Shun Vs. Global Santoku - Page 2

 

Much of what you say here is true in a rather limited sense. Let's be precise:

 

1) Santoku certainly means "3 virtues," but it is not clear which set of three virtues is intended; you will find at least four lists presented as gospel truth if you search hard enough. One set is a classical formulation of three Buddhist virtues. One set is a kind of modernist re-statement of those same virtues, such that thrift enters into it. One set is a list of foods (usually, but not always, fish, meat, and vegetables). One set is a list of things a knife does (chop, slice, mince is, I think, the usual set, but that's from memory). Since nobody that I am aware of has ever successfully tracked down the original advertisements that named this knife "santoku," it's all pretty much a guess at this point. Bear in mind that the same knife is equally commonly called bunka-bochou, which appears to be at least as old a name and has nothing whatever to do with three virtues.

 

2) By "Asian cooking" one presumably means Japanese, since it's not extensively present outside Japan.

 

3) Price is partly dependent on quality. With this knife more than most, outside Japan at least, price is also very largely dependent on advertising. A lot of folks have this general impression that Asian or Japanese knives are supposed to be better, and then the santoku gets pushed at them as the best thing ever. Since the market will in this case bear a lot of high prices, the prices are often grossly inflated.

 

4) A really sharp knife of almost any kind should go through a carrot easily. A santoku has no special virtues here over other knives appropriate for cutting carrots.

Mable and Chris I believe you both give a good if slightly different explanation of the use and beyond of the santoku.

What I really have trouble understanding is why so many either dislike or discount this knife.

I think it is very good for a few different things including the seemingly older more popular being a housewives knife. Please don't that as sexist but only to be about seeming to be a good fit for the many claiming to want a smaller knife that is not as intimidating as say a 270mm gyuto etc.

Personally I have had a odd relationship with this style knife. Before finding my way to Japanese knives while I was still primarily using either Henckels Pro S or Mundial the Pro S santoku was the sharpest in use due to the thinner blade, and therefore saw more use than ever expected. I still used the chefs and slicers, but the santoku did see some of the jobs normally seen by the others.

Even now that I had previously sold off the Henckels and have built on my original entry level J knives, and even have moved up the quality and price scale with the addition of a Konosuke HD gyuto (which is great btw) I still use the Tojiro DP santoku often.

I find it great for a few different things and especially when working cramped or on a small board or even just for a small job. I do some small dishes often and if you just need to cut up a couple potatoes for a side to eggs over like this morning, slice some lemons or limes for drinks like the other night etc and really have no need to be using and then cleaning your large board etc just grab a small bar size board and be done with it.

I have found I prefer one for some of the jobs like cutting lemons etc over the smaller petty (sorry not sure why lol) and even when I have had larger jobs to cover like over the holidays it gets used as the extra chefs because it is so much better than the Mundial I keep for guests etc.

Will it replace my gyuto? Of course not, but that is how I was trained years ago and am comfortable, but I am sure if for some reason it was all i had available it would do just fine except the odds times you really need something longer.

Still I agree completely that this is not where someone should be spending crazy money, but I tend to seek out value or maybe call it frugal lol.

Lenny, I for one do not discount or dismiss the santoku. I think it has its place. My sole objection is to the strong push some companies make to get western wannabe gourmet home chef types to buy these knives at very inflated prices on the ground that they are "traditional Japanese" whatever.

 

You are dead right: a santoku is very good in a confined space. If you have ever seen the kitchen layout of the average Tokyo housewife, you know she's working in a teeny space. I presume there are standards for countertop depths and stuff, but so far as I can tell those standards must be shockingly shallow. If you've only got 14" to work in, and a wall or lip at the back, a long knife with a sharp point is not your friend. Furthermore, if your kitchen habits are like most people's, and you leave stuff lying around, a long knife on a shallow, low counter is not a good thing where children and pets might be involved.

 

To top it off, I am of the opinion that a French chef's knife (gyuto, whatever) shouldn't be under 7" at the bare minimum. I just don't think they work right. I'd be a lot happier about 8" minimum. So if you need a workhorse around 6.5" long, I'm going to push a santoku.

 

The thing is, most Americans at least do not need a knife that size, because of countertop standards. And I am very skeptical that you could ever convince me that a $150+ santoku would ever be a sane purchase for anyone but some kind of collector or hobbyist. Yet I have no trouble applauding the lunatic (like myself) who drops twice that much on an 11" Masamoto gyuto. I think there's a sort of upper limit on the santoku, is one way to put it.

 

But mostly my point in the previous long post was to clarify some historical confusions about this knife. (A few of those confusions arise from and are perpetuated by deliberate fabrication, too, though this is certainly not the case in the post to which I replied here.)