This makes an awesome gift for someone interested in Japanese knives or culture! It gives you a traditional Japanese knife handle, but attached to a more useful and rugged (stainless steel) santoku knife blade.
A very unique and useful combination of good looks, high-tech steels, the versatile Santoku shape, and a traditional Japanese knife handle. The handle is the same they use on their expensive hand-made carbon steel sushi chef knives, so it's made of a lightweight blond-coloured wood with a ferrule made of real water buffalo horn. The handle is very lightweight so the overall knife weight is low, and being made of real wood it won't be as stain-resistant and waterproof as the 17-layer models with their pakkawood handles. The handles are still strong and comfortable, but you'll need to treat this style with respect and keep it clean and dry (NO leaving it in a sink!!)... it won't handle abuse like the pakkawood handles will, and the wood will darken/discolour and take on a nice patina over time which is part of the charm of these handles -- don't expect them to stay pristine (like a favourite guitar or baseball batt/mitt, it's normal and valued!)
You get a super sharp and long-lasting Swedish steel cutting core (this is a very hard steel, with a Rockwell hardness of approximately 60), with a unique 45-layer hammered stainless steel surface and that beautiful traditional Japanese handle. This makes an excellent choice as an all-around knife. I use a santoku at home now for virtually all my cooking and almost never pull out a chef's knife unless it's for something where I really need the extra length (like for cutting a whole pizza in one chop).
Comes in a beautiful gift box.
I'd recommend the fine ceramic hone (see below) for regular/daily maintenance of the edge. As with any knife, use the hone regularly and you'll keep the edge in good shape for a LONG time before you need to think about doing any serious "re-sharpening" or real grinding and refinishing of the edge.
NOTE: This knife is sharpened 50/50 (equally on the right and left side), so it's easy to maintain and fine for right or left hand use. |
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