Takamura Chromax Santoku 170mm

Santoku knives are really great all-around kitchen blades. They have a deft feel and tall blades which endow the knives with a great deal of versatility in their cutting capabilities. Santoku translates to “three virtues” and the acts of slicing, chopping, and dicing are tackled with aplomb by this classic design. Many Western chefs and home cooks look to the santoku as their go-to blade for most cutting tasks. They have become a very popular alternative to the classic Western chef knife or small gyuto. 

The Takamura Chromax Santoku is a very sweet knife. It is made from Chromax steel, which is a semi stainless alloy often compared to R2. It has a very solid and tough feel, as opposed to a slightly more dainty feel of R2. 

Chromax is composed of 5% chromium, 1% carbon, 0.9% manganese, 1.2% molybdenum and 0.5% vanadium. It is more resistant to corrosion than standard carbon steel. It is also harder and exhibits better edge retention compared to standard stain-resistant steel. Chromax steel manifests the positive characteristics of both carbon and stain-resistant steel. 

These knives have a very attractive hammered finish and excellent grinds. The tsuchime hammered pattern was actually first developed and patented by Takamura Cutlery 50 years ago. Since the expiration of the patent, it is now used by many knife makers. This is the same blade as the other Takamura Chromax Santoku except with a nicer bolstered handle made of light brown oak colored wood.

 Weight: 5 ounces

• Blade Length: 170 mm
• Spine Thickness at Base: 1.5 mm
• Blade Height: 48 mm
• Cladding: Stainless Hammered
• Edge: 50/50
• Steel: Chromax
• HRC: 64-65
• Handle: Western