Syosaku Santoku Knife: A Review By Chef Kevin Ashton

Chef Kevin Ashton is an international Chef and a food columnist. He is a cooking demonstrator and a restaurant consultant. Chef Kevin has reviewed Syosaku's Multi-purpose kitchen knife (Santoku) on his website. The review is entitled Santoku Knife Review. On his website, Chef Kevin talks about recipes, advice, reviews, travelogues, and news.

To share his fondness for food, he had cooking demonstrations on both sides of the Atlantic. These demonstrations include Washington, DC International Food & Wine Festival, BBC Good Food Show, N.E.C. the Home & Garden Show, the Royal Show, World Heritage Day in Blaenavon, and the Total Sandwich Show at Olympia London.

Chef Kevin's writing career began when he authored a weekly recipe column in Birmingham Sunday Mercury. Due to his brilliance in penning food articles, his recipes have also appeared in UK and US newspapers and magazines. His exceptional talent and popularity made it possible for him to cook for VIPs, including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, President Bush (senior), President Reagan, President Nixon, Vice-President Mondale, Senator Edward Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, Alexander Haig, Admiral Crowe, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Newman, Linda Carter, Omar Sheriff, Larry King, just to name a few.

In Japanese, "Santoku" means "three uses". The knife's three uses include slicing, dicing, and mincing. Santoku is then used for meat, fish, and vegetables without difficulty. Thus, the Santoku knife or the multi-purpose kitchen knife is versatile.

Japanese Master Artisan handcraft these knives in Sakai, Japan. Produced here are more than 90% of Japanese professional chef knives. The knife's core is Takefu VG-10 high carbon stainless steel (HRC 60-62). This is then combined with 46-layer clad Damascus construction. The combination gives exceptional sharpness, edge retention, durability, and ease of sharpening.

"I am very impressed with how this Syosaku Santoku knife performed, its balance and how comfortable it felt in my hand."

Syosaku Knife Review, Chef Kevin Ashton

FEATURED PRODUCT

Syosaku Japanese Multi Purpose Best Sharp Kitchen Chef Knife Hammered Damascus VG-10 46 Layer Octagonal Magnolia Wood Handle, Santoku 7-inch (180mm)

$199.99

$159.99

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Syosaku Japanese Multi Purpose Best Sharp Kitchen Chef Knife Hammered Damascus VG-10 46 Layer Octagonal Magnolia Wood Handle, Santoku 7-inch (180mm) - Syosaku-Japan

The balance and comfort of the knife

The Santoku made easy work of thinly slicing white cabbage for my spring rolls, the knife seemed comfortable in my hand and I felt completely in control, which is important when wishing to slice something this thinly. I then used the Syosaku knife to slice a large tomato, which again is good indication of its out of the box sharpness. You can see how thin the slices of tomatoes are!

I am very impressed with how this Syosaku Santoku knife performed

Its balance and how comfortable it felt in my hand. You may think they are expensive but if a handcrafted knife serves you well for 20 years, then the price is cheaper than buying new cheap knives every couple of years.