RATINGS GOOD: ★★★ FAIR: ★★ POOR: ★ RATING JAPANESE KNIVES FAVORITE KNIFE Seven magazine staffers and one kitchen intern evaluated each knife for its performance in a variety of specific tasks as well as for its handle and blade design. The testers ran the gamut in terms of knife skills—from beginner to advanced—as well as hand size and strength. Only one tester was left-handed. Knives are listed in order of preference based on testers’ average overall scores for each knife. P HOTOG R A P H Y: DA N I E L J . VA N ACK E R E PRICE: Prices paid in Boston-area stores, in national mail-order catalogs, and on Web sites. PERFORMANCE: Knives were used to chop and dice onions, mince and slice garlic, thinly slice and julienne carrots, slice tomatoes, and butterfly boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Scores from individual tests were averaged to create an overall performance rating. BLADE: Testers rated blades for sharpness and curvature. Blades that were sharp and thin (but not flimsy) were preferred. Curved blades were able to handle a greater variety of tasks and received higher ratings. HANDLE: Testers rated handles for balance and comfort. Snug grips that didn’t become slippery when greasy or wet were preferred, as were knives with handles that felt balanced with the blade. BLADE MATERIAL/LENGTH: Most of the knives had blades made from high-carbon stainless steel. One had a ceramic blade; another a blade made from a titanium silver alloy. Testers generally found the high-carbon stainless steel blades to be the sharpest. Blade length was measured from the tip to the point where the blade meets the handle; longer blades were preferred. TESTERS’ COMMENTS: Observations about design or performance in specific tests. $55.00 Ideal bridge between cramped, smaller santokus and larger chef’s knife. Admired for being most sharp and responsive, this knife was especially nimble, easy to control, and precise. As one tester gushed, “great with everything.” $89.99 Cadillac of group, this knife felt “sturdy” and “solid.” Curvature of blade made it good at rocking while mincing, and tip was sharp and decisive. Bulge on right side of handle was uncomfortable for left-handed tester. $69.99 “Super-accurate” at thin slicing and fine mincing. Straight blade created abrupt “see-saw” effect when rocking to mince or chop. One camp applauded light feel—“like a smaller, quicker chef’s knife.” Others deemed it flimsy. Sharp, but not exceptionally so. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $78.00 Could have been perfect if not for narrow, sleek stainless steel handle that made grip feel “all over the place.” Sharp blade with markedly curved edge and tapered tip were more like chef’s knife than santoku. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $64.95 Sharp, relatively thick blade made this knife a strong, substantial slicer, but blade’s flat curve made rocking motion shallow and somewhat jarring. Knife generally had awkward, less maneuverable feel. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $27.00 Decent sharpness and maneuverability but best suited to slicing. Stubby, cleaver-shaped blade felt somewhat “dead” at rocking motion needed for mincing and coarse chopping. Fat handle was liked by many for its soft, grippy feel. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $140. 4 00 40. 0 Notably sharp, short blade performed delicate knife work respectably but, overall, “too small to be of much use.” White ceramic blade made it tricky to see white food (such as garlic) when working on white plastic board. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $69.95 Blade was dull, fat, stubby, and “kind of clumsy”—more like a cleaver. Decent rocking motion but lacked capacity for delicate and precise work. Molded stainless steel handle too large and cumbersome. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $127.50 “Feather-light,” flimsy, short, and, ironically—given steep price—cheap in feel was overall consensus. Difficult to control and shallow, abrupt rocking motion were common complaints. PRICE: PERFORMANCE: BLADE: HANDLE: $35.36 Most testers found teeny “hobbit” size uncomfortable and difficult to control. Not enough clearance under handle, so even those with small hands banged their knuckles when blade came in full contact with cutting board. PRICE: B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : PERFORMANCE: BLADE: High-carbon stainless steel/61⁄ 2 inches HANDLE: ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ RECOMMENDED Kershaw Shun Classic PRICE: PERFORMANCE: Santoku model DM-0702 B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : BLADE: HANDLE: High-carbon stainless steel/61⁄ 2 inches Wüsthof üsthof Grand Prix PRICE: PERFORMANCE: Oriental Cook’s B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : BLADE: HANDLE: High-carbon stainless steel/62⁄ 3 inches Global Oriental Cook B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : High-carbon stainless steel/7 inches Zwilling Henckels Four Star Santoku B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : High-carbon stainless steel/7 inches Oxo Good Grips MV55- PRO Santoku B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : High-carbon stainless steel/61⁄ 2 inches ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★★★ ★ ★★★ ★★ ★★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ NOT RECOMMENDED Kyocera Ming Tsai Santoku B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : Ceramic/6 inches Füri Pro East/West B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : High-carbon stainless steel/7 inches Boker Cera-Titan I Santoku B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : Titanium silver alloy/61⁄2 inches Forschner Santoku B L A D E M AT E R I A L / L E N GT H : High-carbon stainless steel/6 inches dull. The blade was also unnervingly thin and extremely flexible. There was little trend in terms of the best handles. Unobtrusive designs that allotted a clean, comfortable grip were preferred. For most of the testers, the slick look of stainless handles, featured on the Füri and Global, translated to a slick grip as well. And the Winner Is . . . TESTERS’ COMMENTS MAC Superior Santoku While testers liked most of the santokus, only two—the MAC and the Kershaw Shun—were consistently preferred over the Forschner chef’s ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★ ★ ★★ ★★ ★ ★ ★ ★ knife in the tests. But given how much we like the Forschner (and the fact that many chef’s knives are inferior to this brand), the santokus certainly held their own. But you could argue that our tests were rigged in favor of the santokus. In preliminary testing, we tried to halve acorn squashes, and only a couple of the santokus could manage this basic task. The blades were simply too thin and too short. We also avoided cutting up a whole chicken because manufacturers warned that santoku blades were too thin to cut through bone. A chef’s knife can handle both of these chores easily. JULY & AUGUST 29 2004 Is the era of the chef’s knife at an end? No. The chef’s knife is more versatile than the santoku. If you are going to have only one type of knife in your kitchen, it should be a chef’s knife. That said, our testers felt that the santoku is indeed better at precision slicing: The blade is shorter, thinner, and easier to manage. Stick with the chef’s knife for more substantial tasks. We heartily recommend the MAC Superior Santoku knife—it performed well and was one of the cheapest models tested. But use this santoku to complement—not to replace—your chef’s knife.