What Is a Santoku Knife Used For?

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Search interest in “what is a santoku used for” has jumped sharply over the past few months, and I think I know why. Plenty of knife sets sold in the US include one, and a lot of people open the box and wonder what the stubby knife with the dimples is supposed to do.

The short version: it does most of what a chef’s knife does, in a smaller, flatter package. Whether that’s a good trade depends on how you cut.

Where the name comes from

“Santoku” roughly translates as “three virtues” or “three uses.” Depending on who you ask, the three are meat, fish and vegetables, or slicing, dicing and mincing. Either way, the idea is one knife for most jobs.

It’s also younger than most people assume. The santoku appeared in Japan around the 1940s, when home cooks were adopting more Western food and wanted a single knife instead of three traditional ones. In a sense it borrowed from the deba (fish), the gyuto (meat) and the nakiri (vegetables), and squeezed the useful parts into one blade.

Unlike many traditional Japanese knives, which are sharpened on one side only, a santoku has a double bevel, the same as a Western knife. That’s a big part of why it caught on outside Japan: you can use it and sharpen it like any other kitchen knife.

What a santoku looks like

Put one next to an 8-inch chef’s knife and three things stand out.

It’s shorter. Most santokus have a 6.5 to 7 inch blade (165 to 180 mm), compared with 8 inches for a standard chef’s knife.

The edge is nearly flat. A chef’s knife curves up toward the tip so it can rock. A santoku stays almost straight until the very end.

The tip drops down. Instead of a pointed tip, the spine curves down to meet the edge in what’s called a sheep’s foot shape. That makes the tip safer and sturdier, but less useful for detail work.

Many santokus, especially Western-made ones, also have a row of shallow dimples along the side of the blade. That’s a Granton edge, and I’ll come back to whether it’s worth paying for.

What a santoku is good at

Chopping vegetables

This is its home ground. Because the edge is so flat, the whole length touches the board at once. Chop straight down through a carrot, a stack of celery or a pile of scallions and every piece gets cut through, with fewer of those annoying accordion strings still holding together. If most of your knife work is vegetables, a santoku feels very natural.

Thin, even slices

The thin blade and flat profile make it easy to get consistent slices of cucumber, potato for gratin, mushrooms, or boneless chicken breast. You push forward and down, and the knife does the rest.

Dicing and fine mincing

Onions, garlic, shallots and herbs are all good santoku jobs. The short blade gives you a lot of control, which helps if you’re still building confidence with a knife.

Boneless meat and fish

Trimming a pork tenderloin, cubing beef for stew or portioning a salmon fillet all work well. Notice the word “boneless.” More on that below.

Smaller hands and smaller kitchens

A 7-inch santoku is lighter and shorter than a typical chef’s knife. On a small cutting board, or in hands that find an 8-inch blade awkward, that’s a real advantage, not a compromise.

What a santoku is bad at

Rocking cuts

If you mince herbs by keeping the tip on the board and rocking the handle up and down, a santoku will frustrate you. There’s almost no curve to rock on. You’ll end up lifting the whole knife instead, which is slower.

Bones, frozen food and hard squash

Most santokus, especially Japanese ones, are thin and fairly hard. That’s what makes them slice so cleanly, and it’s also why they chip when you twist them through a chicken joint, a block of frozen spinach or a butternut squash. Use a heavier German chef’s knife, a boning knife or a cleaver for those.

Long slices

A 7-inch blade can’t slice a big roast or a brisket in one stroke. You’ll saw back and forth, which tears the meat. A long slicing knife is the right tool there; see Best brisket slicing knife.

Fine tip work

The dropped sheep’s foot tip is great for safety, but it’s awkward for jobs like scoring, making small vertical cuts into an onion, or getting into tight spots on a chicken. America’s Test Kitchen pointed this out in their comparison of santokus and chef’s knives: the turned-down tip made some delicate cuts harder.

Big bread and big melons

Crusty loaves need a serrated bread knife. A whole watermelon is simply taller than a santoku blade.

Santoku vs. nakiri

The nakiri is the other flat Japanese knife you’ll see next to santokus, and it’s easy to confuse the two.

A nakiri is a pure vegetable knife. The blade is rectangular, with a square tip and a dead-flat edge from end to end. It’s superb at slicing cabbage, chopping carrots and turning onions into even dice, and almost useless for anything else. There’s no tip to speak of, so meat, fish and detail work are out.

A santoku keeps most of the nakiri’s flat edge but adds a usable tip and a slightly more general shape. That’s the whole point of the “three uses” name. If you want one knife that leans toward vegetables but can still portion a chicken breast, the santoku is the safer choice. If you already own a chef’s knife and want a dedicated vegetable blade, a nakiri is the more specialized pick. More in What is a nakiri knife used for?.

What to look for when you buy one

Length. Seven inches (around 180 mm) is the sweet spot for most people. Some brands sell 5 or 5.5 inch “mini” santokus; they’re handy for small jobs but too short to be a main knife.

Steel. Western-made santokus usually use the same softer stainless steel as German chef’s knives. They’re forgiving and easy to sharpen, but the edge needs honing more often. Japanese santokus use harder steel, often VG-10 or similar, which stays sharp longer but can chip if you twist it. If you’re hard on knives, choose the softer one. If you’ll hand-wash and dry it, the harder one is a joy to use.

Handle. A Western handle (riveted, full tang) feels solid and puts more weight in your palm. A Japanese handle (octagonal or D-shaped wood) is lighter and moves the balance toward the blade. D-shaped handles favor right-handers, so lefties should check before buying.

Bolster. A thick bolster at the heel protects your fingers but makes the back of the edge harder to sharpen over the years. On a santoku, where the whole flat edge needs to meet the board, a half bolster or no bolster is the better choice.

Weight. Most santokus weigh 5 to 7.5 oz. Lighter ones feel quick and nimble; heavier ones chop through dense vegetables with less effort. If you can, hold one before you buy.

Price. You don’t need to spend much to find out whether you like the shape. A budget santoku in the $30 to $50 range is a sensible experiment. If you love it, that’s the time to look at a premium one.

Do the dimples (Granton edge) help?

The idea behind those hollows is that tiny air pockets break the suction between the blade and wet, sticky food, so slices of potato or cucumber fall away instead of clinging.

In practice, the effect is small. A thin, sharp blade matters far more than dimples do, and you’ll notice the hollows mostly with starchy vegetables like potatoes. They don’t hurt either, as long as the hollows don’t reach too close to the edge, because then they get in the way once the knife has been sharpened many times.

My take: don’t pay more for dimples. Don’t avoid them either.

Santoku or chef’s knife?

This is the question most people are really asking, so it gets its own guide: Santoku vs. chef’s knife. The quick version is that a chef’s knife is the more versatile tool, while a santoku is easier to control and better at straight chopping. If you rock your knife, get a chef’s knife. If you chop up and down and want something smaller, a santoku is a great main knife.

Also worth knowing: a Japanese gyuto sits between the two. It has a flatter edge than a German chef’s knife but more length and a pointed tip. Compare them in Gyuto vs. santoku.

How to use a santoku

The technique is a little different from a chef’s knife, and once it clicks the knife feels much better.

Use a push cut for most jobs. Start with the tip area on the food and push the knife forward and down in one motion, so the edge slices as it travels. Lift the knife and repeat. Don’t hack straight down without forward movement; that crushes instead of cuts.

For mincing, keep your guiding hand on the spine near the tip and chop in short, quick strokes while you slowly sweep across the pile. It’s more chopping than rocking.

Hold it with a pinch grip: thumb and the side of your index finger on the blade just in front of the handle. The short blade makes this feel especially secure.

Protect the edge. Scrape food off the board with the spine, not the edge. Turning the knife edge-down to drag food is the fastest way to dull any thin blade.

Santokus worth a look

Three santokus at three price levels. Specs come from the manufacturers, and the pros and cons from what long-term owners report.

The Victorinox is the easy recommendation if you just want to find out whether a santoku suits you. It’s inexpensive, forgiving and dishwasher-safe according to the maker, though hand washing keeps it sharp longer. The Global is light and modern, with an all-steel handle some people love and others find slippery. The Shun is the most beautiful of the three, with a very hard edge that stays sharp but doesn’t forgive careless use. For more choices see Best Japanese knives for beginners.

Caring for a santoku

Wash it by hand and dry it right away. Most santokus are stainless, but stainless only means it resists stains; leave it wet in the sink and it can still spot.

Store it in a block, on a magnetic strip or with an edge guard, not loose in a drawer where the thin edge knocks against other tools.

Sharpen it at its original angle. Japanese santokus are usually around 15 degrees per side; many Western ones are closer to 20. Our whetstone guide walks you through it, and a ceramic honing rod between sharpenings makes a big difference with harder steel.