Yoshikane – Tsuchime SKD-12 Santoku 180mm
326 / 198 / 184 … 54 / 43 / 30 … 3.7 / 1.9 / 1.7 / 0.9 … +20 … 151g … ****
Long (Total/Blade/Edge)… High (Heel/Half/Tip -35)… Thick (Heel/Half/Tip -35/Tip -10)…
Balance (Chin = 0)… Weight… Cutting OOTB ( * Poor ** Avg *** Good **** Great)
Not much to say that most wouldn’t know, Yoshikane is a “common household name”… for those who love Japanese knives. After giving (at last!) my Diplôme Santoku to a friend, I wanted to combine my somewhat unsatisfactory experience with a Nakiri (Mazaki 188/56) and a Bunka (Matsubara 176/53) into a knife I would use for similar purposes but in a profile that suits my somewhat general tasking better. Enters this knife… and the very last Santoku I'll ever shell money on. That one is here to stay though.
FIT & FINISH: 5.5/6
Handle: 1.5/2
Aesthetics, Ergonomics
The Magnolia D-shape is pretty much oblivious here but does its job fine, and the buffalo horn ferrule is mirror-polished smooth, and well-shaped too. The magnolia wood was not lacquered nor otherwise protected much OOTB, and after only a mild cleanup of the knife immediately turned rough and flaky. I seem to remember that my Mazaki Nakiri (only other Magnolia I ever used) did the very same thing. Easily remedied and prepped for the long run, still warranted my standard average 0.5 point where aesthetics is concerned – got to admit I dig sober traditional looks and this handle is in the ballpark for expected quality at the price.
As always with Wa handles so far, I’m pleased with the spacious grip ergonomics of a longer neck, and here find the 20mm forward balance to sit with this knife perfectly; the tall heel makes it natural to use a choke pinch in finer details, but for most cuts my usual light pinch feels highly natural too. Contrary to my expectations, I like the D-shape handle fine after all (although I prefer octagonals) and this seals the deal where this knife is concerned, for I wouldn’t want the balance point to shift elsewhere. I really thought it might be my first re-handle – but it seems I am not very difficult in these matters.
Blade: 2/2
Choil, Spine
We get a perfectly rounded spine, a solid smoothing of the choil, yielding – with the blade being cut without a fault – full marks on this criterion. At that price this is simply in the awesome category of having your fingers welcomed to use. I’d say it’s a perfect example of the level of attention to details that we’d all like to be a given no matter the price paid.
Finish: 2/2
Aesthetics, Maintenance
Outstanding is the word that comes to mind, where obviously the sand-blasted bevels go for a bit of an easy process there, but is not overdone. The whole blade is aptly and skillfully brought to consistency and a high level of refinement, quietly imposing yet still somewhat made oblivious. Nothing is superfluous nor superficial as much as part of a highly honed process of making a knife that will feel and look just nice enough to allow full focus on its task.
As would be expected with the stainless cladding, and according with the highly functional vibe of this knife, maintenance is as easy as can be with even the low alloy core being very well behaved, truly allowing to treat this blade pretty much like you would a stainless. After three-four preps and some letting it lay aside either dirty or wet or both for some fleeting cooking minutes, there’s just traces of a dark blue patina that start to show haphazardly along the core which otherwise doesn’t even look darkened whatsoever. Garlic or shallots or onions were a part of each prep too. That's a blanket statement - garlic or shallots or onions are always part of any prep if I'm cooking something that needs me make use of a knife.
326 / 198 / 184 … 54 / 43 / 30 … 3.7 / 1.9 / 1.7 / 0.9 … +20 … 151g … ****
Long (Total/Blade/Edge)… High (Heel/Half/Tip -35)… Thick (Heel/Half/Tip -35/Tip -10)…
Balance (Chin = 0)… Weight… Cutting OOTB ( * Poor ** Avg *** Good **** Great)
Not much to say that most wouldn’t know, Yoshikane is a “common household name”… for those who love Japanese knives. After giving (at last!) my Diplôme Santoku to a friend, I wanted to combine my somewhat unsatisfactory experience with a Nakiri (Mazaki 188/56) and a Bunka (Matsubara 176/53) into a knife I would use for similar purposes but in a profile that suits my somewhat general tasking better. Enters this knife… and the very last Santoku I'll ever shell money on. That one is here to stay though.
FIT & FINISH: 5.5/6
Handle: 1.5/2
Aesthetics, Ergonomics
The Magnolia D-shape is pretty much oblivious here but does its job fine, and the buffalo horn ferrule is mirror-polished smooth, and well-shaped too. The magnolia wood was not lacquered nor otherwise protected much OOTB, and after only a mild cleanup of the knife immediately turned rough and flaky. I seem to remember that my Mazaki Nakiri (only other Magnolia I ever used) did the very same thing. Easily remedied and prepped for the long run, still warranted my standard average 0.5 point where aesthetics is concerned – got to admit I dig sober traditional looks and this handle is in the ballpark for expected quality at the price.
As always with Wa handles so far, I’m pleased with the spacious grip ergonomics of a longer neck, and here find the 20mm forward balance to sit with this knife perfectly; the tall heel makes it natural to use a choke pinch in finer details, but for most cuts my usual light pinch feels highly natural too. Contrary to my expectations, I like the D-shape handle fine after all (although I prefer octagonals) and this seals the deal where this knife is concerned, for I wouldn’t want the balance point to shift elsewhere. I really thought it might be my first re-handle – but it seems I am not very difficult in these matters.
Blade: 2/2
Choil, Spine
We get a perfectly rounded spine, a solid smoothing of the choil, yielding – with the blade being cut without a fault – full marks on this criterion. At that price this is simply in the awesome category of having your fingers welcomed to use. I’d say it’s a perfect example of the level of attention to details that we’d all like to be a given no matter the price paid.
Finish: 2/2
Aesthetics, Maintenance
Outstanding is the word that comes to mind, where obviously the sand-blasted bevels go for a bit of an easy process there, but is not overdone. The whole blade is aptly and skillfully brought to consistency and a high level of refinement, quietly imposing yet still somewhat made oblivious. Nothing is superfluous nor superficial as much as part of a highly honed process of making a knife that will feel and look just nice enough to allow full focus on its task.
As would be expected with the stainless cladding, and according with the highly functional vibe of this knife, maintenance is as easy as can be with even the low alloy core being very well behaved, truly allowing to treat this blade pretty much like you would a stainless. After three-four preps and some letting it lay aside either dirty or wet or both for some fleeting cooking minutes, there’s just traces of a dark blue patina that start to show haphazardly along the core which otherwise doesn’t even look darkened whatsoever. Garlic or shallots or onions were a part of each prep too. That's a blanket statement - garlic or shallots or onions are always part of any prep if I'm cooking something that needs me make use of a knife.
