Santoku Knife suggestions

[polm]

Looking for a good all/multi-purpose kitchen knife for slicing, dicing, and mincing.

I figured "Santoku" was the way to go, but I don't have a lot to spend (no more than 50$)

Any suggestions ?

 

[alkemyst]

YAST (yet another santoku thread)....

Unless you mash also there are better knifes. The Santoku was designed with the Japanese kitchen in mind. Most americans want it for looks, it's not as suited for cutting beef as much as thinly slicing veggies and fish.

It's a nice knife for an overall general purpose though....for $50 look for the Tosagata Hocho brand....that is what most Japanese households are using. It's simple looking and plain but razor sharp and useful.

may not be Tosagata, however it looks like what they would...amazon pulled the pic

EDIT:
Only drawback is *Americans* tend to replace their knives more often than the Japanese who know how to service their kitchen blades..

Å

 

[polm]

so considering I plan to slice meat and chicken with my new knife, any other suggestions ?

 

[alkemyst]

Well a slicer is better for than. The flat front of the santoku is good to chop without stabbing yourself. The L shaped back (unlike 'american/european' knives with bolsters) is good for flattening/crushing things...otherwise it's a weaker knife.

Å

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: polm
so considering I plan to slice meat and chicken with my new knife, any other suggestions ?

brand names would be helpful too. (i.e. shameless bump)

 

[edro]

Seppuku?!?!?! Oh Noes!

 

[rgwalt]

Shun by KIA. It is a little mroe pricey, but they are sweet knives.

R

 

[alkemyst]

In general you will find Henkels, Wustoff and Sabatier's top of line the best values when found at a close out (around $125-150 usually with other add ons).

I believe 5 star/ProS is Henkels and Classic/Grand Prix is Wustoff's top...Grand Chef/Province is Sabatiers.

If you have no knives, buying an 8 to 10 piece set often turns out to being what it would take to buy 2-3 knives a la carte.

Then you can add speciality knives as you need to.

Kershaw/Kai Shun are nice albeit expensive ($120 is typical for the Santoku) knives.

For $50 if you can find a Tosagata Hocho that would be your best bet for a Santoku. Or try to do $125-150 and get a nice starter set.

Å