At 170 mm, the santoku sits at the most versatile format in the Japanese kitchen: short enough for precision work, tall enough for solid knuckle clearance on the board. The rounded tip orients the blade toward push cuts, moving cleanly through vegetables, meat and fish without switching tools. It works equally well as a primary knife or as a focused second blade in a well-equipped kitchen.
The handle is ebony, a dense, tight-grained wood with low sensitivity to moisture and strong dimensional stability over time. It does not warp with regular kitchen use. The deep black tone contrasts sharply with the blade metal, giving the knife a clean, consistent look without visual noise.
The blade is forged in SPG Strix, a stainless powder steel developed by Takefu Steel using their Strong Matrix concept. Hardness, rated at 63,65 HRC, is achieved by reinforcing the metallic base structure rather than relying on hard carbides. The result is a very fine grain and sharpening behavior on water stones that is closer to a carbon steel than most stainless steels at this hardness. The edge produced is very fine and holds well over time. SPG Strix is fully stainless in normal use: no patina forms, no camellia oil needed.
Care
Rinse and dry after each use. Never put in the dishwasher. Sharpen on water stones.
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