Tojiro Knife Professional Santoku 6.7" (17cm) - JAPAN

I've used lots of high quality knives over the years. Back when I had a restraurant I used Wustof Icon knives, which were beautiful. Pretty nice work knives, too. About the time that the Japanese knive craze it the US I got a set of Shun Classics. Loved the steel. Wasn't thrilled with the handles. A few years ago I developed chronic tendon pain in my right wrist and wanted a lighter main knive. I first bough a cheap santuko. It wasn't a bad knife but I missed the edge I could put on the Shuns. Enter the Tojiro, which I use for about 90% of my kitchen work.The santuko is an excellent slicing knife with the same length belly (slicing edge) as an 8 inch chef's knife. The tip is shorter but for fine work I use a paring knife. No real loss for me on the blade length and the lower weight and more nimble handling make my wrist happy.The edge comes nicely sharp from the factory, though as I learned with my Shuns that use the same blade steel, it's possible to put an even finer edge on the knife without sacrificing durability. That makes slicing even easier on my wrist. Be careful if you've not used sharp professional quality knives. It's very easy to cut yourself. A sharp knife is safer for an experienced cook because the cuts are way more predictable than with a dull knife. If you're not used to a good knife the speed with which it can cut can make for a bloody surprise.The finish of the knife isn't up to that of the Shuns, let alone the Wustofs, which I consider functional art. It's pretty good. I'm not complaining, and for a price that is almost half of those knives I'm thrilled. $50 may seem like a lot to pay for a knife if all you've used are department store brands. For a well made knife of very high quality steel it's a steal. I almost wish I needed another Tojiro in another length, but I've cut back to three main kitchen knives with a couple more in the drawer in blade safes.I guess I should find something wrong just for fairness. The choil, the bottom part of the blade behind the sharp edge and in front of the handle, hasn't been smoothed and can rub your hand if you use a pinch grip. Five minutes with some 600 grit auto sandpaper fixes that.

As a fairly good home cook, I’m always interested in quality knives, but only at reasonable prices. This knife is the perfect size for slicing, dicing, deboning and other everyday kitchen tasks. The knife is well balanced and very sharp. It has become my favorite go to.

Great knife. Great grip and very sharp.

This is an excellent knife, especially for the price. My only complaint is that the edges need rounding off.This knife is ground very fine and it glides through food with surprising ease.When I first got the knife I was able to whittle a hair on the edge

Very good kitchen knife. Light and easy to care.

This is ABSOLUTELY the best all purpose knife that I own. This says a lot as I am a chef who has spent thousands of dollars on high end knives from Japan and Germany which are also great but very expensive. Tojiro offers high end quality knives at very affordable prices and they will last a very very long time if properly taken care of. A couple of things to remember though. Never use a steel or knife sharpener on this knife!!!!!!!!!!!! The blade itself has two bevels, on one side it is angled at 70 degrees while the other side is at 30 degrees which is why this knife is extremely sharp. You must use a combination of wet stones to sharpen this knife but, for most people you are talking about once every 18-24 months of normal household use. You Tube has some videos on how to do this yourself which I recommend as you will learn to appreciate high end quality knives like this one while you are honing you sharpening skills. If not, there are some some professional knife sharpening websites that you can send the knife to and they will do this for you for about $25.00. If you own this santoku, a paring, and boning (fillet) knife you can throw out all of your other knives as these will do everything you need to do. Lastly, buy the bamboo sheaths as they will preserve your knives and prevent unwanted accidents. Good cooking and stay sharp in the kitchen.

I don’t like chef’s knives. I prefer santokus. I lost my former santoku and I wanted something better than I could get at Walmart. I wanted to be able to sharpen it myself. I have a stone, and I’m a beginner, but I plan on keeping at it until I get better. I saw an article on a food website rating santokus, and this one looked good because it wasn’t the most expensive (usually not worth it), and it was one that had the western style blade where both sides have the same angle. As a beginner with a sharpening stone, I didn’t need the added challenge. I’ve only used this a short time, but it went through the food like buttah.I’ve only cut potatoes for oven fries so far, but a few of my slices were not straight…they were thick at one end and tapered to a sliver. I’m not a professional, but I can cut straight. So, I don’t know if it’s the large size of this (I usually prefer small knives) or if there’s actually something wrong with it. I will update if I realize the knife is causing me to cut crooked. At this price, I would hope not. Oh, and as is common for Japanese items, this thing was beautifully packaged.

Perfect starter knife for Japanese Knives. Great value. Gets very sharp, but the steel is generally harder than European kitchen knives, so you need to avoid bones and frozen foods etc or you might chip the blade.