The Japanese version of the chef’s knife, the santoku is useful for straight chopping, mincing, and slicing of larger quantities of vegetables and meat. Cooks with smaller hands may prefer this 7-inch blade as the shorter length offers better control while cutting. The width also provides a great platform for transporting chopped vegetables from cutting board to sauté pan. This version of the santoku actually has a hollow edge or oval cut-outs along the blade. The benefit to this blade style is that cooks can cut paper-thin slices and individual slices won’t stick to the blade. Part of the Pro S series of cutlery, this knife has a fully forged high-carbon stainless-steel blade. The blade, bolster, and tang are welded of one piece of metal using Henckels’s Sinter Metal Component Technology, which distributes the right quantities of metal to each part of the knife. The result is a longer-lasting edge and a more consistent angle on the blade. The blade has also undergone Henckels’s Friodur ice-hardening process, which further strengthens it and protects it from discoloration. The traditional-style black synthetic handle is secured to the tang with three stainless-steel rivets. This santoku is covered by a lifetime warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde
