J.A. Henckels International Henckels Classic 7-Inch Santoku Knife with Hollow Edge

I'm a fan of the Spanish-made Henckel's Int'l Classic lines. I have the bread knife and the utility knife as well. I think the major budget concessions (as these are not the high-end German-made line) comes in the size. Classic blades, though full-tang and thrice-riveted, have less steel than comparable brands. This makes them slender and light in the hand. However, less steel is not lower-quality steel, and these blades are incredibly hard and reliable.

This santoku is still large enough to use as a spatula when cutting, delivering onions, mushrooms or other slices or mince to the pan while cooking speedily. It sharpens easily (I use a small stone under running water), and responds well to a steel every few uses. It's the sharpest blade in my collection, easily slicing up my sponges when I clean it. With care, it won't do the same to your skin, mostly because of the sturdiness of construction that breeds confident handling. It won't slide off most vegetables before slicing in, and can even cleave small poultry bones with slow and steady pressure downward (I wouldn't use it to hack as real cleavers do). This is a precision instrument, not a blunt tool.

This was my first 'nice' knife when I was taken in by the Santoku craze, and it was certainly a decent choice. The knife is sharp out of the box, reasonably well balanced, and has pretty good fit/finish. For the type of person who only buys things like veggies and boneless/skinless chicken, etc., that are largely prepared, this knife will probably fit the bill and allow you finish up small amounts of prep work. The real drawback is the length. When you live in the South, you see vidalia onions that are 7" in diameter. This knife is a bit small to tackle the large veggies. And don't even think about getting it near hard melons or bone-in meats. Since I got this knife, I've expanded my collection quite a bit, even adding some real Japanese steel. But this little blade keeps a spot on my magnetic strip, where it comes out for small tasks or when my wife can't get me to relinquish the big blade. For most cooks, who need a real omni-tasker knife, I would look for a 9-10" chef's knife rather than this.

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If you are looking for an inexpensive Santoku, consider this one. It's a hybrid with European style handle and forged stainless blade, good value knife for the price. It's easy to adapt to if you are used to standard chef's knives. It's worth thinking about if you want to expand your food preparation skills. But you may also want to consider a real Japanese santoku someday.

As you know, santokus are originally a Japanese knife intended for chopping vegetables and boneless meat. In Japan, knives are often made from inexpensive high carbon steel - steel that is very hard and keeps a very sharp edge but rusts easily. The blade edge is thinner and more acute edged, with a 15 degree bevel on both sides, instead of the western 20 degree bevel. Traditionally they have an unfinished wood handle.

Such a knife cuts well, but will rust quickly and the handle will split if washed in a dishwasher, or simply left wet. Knives that rust or are not dishwasher compatible don't appeal to typical American cooks, so many mass market Santokus use stainless steel, which is rust resistant but won't hold an edge as well as a high carbon steel blade.

I mention all this because this knife is far from a traditional Japanese Santoku. It has a heavier stainless blade and European style handle. Its blade bevel angle seems to be 20 degrees, not 15. Still, it is lighter and more agile than a long heavy chef's knife, the most common prep knife in US kitchens. So it gives you some of the advantages of a real santoku.

For quick veggie prep you may want to consider an even lighter, ultra sharp knife, like the true Santoku. You can find those here on Amazon in all price ranges. Be prepared to baby them. The high carbon steel will rust if left wet, and the bare wood handle will split if you put them in a dishwasher. But the blade -wow. They are like razors and really cut veggies quickly with little effort. So, that's the tradeoff: easy maintenance versus efficient chopping. If you are disciplined about maintaining them, true santokus are wonderful tools.

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Okay,so I bought this knife because I really want a santoku knife but I didn't want to spend big bucks on a high end Japanese style knife that I wouldn't enjoy using.so I only bought it as a starter santoku until I can afford to buy the real deal.

How surprised was I,this knife is truly amazing.I have since changed my mind and have decided to stick with this knife.I am a professional chef and use a vast arrangement of knives daily for the different tasks at hand but I must say this is by far my favourite knife.Every chef has their multi-purpose knife that they would use for the majority of their work,mine was my very expensive Wustof Ikon 8 1/2 inch cooks knife but it has been since replaced by this made in Spain,German logo,Japanese style knife,and it only cost me 13 ($18), I bought it at TK Max (TJ Max) in Europe.It is such a pleasure to use,the Japanese are big into presentation with their food,delicate,dainty,neat and precision cuts are easy to obtain with this knife.You are still able to obtain that rocking motion that you see celebrity chefs do on those cooking programmes so it wasn't difficult to make the transition from the popular western style cooks knife to this handy Asian style knife.

By all means if you have the money to blow and you haven't been burdened by this recession,go out and by yourself a genuine Japanese made santoku knife.you wont be disappointed,but if you are feeling the pinch or maybe you don't see the point in wasting money on something that can do the exact same job for cheaper,then buy this knife.

Although I must say,it is not the most comfortable handle,im not saying that it is uncomfortable to use,it could just be even more comfortable in my opinion,that's just me.and if you really don't like it,hey,so what,not like you spent that much on it anyway right.(BTW,you can get the same knife with different handles)

To end off,great knife,easy to sharpen to razor sharpness,just make sure you use your steel before and after each use,as you should do with all your knives.So if you are a enthusiastic home cook or a professional in the game(i know how badly chefs get paid) then get this knife.

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I've owned this knife for the past 5 years and have been quite pleased with it's performance. I recieved it for Christmas 05 and it was razor sharp out of the package. I use it so much that I have quite a calus under the third pad of my right index finder from the top of the full tang blade (chopping and mincing). It holds an edge extremely well and is just barely second to my ceramic Kyocera 5" in sharpness and how long it holds that edge. Great value for money.

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