The santoku, whose name means '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, while the rounded tip naturally favors push-cut technique. Compact and maneuverable, it handles the full range of everyday kitchen tasks without sacrificing precision.
The sanmai construction pairs a SG2 (R2) core with stainless steel cladding on both sides. The hard core, thinned toward the edge, is supported by the cladding, which stabilizes the blade geometry through the cut. This geometry, fine at the edge and reinforced behind it, allows the blade to move through food without crushing, with limited resistance.
SG2 (R2) is a stainless powder steel produced through powder metallurgy, with a hardness of 62 to 65 HRC. Its fine, uniformly distributed carbides deliver edge retention well above that of conventionally forged steels. Sharpening requires more passes on the stone and quality abrasives, given the high vanadium carbide content. In return, the steel shows no reactivity to moisture or acidic foods: rinsing and drying after use is sufficient maintenance.
Care
Rinse and dry after each use. Never put in the dishwasher. Sharpening on water stones suited to powder steels will maintain the edge over time.
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