Chef's Knife vs Santoku: Which Knife to Buy

The Classic 8 inch is forged from a single piece of high-carbon stainless steel, hardened to 58 HRC, with a full bolster and a triple-riveted synthetic handle. Wusthof lists the blade at 8 inches long and 1.9 inches high at the heel, and the listing gives the weight as 8.5 ounces.

The curved belly is the point of it. You can rock through parsley and garlic without lifting the tip, then turn the knife on its point to score a duck breast or take out a pepper core. The heavier blade goes through a chicken joint or a butternut squash without worry.

Skip it if you have small hands, a small board, or cut straight down by habit. The length and the bolster both take some getting used to, and the bolster has to be ground back over years of sharpening.

This is Wusthof's Classic santoku with a hollow edge, model 1040131317: forged from one piece of high-carbon stainless, hardened to 58 HRC, with a full bolster and the same triple-riveted handle as the chef's knife. Wusthof lists a 7 inch blade 1.8 inches high and sharpens its Asian-style knives to 10 degrees per side.

The flatter edge meets the board along more of its length, which suits a straight push or chop through onions, carrots and cucumbers. The scallops ground into the sides leave air pockets so slices of potato or cheese are less likely to cling. The blunt tip makes it a little less useful for fine point work.

Skip it if you rock-chop herbs or break down poultry; the flat edge and short blade are not made for either. One owner on Wusthof's own site notes that years of sharpening wore the edge back past the hollows, which is the long-run cost of the scallops.

The Shun Classic santoku has a VG-MAX steel core clad in Damascus layers, a 16 degree edge and a D-shaped Pakkawood handle, and it is made in Japan. Like every Shun, it is covered by Kai's free sharpening program for original owners, who pay a return shipping and processing fee in the US.

Its steel is harder than the Wusthof's, so it holds an edge longer. That hardness makes it more prone to small chips from bones, frozen food and stone or glass boards, so it suits a cook who uses a wooden board and keeps the knife to vegetables, fish and boneless meat.

The Fibrox Pro santoku is stamped from sheet steel rather than forged, with a non-slip plastic handle and a Granton edge of scallops on both sides. Victorinox makes it in Switzerland and covers it with a lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship. The listing notes the blade carries the international item number 6.8529.17.

The steel is softer than the Wusthof's or the Shun's, so it dulls sooner and sharpens easily. It is the sensible way to find out whether a santoku suits you before buying a forged one.

The Fibrox Pro chef's knife has a 7.9 inch stamped stainless blade and a thermoplastic elastomer handle that stays grippy when wet. The listing describes it as made with dishwasher safe materials, and Victorinox backs it with a lifetime warranty against defects.

Bought together with the Fibrox santoku, it costs less than a third of either Wusthof, and it is a cheap way to learn which shape you actually reach for.