Santoku

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Santoku-copy knife metal sheet cutter

Used santoku knives, modest appearance but molybdenum vanadium steel

The santoku bch (?) or bunka bch (?) is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its unbolstered blade, which is typically between five and eight inches long, has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade that curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the blade, giving the chef's fingers plenty of room underneath. The word santoku loosely translates as 'three virtues' or 'three uses', a reference to the three cutting tasks the knife performs so well: slicing, dicing, and mincing. The santoku's blade and handle are carefully designed to work in harmony by matching the blade's width/weight to the weight of blade tang and handle, and the original Japanese santoku is an especially well-balanced knife.

Santoku blade geometry incorporates the "Sheep's foot" tip. A sheep's foot design essentially draws the spine ("backstrap") down to the tip, with very little clearance above the horizontal cutting plane when the blade is resting naturally from heel to forward cutting edge. Providing a more linear cutting edge, the Santoku has limited "rocking" travel (in comparison to a German/Western-style Chef's knife). The Santoku may be used in a rocking motion, however, very little cutting edge makes contact with the surface due to the exreme radius of the tip and very little "tip travel" occurs due to the short cantilever span from contact landing to tip. An example of this limitation can be demonstrated in dicing an onion - A Western knife generally slices downward and then rocks the tip forward to complete a cut; The santoku relies more on a single downward cut, and even landing from heel to tip. With practice, a santoku knife is most efficient at working with vegetables, but users accustomed to German-style knives should adapt from "rocking" to "chopping" in similar applications.

Santoku design is lighter, thinner and shorter than a traditional Western Chef's knife. Standard Santoku blade length is between six and seven inches, in comparison to the typical eight inch home cook's knife. Other design departures from classic German/French knives: Blade thickness is usually less (thin in comparison) and steel is slightly more hardened (To compensate for the thin cutting edge). Most classic kitchen knives maintain a blade angle between 40-45 degrees (A bi-lateral 20-22.5 degree shoulder, from cutting edge); Japanese knives typically incorporate a chisel-tip (sharpened on one-side), and maintain a more extreme angle (10-15 degree shoulder). A classic santoku will incorporate the Western-style, bilateral cutting edge, but maintain a more extreme 12-15 degree shoulder, akin to Japanese cutlery. It is critical to increase the hardness of Santoku steel so edge retention is maintained and "rolling" of the thin cutting edge is mitigated. A disadvantage of extremely hard, thin steel is a higher risk of chipping (Pushing through a bone or dry herb stock for example). German knives use slightly "softer" steel, but have more material behind their cutting edge. For the average user, a German-style knife is easier to sharpen, but a santoku knife (if used as designed) will cutting performance longer between maintenance. Santoku knives have no bolster (with few exceptions, such as the Gunter Wilhelm Executive), incorporate "scalloped" sides (Known as a Granton edge), and maintain a more uniform thickness from spine to blade (In comparison to a typical Western knife, where spine thickness is up to 0.5mm more than shoulder thickness above the cutting edge.).

The santoku is especially popular among people with smaller hands, and modified santoku-type knives (made outside of Japan) have appeared on television.

Some of the best blades employ San Mai laminated steels, including the pattern known as suminagashi ( literally, "flowing-ink paper"). The term refers to the similarity of the pattern formed by the blade's damascened and multi-layer steel alloys to the traditional Japanese art of suminagashi marbled paper. Forged laminated stainless steel cladding is employed on better Japanese santoku knives to improve strength and rust resistance while maintaining a hard edge. Knives possessing these expensive laminated blades are generally considered to be the ultimate expression of quality in a genuine Japanese santoku.

Many copies of santoku-pattern knives made outside Japan have substantially different edge designs, different balance, and softer steels (thus requiring a thicker cutting edge profile) than the original Japanese santoku. One trend in some non-Japanese santoku variations made of a single alloy is to include kullenschliff, scallops or recesses (known as kullens) hollowed out of the side of blade, similar to those found in meat-carving knives. These scallops create small air pockets between the blade and the material being sliced in an attempt to improve separation and reduce cutting friction. However, manufacturing limitations generally limit such features to mass-produced blades fabricated of softer, less expensive stainless steel alloys. Genuine Japanese santoku blades do not use such features but instead rely on inherent quality of steel and edge geometry to make clean cuts.

See also

Japanese cutlery

Chef's knife

References

"Equipment Corner: Do You Really Need a Santoku Knife?". Episode "Bistro Classics." America's Test Kitchen TV show. 2005 Season. Viewed April 3, 2005.

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