10 Best Tried and True Japanese Santoku Knives in 2022 (Food Coordinator-Reviewed)

Kai's Seki Magoroku Shoso Santoku Knife uses high carbon stainless steel in its blade, available in two blade sizes; 5.7-inch and 6.5-inch.

While our testers were able to slice through difficult-to-cut chicken skin with no stress, we did notice the blade got slightly dull in our edge retention test.

Since it's fully made of stainless steel, it is easy to keep hygienic. On top of that, it's also dishwasher safe.

This knife earned top-tier scores in the usability testwith its 4.7-ounce weight and its curved handle. The handle itself was also neither too thin nor too wide, making it versatile and easy to use by everyone.

Tojiro's Fujitorasaku All-Stainless Steel Santoku 170mm is made using cobalt alloy steel for its core, sandwiched by 13-chrome stainless steel for its 6.7-inch blade.

This knife got top-level scores for both the sharpness itself and for how long the blade stayed sharp. The knife can effortlessly cut through tomatoes and chicken thighs, resulting in a clean, shiny cut.

The knife's tornado pattern on the handle fit comfortably in our tester's hands and prevented it from slipping during use. Being a fully stainless steel knife, it's also easy to clean and is thus more hygienic than knives with different handle materials.

Finally, in addition to its sharpness, the knife weighs a mere 5.3 ounces and has a slim handle, making it easy to use by those with small hands.

Kai's Shun Classic Dimpled Santoku Knife has a Damascus pattern as a result of having 33 layers of stainless steel with different hardnesses. This santoku knife is available with either a 5.5-inch or a 6.9-inch blade.

The knife itself has a solid heft to it at 7.2 ounces, making it best for those who want stability. In the cutting test, our testers were able to cut through the skin with ease, earning it high marks in both the cutting and edge retention tests. It also has a bolster connecting the blade and the handle, making it easy to keep clean.

Moreover, thanks to its dimpled surface, food was easily released from the knife after cutting. However, in addition to its weight, the handle is on the thicker side, making it better for those with bigger hands.

Kai's Seki Magoroku Damascus Santoku Knife utilizes a stainless-steel composite for its blade, revealing a Damascus pattern on the surface. The knife is available in two blade lengths; 5.7 inches and 6.5 inches.

This knife was able to slice through a tomato just by barely gliding the edge across the surface, and maintained its sharpness even after using the knife 3,000 times.

While it's not a single-piece knife, it does have a smooth bolster connecting the blade and the handle. Additionally, the handle's inverted triangle shape made it easy to grip, but some of our female testers commented that it was too thick and difficult to hold.

Yasuda Hamono's Seki Kotetsu VG-10 Santoku Knife uses VG-10, an incredibly hard and corrosion-resistant stainless steel, as its core material for its 7.1-inch blade.

In the cutting test, the knife was able to cut tomatoes and chicken with no difficulties. However, after using it 3,000 times, our testers felt that the blade lost a bit of its smooth cutting ability.

While the thickness of the handle made the 5.3-ounce knife feel heavier than it actually is, its round shape fit our tester's hands well. Moreover, the smooth bolster, connecting the blade and the handle, also earned it points in the ease of maintenance department.

Yoshida Metal Industry's Global Santoku G-57 is a single-piece, stainless steel santoku knife. It's available as either a 6.3 or a 7.1-inch blade.

Able to cut all kinds of food easily and smoothly, it earned high scores in the cutting test. However, in the edge retention test, it lost its ability to cut easily through chicken tendons, signaling its dullness.

As for its usability, it received a lower score in comparison to the higher-ranking knives due to its 5.8-ounce weight and the fact that its straight grip made it harder to use. However, its single-piece construction makes it easy to maintain and clean.

Shimomura's NeoVerdun Santoku Knife features a blade made of molybdenum stainless steel, available in two different blade lengths; 5.7 and 6.5 inches.

While the knife had no problems with cutting, its sharpness was fairly average and didn't feel as smooth as the knives that ranked higher. It also got duller than the other knives we tested in our edge retention test.

The handle has a linear shape, so it didn't fit comfortably in our tester's hands. However, this fully-stainless steel knife is dishwasher safe and therefore easy to maintain.

Shimomura's Verdun Santoku Knife is available in two different blade lengths; 5.7 inches and 6.5 inches.

It has a comfortable weight of 4.6 ounces and its curved handle fit comfortably in our tester's hands. This single-piece stainless steel knife is also dishwasher-safe, earning it high marks in the ease of maintenance test.

When new, this knife had an average sharpness. However, in the edge retention test, it lost a significant amount of sharpness, struggling to cut tomatoes or chicken.

Muji's All-Stainless Steel Santoku Knife has a 6.7-inch blade and is made from a single piece of stainless steel.

This knife was able to cut through all foods in our cutting test without issue, but there was nothing particularly notable about the feel of the cut, for better or for worse. However, in the edge retention test, our testers were unable to pierce tomato skins smoothly, showing how dull the blade got.

The knife weighs 6 ounces and has a solid feel to it. Unfortunately, its thick and straight handle lacks any ergonomic features and may get uncomfortable after prolonged use.

Satake's Akari Santoku Knife With Bolster features a comfortable mahogany-style reinforced laminated wood handle and a 6.7-inch composite blade.

At 9.8 ounces, the knife has a solid weight to it that enables it to cut through food with stability. However, it struggled to cut through chicken skin, and our testers felt a bit of resistance when cutting.

In our ease of use test, our testers commented that the wooded handle made the knife surprisingly comfortable to use, regardless of its weight. Finally, the bolster that connects the blade and the handle prevents water and bacteria from getting inside the handle, and makes it easy to maintain.