Kotetsu Santoku VG-10 Damascus 180mm (7.1″)

The Kotetsu Santoku VG-10 Damascus 180mm (7.1″) is a large multi-purpose Japanese knife with visible hammer prints, a damascus pattern and a classic Japanese (wa-style) teak handle. It will impress anyone who appreciates aesthetically designed kitchen utensils.

The knife is extremely thin (1.7mm/0.06″) so it will slide through ingredients with ease, and the choice of VG-10 stainless steel ensures rust resistance, durability, and wear resistance. Because it is low-maintenance, it is suitable as a first Japanese kitchen knife, and due to its exceptional value for money, it also makes a great gift for your favorite cooking enthusiasts.

The knife has all the features of a traditional Japanese santoku: a wide blade, a flat belly, and a spine that curves at a 60-degree angle towards the tip (making it resemble a sheep’s foot). The unique hail-like hammer blows prevent ingredients from sticking to the blade during chopping, making for faster and more precise work.

*The smithy marked the length of the cutting edge as 180mm (7.08″), but we measured a bit more – approximately 188mm (7.4″).

BLADE SHAPE:
The santoku knife, originating from Japan, is a versatile and multipurpose kitchen knife commonly found in Japanese households. It excels at various cutting and chopping tasks on the cutting board.

The name “santoku” derives from the Japanese word “San,” meaning “three,” representing the knife’s three virtues. It effortlessly handles all three key ingredients: meat, fish, and vegetables. It is equally adept at slicing, chopping, and mincing, making it a versatile companion in the kitchen.

The santoku knife is divided into three distinct parts: the tip, which is designed for intricate work, allowing for precise cuts, the cutting edge, which serves general cutting purposes and accommodates a range of tasks, and the heel of the knife, which is perfect for heavy-duty chopping.

With its rich heritage and versatile design, the santoku knife is an indispensable tool for any kitchen, be it home or professional, and caters to a wide range of cutting needs.

STEEL:
VG-10 is currently the most popular Japanese steel. When deciding between the steels from which we want to make a knife, we consider properties such as hardness, ability to maintain sharpness, ease of maintenance, grain of the steel, ease of sharpening, and, ultimately, price and availability. VG-10 (V for Vanadium, G for “gold”, denoting superior quality) is produced by Takefu Special Steel Company, a relatively small company that managed to find just the right balance between the various elements that make up today’s most popular Japanese steel. VG-10 is a relatively high (1%) carbon (C), 15% chromium (Cr), 1% molybdenum (Mo), 0.3% vanadium (V) and 1.5% cobalt (Co) stainless steel. The combination of Cr, Mo and V forms a lot of hard carbides, which gives the steel resistance to abrasion and consequently better retention of sharpness.

LAMINATION:
The blade consists of 17 layers of steel. Steels with high hardness have many advantages, but because of their hardness, they are more brittle and thus more susceptible to damage. Blades made of such steels are therefore laminated using the san-mai method, thereby improving their structural integrity and consequently resistance to various impacts and other physical factors that could lead to damage. San-mai means “three layers” in Japanese and refers to a blade that consists of a primary inner layer of harder steel (hagane) and two outer layers of softer steel (jigane) that are made up of multiple layers.

BLADE GEOMETRY:
The blade is double-bevel (symmetrical) and extremely thin, which is key to preparing food with minimal damage to the cell membranes of the ingredients. This enables greater preservation of the taste and appearance of the food.
The thickness of the blade largely determines the sharpness of the knife, as well as easier and faster sharpening.

BLADE FINISH:
The blade stands out because of its hammer impressions that were added across the top of the blade, in combination with a damascus pattern. The wavy shinogi line runs along the cutting edge and marks the boundary between the layers.
Hammer patterns are called tsuchime. Air is trapped in the air pockets during cutting, which helps the blade slide through the food without sticking, which enables fast and accurate food preparation.

HANDLE:
The knife has a classic Japanese handle (wa-style) made of teak wood, with a resin ferrule. The shape of the handle is octagonal, so it fits in both the right and left hand.

SMITHY:
The Yasuda Hamono smithy has been operating since 1957. It is located in the city of Seki (Gifu Prefecture), which is the cradle of blacksmithing in Japan. They are dedicated to research and development, tirelessly perfecting heat treatment and grinding techniques to make the most of the unique characteristics of different steels when making knives. This dedication to knife making has carried over from the original “Sakusaku” brand to brands such as Seki Kotetsu, Gen Kotetsu, and Kotetsu. Knives are the work of dedicated hands of craftsmen who have a deep love and respect for their craft.
Due to its geographical location and natural resources, Seki has been a place where blacksmithing has been perfected for more than 800 years and is known throughout the world as the home of the modern Japanese knife industry. Namely, the blacksmiths of this area transferred the ancient knowledge of forging katanas into kitchen knives.