Santoku vs. Gyuto - What's the Difference?

Are you thinking about buying a Japanese knife and you are not sure which type of knife you want to buy? Then this short article can help you. You will surely have stumbled across Santoku knives and Gyuto knives during your research and ask yourself, what is the difference.

Exactly, what is the difference between the two most famous Japanese knife types? There are many Japanese kitchen knives and keeping track of them sometimes seems more complicated than it actually is.

Both the Gyuto and Santoku are Japanese chef's knives whose shapes have become well established and are now imitated around the world. The blade of the Gyuto knife is very similar to that of European chef's knives and is therefore often referred to as a Japanese chef's knife. The Santoku, on the other hand, has a slightly different blade shape and a higher blade than the Gyuto. To illustrate the direct comparison of these two Japanese chef's knives, we have superimposed the two blade types below. The Gyuto has a longer tapered tip and it is this tip that can be advantageous for cutting meat. Cuts on the bone or loosening tendons in meat can be done well. The Santoku, on the other hand, has a sickle-like tip and the tall blade allows it to handle large cuts like large vegetables and large fruits well. The direct comparison shows the geometric differences of Santoku (black) and Gyuto (red) again in a graphic.

Santoku knives are usually only available with blade lengths of 150mm - 180mm, while Gyuto knives up to 300mm are not uncommon. The Santoku knife is a very agile Japanese knife and is well suited for chopping and slicing. The Gyuto has mostly advantages in cradle cutting or also called "rocking" due to the longer blade radius. Both types of knives also classically have their center of gravity in the direction of the blade tip and owe the aforementioned agility to this characteristic. With few exceptions, these Japanese knife types are double-edged, although there are also single-edged Gyutos and single-edged Santoku knives in our store.

So in the end, it's a matter of taste whether you choose a Gyuto or Santoku knife. The third option is the Bunka and should also be considered. For us, the Bunka is often the favorite and we can only recommend this Japanese chef's knife.