The santoku, 'three virtues': vegetables, meat, fish, is the all-purpose workhorse of the Japanese kitchen. Its tall profile provides a generous working surface and good knuckle clearance. The rounded tip orients the blade toward a clean, direct push cut along the full length of the edge. Compact and manageable, it works equally well as a primary knife or a secondary one alongside a longer blade.
The sanmai construction pairs a SG2 (R2) core with a soft stainless cladding, concentrating the hardness of the powder steel at the edge while keeping the flanks more forgiving. The kurouchi finish covers the body of the blade, leaving the bevel polished, a matte-to-bright contrast that is a direct result of this construction. The tsuchime hammered finish on the cladding creates small indentations that reduce food adhesion along the flat of the blade.
SG2 (R2) is a stainless powder steel produced through powder metallurgy. Its carbon content (~1.45%) and finely distributed vanadium carbides give it edge retention that outperforms conventionally forged steels in the same category. Sharpening takes more passes on the stone and benefits from quality whetstones, ceramic or diamond, to work through the carbides effectively. In return, the edge holds well between sharpenings. Stainless steel: rinse and dry after use. No dishwasher.
Care
Rinse and dry after each use. Never put in the dishwasher. Avoid abrasives on the kurouchi zone to preserve the forge skin.
