Tom Douglas by Pinzon Kai 7-Inch Stainless-Steel Santoku Knife Review

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(More customer reviews)In Japanese, "Santoku" means, roughly, "three benefits". And the Santoku blade is designed to provide just that: a long flat belly and wide blade, like the cleaver-shaped Nakiri, for coarse-chopping vegetables; a rounded tip, like the European chef's knife (or its Japanese Gyuto equivalent), so you can rock the blade on the tip for fine mincing; and a deep bolster-less base, like the Japanese Deba, for dealing with the small bones of chicken and fish.

Most Santoku knives made for the American market get the blade shape right, but not the handle or the balance - for a Nakiri-style chopping motion, where you push the blade down and forward, you want to choke up on the blade, with your first finger and thumb gripping the spine of the blade itself, and have the balance point of the knife in front of the handle (easy with a Japanese-style stick handle, but not with typical full-tanged European molded grip). This knife actually gets it right.

Kai is a Japenese company, and, admirably, it has avoided the trap of most Santoku knives sold in the US - this is not just a funny-shaped chef's knife. The knife really works as a Nakiri, and is pretty decent for mincing and slicing as well. The balance (forward) and heft (not too much) are appropriate.

Out of the box, the blade really is sharp enough to shave with. The handle, though softer than I anticipate from a knife (not quite Oxo soft, but close), will work well in slippery and wet situations. (I don't know how well the blade will resharpen - I'll update this review when I get to it).

I have a few other Kai knives, ranging from a $hun-series Santoku and prep knife, to a middle-range 3000-series Nakiri, to a petty knife I bought off a supermarket peg in Kyoto (affectionately known in the household as "razor-on-a-stick"). It would be unfair to compare this knife to the Shun, which is a work of art. However, I consider it superior in its price range, and would recommend it to anyone who is starting to explore Japanese culinary techniques.

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