Santoku Knife

Our website is designed to give you the information you need to make good choices and find good deals on a Santoku knife and selected other Chinese cutlery.

The santoku knife is gaining in popularity because of a great design and its ability
to multitask in the preparation of oriental cuisine. The cleaver style blade of the santoku (also called an oriental cook's knife) overcomes the problem that a traditional Chinese cleaver presents to a cook with small hands. Many find the average cleaver to be a bit heavy and unwieldy. The santoku knife is a good alternative, provides excellent control and versatility, and is a favorite of female chefs.

Description

Santoku knives are well known for their sharp edges with scalloped edges that add to their overall beauty and aids in releasing thin slices and food that is sticky after slicing.  This knife is a utilitarian knife with many applications.

It's definitely one of the knives that you'll be using all the time. A Santoku knife is generally eight inches (20 cm) in length and one half inches (4 cm) in width. Length can vary with some models ranging from 6 to 14 inches (15 cm to 36 cm) in length.

Use

The word santoku is comes from Japanese origins and means 'three virtues' (san means three and toku translates as virtue). Your santoku knife fulfills the promise of its name with its excellent ability to chop, dice and mince. This one fine instrument is one that you will reach for again and again for its ease of control and wide range of application.

What To Look For

You'll want to choose a knife with an ergonomically comfortable handle (since you will be using it a lot!) and one that is approved by the national sanitation foundation. Santoku knives are made from high quality steel so are naturally resistant to unsanitary conditions. You'll want to be sure the knife you choose is dishwasher safe but do not put it unprotected in with dishes as it may harm the other contents of your dishwasher or itself. Santoku knives are also available in ceramic.

Care and Cleaning

This is not the kind of knife you will want to run through a common electric knife sharpener. The blades most often come with a 16 degree angle that must be maintained for maximum effectiveness. There are knife sharpeners that are made especially for this blade so do some research if you prefer to go electric. However, most sharpen their blades by hand with a stone or sharpening steel. Your knife will come with a very good edge and will not need sharpening for some time if you follow directions for its use.

As stated above, do not put it unprotected in with dishes as it may harm the other contents of your dishwasher or itself.

Accessories

  Santoku-specific electric sharpener
  Sharpening stone of steel
  Knife block
  Oriental cookbook