Takeshi Saji Maki-e Urushi VG10W Santoku 170mm

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.

Takefu makes VG10W by adding tungsten, 0.40%, to VG10, and its other published composition figures are the same as the figures Takefu publishes for VG10. Takefu says the tungsten forms hard, fine carbides that contribute to improved wear resistance and ease of sharpening.

Takefu lists HRC 61 or more for VG10W against HRC 60 or more for VG10. Takefu also states that VG10W has 20% higher durability/strength and 25% higher cutting performance than VG10, while maintaining the same corrosion resistance.

Takefu, which makes VG10W, adds tungsten to its VG10 and says the hard, fine carbides this forms improve both wear resistance and ease of sharpening. Takefu lists VG10W among its stainless steels, with 15% chromium and a hardness of HRC 61 or more.

The JSSA notes that stainless strictly means a steel that rusts less, not one that never rusts. We suggest rinsing and drying the knife after use, storing it dry and keeping it out of the dishwasher.

Takeshi Saji (佐治武士) is the third generation of Saji Uchihamono (株式会社佐治打刃物), the Echizen workshop founded in 1916.

The national register of traditional craftspersons lists him in the Echizen forged cutlery division, certified as a traditional craftsperson (伝統工芸士) on 25 February 1994. We carry a wide range of his work.

Saji Uchihamono was founded in 1916, according to the Takefu Knife Village page for Takeshi Saji.

The same page lists him as the third generation of the company, 佐治打刃物.