Hatsukokoro Kaijin Blue 2 Santoku 175mm Migaki Curly Maple

The gyuto came to Japan with the beef-eating culture of the Meiji era, and that is where its name comes from. Tojiro says it is used for all kinds of cooking, which is why it is also called the chef's knife.

The santoku is a household knife that combines the good points of the nakiri and the gyuto. Tojiro describes it as all-purpose, from vegetables to meat and fish, double-bevel and built on the same construction as a Western knife.

Choose a gyuto if you want more length and reach. Choose a santoku if you want a shorter all-purpose knife. Tojiro's own size figures: gyuto 150 to 210mm for household use and up to 360mm for professional use, santoku 165 to 170mm for household use.

Match the shape to your stroke. Rock chopping keeps the tip on the board and rolls the curved belly through the food, so a gyuto or a Western chef's knife suits it, and Japanese knives rock fine as long as you rock gently.

Up-and-down chopping, the Chinese style, wants a straight run of edge, so a nakiri, usuba, santoku or bunka suits it better; a curved edge chopped straight down easily leaves pieces joined. Neither shape is better; it depends on how you cut.

A Japanese dictionary explains the name of the santoku (三徳包丁) as coming from the three things it handles: meat, fish and vegetables. The same dictionary entry points from the santoku to the bunka (文化包丁), treating the two as one knife.

One Japanese knife maker guide distinguishes the two by the tip. It says that in the Showa era the bunka was made with its tip cut at an angle, and the santoku came after it by rounding that tip.

Yes, carbon steels such as Aogami (Blue) and Shirogami (White) are not stainless steels, so left wet they can spot or rust.

Care is simple once it becomes habit. Wipe the blade as you go, especially after acidic food like citrus, tomato or onion. When you finish, wash it in warm water with a little soap and dry it straight away with a towel. Do not let it air dry, leave it in the sink or the dish rack, or put it in the dishwasher. Store it dry: on a magnetic strip, in a saya or in a block in a dry spot.

If the knife will sit unused for a while, wipe on a thin layer of oil before storing. In our video James shows that mineral oil can stand in for camellia (tsubaki) oil, and he picks one labelled medical grade; we list the Kitchen Knife / Cutting Board Mineral Oil Medical Grade for this. If you find light rust, lift it with a rust eraser and a little water, then dry and oil the blade; we list the CKK and Naniwa rust erasers.

Proterial lists 1.05 to 1.15% carbon for both steels; its Blue 2 table lists 0.20 to 0.50% chromium and 1.00 to 1.50% tungsten, while its White 2 table lists neither.

Proterial describes White 2 as a carbon steel with minimum impurities and high hardness, and Blue 2 as an alloy steel with tungsten and chromium to improve heat-treatment properties and wear resistance, with a hardening hardness of over 60 HRC for both. In its Japanese materials, Proterial calls its Aogami (青紙) steels high-carbon steel (高炭素鋼). Neither steel is close to the JSSA's 10.5% minimum for stainless.

Hatsukokoro (初心) is a brand, not a forge. H&K, a company founded in 2013 and based in Amagasaki, Hyogo, created it in 2019.

H&K names the producer for some lines, for example Shinkiro by Takahiro Nihei in Fukushima, Ginyou by Yoshihiro Yauji in Echizen and Kurosagi by Motokyuichi Hamono in Nagasaki, and keeps others confidential. Some knives we stock carry the maker in the title, such as Hatsukokoro x Yoshikane SKD Nashiji.

The name comes from the Japanese proverb 初心忘るべからず, which means don't forget your original intention. The company read it gently as hatsukokoro rather than shoshin.

H&K created the brand in 2019, six years after the company was founded, and chose the name for its knife line.

Pick by how much care you want to give. The carbon lines, Blue 1, Blue 2 and AS kurouchi, need drying and a little oil after use. The SG2, HAP40, Ginsan and VG10 lines are low maintenance, so they suit a busy kitchen or someone who just wants to cook.

Neither is better; it depends on your routine. If you will dry and oil the blade after each use, a carbon line can suit you, and if you want the least fuss, a stainless line is the easier choice.