd go with the Wakui (either Nashiji or Kasumi). My Wakui is about as thin as my Kochi, which is insanely thin. I think both CKTG and Bernal have them with semi custom handles.
 
If they want really really thin, I'd go with the Wakui (either Nashiji or Kasumi). My Wakui is about as thin as my Kochi, which is insanely thin. I think both CKTG and Bernal have them with semi custom handles.

I would highly recommend a Wakui, I have a 180mm Gyuto and the F&F and performance are unbelievable at that price range. I would recommend purchasing from cleancut.se you can get a Santouka for ~$150 shipped. There is no option to order online to the US, but just email them and they take direct payment through paypal and will get you your package to your door in about a week!
 
They do look really nice!
Which do you recommend more, the nashiji or the kasumi? :)
 
They do look really nice!
Which do you recommend more, the nashiji or the kasumi? :)

I have only tried the Kasumi, though based on choil shots of both Kasumi and Nashiji I would lean towards the Kasumi. I'm sure both are great though!
 
I agree with mikedtran that the choil shots on the Nashiji don't look as thin as the Kasumi, but I have a couple of Nashijis and they're all super super thin, so it really just depends. Based on the shots I've seen, the Nashiji gyutos also don't look as tall as the Kasumis, but I don't think that's really the case either. When I bought my Nashijis, I specifically requested that they pick out really thin ones for me though, so that might be something you want to do too. I've tried both finishes and it's really just a matter of which you think looks better. :)
 
Hey what do you guys think of the stainless clad Hiromoto AS santokus up on JCK? Pakka wood or linen micarta handle whats better? I'm moving in with the girlfriend and need something at least stainless clad, so this thread is great :D
 
Hey what do you guys think of the stainless clad Hiromoto AS santokus up on JCK?

I have one (though not from JCK), and it's a very nice knife. Very thin--thinner than my Kono HD. I use gyutos more now, but it's a nice knife. Seems like a good number of Hiromotos need thinning to really perform well, but there is some variability.
 
If you can wait, how about Heji's semi-stainless santoku shipped to you from japan?
 
He has one heiji SS, so I think he would like to try somthing else :)
 
Does anyone have any experience with this knife takamura r2 Damascus? The knife looks really nice and I love the bluster and the full tang.
 
How do you like the blade on the other knifes?
Is the steel really hard sharpen?
The f&f looks really nice on the pictures. Is that the case?
 
Blades look and cut well, pretty thin therefore flat too. This has pros/cons. No complaints from me.

Haven't sharpened yet as I'm getting the wood on the handles replaced (for aesthetics, stock handles are fine otherwise). Can't be any more difficult than the other Takamura R2 knives with the red handles.

Some may find the edge of the bolster or choil sharp, this doesn't bother me, I've seen some on other knives that was almost unbearable. Can always file/sand to the end user preference. Compare to a Miyabi 5000MCD-B which is slightly chamfered ootb and you'll understand the difference.
 
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