# First Japanese Santoku



## fishton (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi all,

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I'm a 29 french guy who loves cooking and baking pastries and desert more particularly.

I recently discovered Japanese knives and would like to make myself a really good gift by buying a Santoku as I really like this knife type

Since two or three weeks, I spend hours on forums, looking for the best knife to buy but now, I must confess, after reading and reading, I m a bit lost.

In short, firstly I was thinking of getting a Damascus knife because of their appearance but regarding my budget (around $200/250) I don't think it's the best choice to do.

I'm also really fancy WA handles, more than Western styles.

My first choice was for a Mizuno Santoku with Blue Steel blade but after reading I discovered it was not a proper Mizuno but an outsourced version not well finished.

Now, my list has spreaded quite a lot and I don't see how to filter it out by myself. I really need your expertise

- Misono UX10

- Masamoto HC

- Hattori FH

- Hiromoto Damascus

- Ryusen Blazen

- Ryusen Damascus

- JCK Fu Rin Ka Zan

Thanks for your time in advance, much appreciated

Julien


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## mano (Dec 16, 2010)

There's a Misono UX10 for sale right here 

http://www.cheftalk.com/t/70672/misono-hiromoto-and-masamoto-japanese-knives

Scroll to the bottom.

I'm not familiar with the Ryusen knives, but the Hattori and Masamoto's are quite good, also. Hiromoto will serve you well but realize the damascus is layered on top of a core VG10 steel and does not improve the performance. It is a beautiful knife, however.


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## fishton (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks for your help.

Your UX10 might be a good idea to start with but I m a bit afraid by shipping cost to France. Any clue how much it costs ?

In the meantime, I have seem other interesting knifes :

- Damascus 101 special on JCK

- Furinkazan (really brut with a WA handle ^^)

- Inazuma (also on JCK quite cheap)

- Honosuke

Too many choices ...

cheers !


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## fishton (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi,

it s me again 

After spending my time looking arround again and again, I definitely think taht buying a Gyuto as a first proper knife might be a better idea tahn going for a Santoku. Am I right ?

As i have only used short knives yet, I was thinking of a 210 mm one.

The question of the brand remains :

- Masamoto HC

- Konosuke HD

- Aritsugu A

- Kikuichi TKC

- Moritaka

- Sakai Takayuki

- Gesshin Ginga

- Watanabeblade (really nice but short 180 mm and expensive ..)

- Asai  Enji

- Kumagoro

- Yoshikane

...

I definitely prefer WA handles to western one. What s the best value for money ? What should I evict from my list ?

thanks a lot !


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## chefchrism (May 29, 2012)

My advice is to go to a kitchen supply store(I'm sure they have them in France) Look at the knives, Don't worry about price or brand. Hold the knife, see how it feels in your hand, compare the different knives. Choose one that you feel comfortable with and purchase it. Everybody has their opinion about what the best knife is but it could be different than what you feel is right for you. I've had my set of Henkels for 30 years, are there better knives out on the market, maybe, but they work for me, and that's what counts


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## fishton (Jul 31, 2012)

Unfortunately, in France, I have only seen Chroma brand knifes ... and no brand like Masamoto, misono and so on until now


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