The Santoku is the most popular knife in the Japanese home and considered to be an all rounder in the kitchen. The meaning of Santoku is the “three virtues” in Japanese and is a reference to its multi purpose and versatility. It can be used to prepare fish, chicken and most fruits and vegetables but is too small for large food items like watermelons and bigger cuts of meat. The Santoku is great as an alternative if you have a larger chef’s knife as most Santokus come in at around 165mm to 180mm its easy to handle and has a snubbed nose to it.

Developed by Takefu Special Steel, Super Gold 2 (SG2) is a premium powdered tool steel alloy specifically engineered for crafting high-quality blades. Renowned for its exceptional performance and durability, SG2 has earned its reputation as one of the most sought-after high-end powder steels in the blade-making community. With the ability to be heat-treated to an impressive hardness of up to 64 HRC (Rockwell hardness scale), SG2 blades exhibit outstanding edge retention and wear resistance. Interestingly, there is a steel known as R2, produced by Kobelco Steel, which is widely believed to be identical to SG2 in composition and properties. 

Due to their indistinguishable characteristics, these steels are often referred to interchangeably as SG2/R2, acknowledging their shared origin and performance attributes. Blades made from SG2 (or R2) steel have gained considerable popularity among both professional chefs and knife enthusiasts for their exceptional cutting performance and long-lasting edge sharpness.

Weight: 205g

Handle Material: Ironwood

Handle Length: 130mm (5.1")

Blade Length: 168mm (6.6")

Blade Depth: 47mm

Thickness at spine: 2.2mm

Thickness at tip: 0.6mm

Cutting Edge: Double 50/50

Blade Material: Damascus R2

Hardness (Rockwell scale): 63 - 64

Layers: 33