When it comes to the knives’ versatility for your kitchen, you will find the knife’s two exotic Japanese names: Santoku and Gyuto. These two knives can change your cooking experience with deep contentment.
However, Choosing one knife between these two types is quite tough, as both are very handy in their particular use. Stay with us! We are presenting an in-depth review of Santoku vs Gyuto to make your decision of buying a knife more easy.
It is an interesting fact that most Japanese kitchens have very small spaces. Most of the Japanese knives are made with small shapes considering the fact. Both Santoku and Gyuto are good enough for use in homes or professional chef’s kitchen.
These two versatile knives have gained the knife aficionados’ belief through their exceptional performance in the kitchen.
Santoku vs Gyuto Knives: A Quick Comparison Table
| Aspect | Santoku Knife | Gyuto Knife |
|---|---|---|
| Blade Length | 5 to 7 inches (approx.) | 8 to 10 inches (approx.) |
| Blade Shape | Flat with slight curve | Longer and more slender |
| Primary Functions | Slicing, dicing, mincing | Versatile for various tasks |
| Cutting Techniques | Rocking motion, precise cuts | Rocking motion, slicing, chopping |
| Versatility | Good for delicate tasks | Excellent for diverse tasks |
| User Level | Suitable for all skill levels | Popular among chefs and enthusiasts |
| Kitchen Size | Ideal for smaller kitchens | Suited for larger kitchens |
| Cutting Board Size | Fits well on smaller boards | Requires larger cutting boards |
| Common Use Cases | Vegetables, boneless meats | All-purpose cutting and slicing |
| Preferred by | Beginners, home cooks | Professional chefs, enthusiasts |
| Where to Buy? | 👉Check Price Here✅ | 👉Check Price Here✅ |
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Santoku Knife at A Glance
Do you know how the idea of a Santoku knife came? Japanese chefs used a variety of knives based on the dishes they made before world war-II. Surprisingly, They started grabbing the western style of cooking during the war. They needed a knife that could serve them with its multipurpose ability. So, they introduced the Santoku knife to the knife aficionados.
The word Santoku expresses the purposes of the knives themselves. The traditional meaning of Santoku is ‘three virtues’ which are chopping, cubing, and slicing of foods. The strong point of the Santoku is chopping vegetables though it performs well for the other tasks also.
Moreover, Santoku knives allow its users to chop the veggies in one cut, making the direct contact of the knives with the chopping board. The flat blades with a tad rounded tips of the knives are not well fitted for piercing like the chef knives. Rather they are particularly advantageous for long cutting strokes. You will find these knives very expedient for chopping and slicking of foods.
Blade Design:
you can call the blade edge of the Santoku knives the sheepsfoot flat edge. In this design, the edge of the blade is straight and meets with the curved spine. You may pierce your hand during the chopping of foods with the tip of the blades. The santoku blade design lessens the piercing risk since there is no acute tip in the blades. There are some knife lines of Santoku that include a hollow grind or Damascus pattern. However, this feature prohibits the sticking of foods.
Edge Drind:
Santoku introduced two types of edge grinds to its lines; ryoba and kataba. If you are a common user of Santoku, the Japanese kataba edge grind will not suit you. Santoku designed the kataba edge grind only for the professionals. Moreover, if you are a santoku fan, you know that most blades of Santoku lines are designed with ryoba edge.
The common people use the blades with ryoba edge mostly. Kataba is not as like ryoba. You will find the kataba edged blades sharpened by one side normally. The side which is to be sharpened depends on your needs. Since the kataba edge is a single bevel, it needs some experts to operate. On the other hand, the ryoba edge is double bevels. As a result, it is quite easy for common home users to play with ryoba santoku knives in the kitchen.
Edge Angle:
Different Santoku blades need different edge angles to sharpen. More precisely, you will find most of the blades of the Santoku are sharpened with a 10-15 degrees angle per side. With this edge angle, the blades become very sharp. So, you will enjoy more slicing of foods. Besides, kataba Santoku knives accept 10° to 15° edge angles on one side. It also provides more sharpness.
Blade materials:
The different manufacturers’ knives differ a lot in case of hardness and sharpness due to the materials they use to make the knives. Manufacturers always try to provide the best materials to keep the hardness and sharpness of the blades balanced. The Japanese Santoku uses Japanese super steel in the production of their knives.
The materials used in most of the Santoku knives are VG-10 and AUS-10 stainless steel. Blades with these steels are exceptionally durable and rust-free. Some blades are manufactured with Damascus steel that prevents food sticking.
Pros
- Multiple-use
- Well-balance
- Blade design prevents the hand from piercing.
- Very sharp for precise cutting.
- Long durability.
Con
- single beveled blades are difficult to operate for the common users.
Gyuto Knife At A Glance
Many people consider Gyuto as a separate knife brand. They don’t know that Gyuto is none but a term for the famous chef’s knife with the Japanese trend. With the passes of time, the demand for Japanese katanas and weapons became low. So, the Japanese blacksmiths gave importance to kitchen knives production due to the increasing demand for kitchen knives in the western world. As a result, Gyuto got its popularity in Japan and western culture.
A Gyuto is made with an all-purpose shape. Its blade edge is a little curved to the tip. It has become more popular for its blade design that is compatible with the rock chop cutting style. If you are a rock chopper, you will love it during the chopping or slicing of veggies and meats.
Usually, the length of the Gyuto knives is a bit large. Gyuto means ‘cow sword’ that indicates the ability of the blades to cut large meet smoothly.
Blade Design:
The Gyuto knives designed their blade edge with a curved spine that upward the tip from the downside. However, the design enables the users to cut their foods with a rocking motion. You may face a food sticking problem as the design of the most Gyutos doesn’t include any hollow edge.
The Gyuto knives can function different tasks with a gradual curve. You can bring variation in cuts using different portions of the blade edge like front side, spine, middle side, and heel. Each portion is capable of doing a particular job.
Edge Grind:
In general, Gyuto knives are mostly double-beveled knives. However, you will found some single beveled Gyuto knives also. The double-beveled Gyuto knives form a ‘V’ shape when they are sharpened. This type of beveled edge knives is the finest for using household tasks because they work well against thick or large foods. You can use both hands with the double bevel edged knives.
The numbers of single beveled Gyuto knives are very low. These types of blades are sharpened by one side. As a result, they become very thin and sharp. You can get thin slices of foods with single beveled knives. The single bevel knives’ main problem is that you need to be well skilled in operating the knives.
Sharpness:
The Gyuto knives are sharpened with a more edge angle than Santoku knives. The sharpness of the blades depends on the edge angle you assign for sharpening. You can make your Gyuto knives sharpened with an edge angle of 10-20 degrees. The average age angle of a Gyuto knife is 15 degrees.
Handle:
Gyuto got its inspiration from western knives. For this reason, you will find a western touch in Gyuto knives. The Gyuto knives can perform almost the same task as western chef knives can. You will see most of the Gyuto knives’ handles are designed with Japanese or western style like the western chef’s knives.
Pros
- Perfect for rock chopping.
- Multiple-use
- Very sharp
- Suitable for cutting dense meat or large vegetables.
- Durable.
Con
- Little expensive.
Facts to Consider Between Santoku vs Gyuto
Both Santoku and Gyuto have a special demand in western culture. They are popular among the people not only in Japan but also in America and other western countries. Both knives are familiar to the knife aficionados due to their versatility.
You may be sure that any of the two types will make you happy in your kitchen.
People like both Santoku and Gyuto as a kitchen knife. Both knives perform well in their particular tasks. If you observe both of the knives, You will find some important similarities between Santoku and Gyuto. With the similarities, some differences also will be visible. However, there are some facts that you should consider before you make a buy.
Blade Design
One of the most important parts of a knife is its design. The design can significantly express the purposes of the knife. You will see two different designs of Santoku and Gyuto.
Santoku Design
The versatile Santoku knife blades have a flat edge profile. However, You can also call the design a sheepsfoot design. The curved spine has met downward to the flat edge. As a result, the Santoku is not well capable of rocking motion during cutting veggies or foods.
It is best fitted in up and down chopping motion. You can rock with your Santoku, but it is a bit difficult for the Santoku. Most of the Santoku knives comprise a hollow edge to avoid food sticking.
Gyuto Design
If you see the Gyuto knives’ blades, you will find a curved edge in which the curve starts from the heel and goes to the tip. However, this curved blade makes way for rocking action. This motion can chop the foods or vegetables very quickly. Again, there is an absence of a hollow grind in Gyuto knives.
Bottom Line-
Santoku is best for cutting long veggies in one cut like the edge grind of the blade contacts directly with the chopping board. The hollow grind of the blades will cut sticking free. On the other hand, Gyuto knives are good enough for the people who like to cut with a rocking motion.
Sizes
Size is the fact that it can influence the works a bit. The larger product can increase fatigue. Also, you may not be accustomed to the use of larger tools. So, when you are going to select any tool for your individual use, you should consider the tools’ size also.
Santoku Size
Usually, Japanese knives are short due to their kitchen size. Most of the Japanese kitchens are a little shorter. So, the Santoku knives have a short length. You will find the average length of the Santoku knives is 5″-7″ but the most popular length is 7″. The total length of a popular Santoku is around 11″. With these lengths, the short-handed chefs can chop veggies smoothly.
Gyuto Size
Empirically, Gyuto knives are longer than the Santoku. Generally, Gyuto knives tend to range from 4″-14″ or more. The length of 6″ or 8″ is the common lengths for a Gyuto knife. Since the Gyuto knives are larger, it can maintain a large cut with meat or fruits like watermelon.
Bottom line-
Gyuto knives will make it easy to chop large ingredients like meats, oversized veggies, etc. On the contrary, Santoku is capable of cutting vegetables, dicing fish, or slicing meat easily.
Uses
It would be best if you had something to buy based on your requirements. It extremely depends on the tasks you are intended to accomplish. So, you should be clear about the objectives of buying the knives between Santoku and Gyuto. They have some supremacy over one another.
Santoku Uses
Usually, Santoku knives are quite thin and sharp with a flat edge. So they are well known for slicing seafood, cheese, meat, and chopping vegetables, and so on with single downward action. Santoku will serve you best if you think to prepare sushi, salad, sashimi, or any dishes that require delicate slicing of meat or mincing of vegetables.
Gyuto Uses
The Gyuto knives are little extended and thick with a sharp tip. So, they can cut or disjoint dense meats, chopping oversized or root vegetables, etc. with rocking action.
Bottom Line-
you can differentiate one knife from another with the way they perform to cut the foods. Both the knives have their distinctive uses.
Weight
Weight is related to the size of something. Generally, larger things are heavier than shorter things. So, if you want to have a comfortable knife for your kitchen, consider the knives’ weight also.
Santoku Weight
Since the Santoku knives are slim and short, you will find that the santoku knives’ weight is comparatively lower than Gyuto knives. The people who have small hands will feel more relaxed with the Santoku knives.
Gyuto Weight
In general, Gyuto knives are quite long for their applicability. So most users find these knives a little heavier than Santoku knives. In this case, the knives will not fit well with people with small hands.
Bottom Line-
Santoku knives may be more comfortable than the Gyuto as they are more compact than the Gyuto knives. The selection of one knife between the two will depend on the comfortability of the users.
Price
In many cases, the budget becomes the main obstacle to buy the desired tools or products. Due to the shortage or low distribution of budget, people need to compromise with the things they don’t desire. So, consider the budget carefully during the buying of your desired knife.
Santoku Price
You have to invest a bit less if you want to buy a Santoku knife. Santoku offers versatility with a low budget. You can save some bucks if you go with Santoku.
Gyuto Price
Gyuto knives won’t show any mercy in terms of the price. They are quite expensive than traditional Japanese Santoku. However, they will provide you the knives at high prices but they worth the money.
Bottom Line-
Both knives are committed to providing good materials to their knives. The price may vary based on different brands and their sizes.
Santoku Vs. Gyuto: Which Is the Best, and Why?
All knife aficionados will like to get both knives in their collection. If the budget doesn’t bother you, you may also collect both knives for your kitchen. They will serve you differently as each knife is expert in its particular use. However, Gyuto can be a choice for you because it can handle all the works you need.
If your budget is quite tight, you may choose a Santoku knife in that case. Gyuto is a little more costly than the Santoku. In some knife lines of Santoku, you will find the Santoku a bit more pricy.
Aren’t you comfortable with tap chopping? Then Gyuto maybe your loyal friend. It will make you the feel of rocking motion with its curved design. Again, if you are comfortable with up and down cutting style, you may be satisfied with a Santoku.
Is the size of your hand a little small? Santoku will provide you relaxation during the cutting of foods. On the other hand, Gyuto will do best with the larger hands.
Our Verdict on Santoku or Gyuto Knives Dilemma
Throughout the review of Santoku vs. Gyuto, we had in-depth observations of both knives. When you are comparing Gyuto and Santoku, both knives are well capable of fulfilling your needs. They have some subtle differences.
Your personal preference is more important to choose the appropriate one. If you have no other choices, then you can go for the most versatile Gyuto knife in your kitchen. It will make your tasks very smooth with their capacity to do chopping or slicing within a short time.
However, if you already have a Gyuto knife in your collection, you can choose a Santoku knife as a second option without any hesitation. So, happy chopping!!!
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Frequently Asked Questions About Santoku Vs. Gyuto
Well, at the end of the article, you must be wondering with a lot of questions in your mind. Don’t worry you are not alone in this pavement. A lot of people have also similar confusion regarding this matter. We tried our level best to answer those questions on the basis of real-life experiences. Let’s find out more!
When Gyuto knife is used?
Usually, when you need to cut with a rock chopping style, you can use Gyuto there. You can apply the Gyuto knives for diverse cuts of meat. Besides, it can be used for cutting oversized veggies.
Is a Santoku suitable for preparing sushi?
Yes, you can prepare the famous Japanese sushi with a Santoku knife. The knife has a fine ability to slice sushi. So, it will not make you unhappy during the slicing of the ingredients of sushi.
Which one is the best between Santoku and Gyuto?
It is a very tough job to identify the best one between Santoku vs. Gyuto. Both knives serve their purpose effortlessly. They are distinctive in their way. So it depends on the tasks you are going to do with them. If you want to slice meat or mince vegetables, Santoku will serve well. Again, Gyuto will do best in all types of cutting of meat, large veggies, etc.
Thanks for reading!
