Santoku means three virtues in Japanese - slicing, dicing, and mincing. The Kohetsu AS Western santoku delivers all three with Aogami Super carbon steel at HRC 64 behind a stainless-clad blade made in Seki City, Japan as a CKTG exclusive. At 180mm it sits at the larger end of the santoku range, giving excellent knuckle clearance and enough blade for confident board work without the reach of a full gyuto. Kohetsu loosely translates to "be happy" - and at this price point for this steel, that tends to be the outcome.
At 180mm this santoku knife features a thinner than average grind that lets the blade pass through food with minimal resistance - a quality that becomes immediately apparent on the first use. The 60/40 asymmetric grind works well for both right- and left-handed cooks. Stainless cladding over the Aogami Super core keeps the flanks protected and simplifies daily care while the carbon edge does the cutting work. The mahogany western handle with stainless bolster and three rivets is well executed - full tang construction, comfortable across grip styles, and finished to a standard that punches above the price point. Fit and finish are of a high standard throughout.
Care Instructions: Aogami Super is a reactive carbon steel - the stainless cladding protects the flanks but the exposed carbon edge will patina naturally with use. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the edge. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - AS at HRC 64 rewards good sharpening technique and responds beautifully to stropping.
At 180mm this santoku knife features a thinner than average grind that lets the blade pass through food with minimal resistance - a quality that becomes immediately apparent on the first use. The 60/40 asymmetric grind works well for both right- and left-handed cooks. Stainless cladding over the Aogami Super core keeps the flanks protected and simplifies daily care while the carbon edge does the cutting work. The mahogany western handle with stainless bolster and three rivets is well executed - full tang construction, comfortable across grip styles, and finished to a standard that punches above the price point. Fit and finish are of a high standard throughout.
Care Instructions: Aogami Super is a reactive carbon steel - the stainless cladding protects the flanks but the exposed carbon edge will patina naturally with use. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the edge. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - AS at HRC 64 rewards good sharpening technique and responds beautifully to stropping.
- Brand: Kohetsu
- Exclusive: CKTG Exclusive - Available Only at CKTG
- Location: Seki City, Japan
- Construction: San Mai
- Edge Steel: Aogami Super (Super Blue) Carbon Steel
- Cladding: Stainless Steel
- HRC: 64
- Edge Grind: 60/40 Asymmetric Double Bevel
- Handle: Mahogany Western - Full Tang
- Bolster: Stainless Steel
- Rivets: 3 Stainless
- Blade Length: 180mm
Reviews
2 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Excellent Santoku!Posted By: EJ Alexandra - verified customer
8 people found this review helpful
I like a short, wide knife and Santoku knives fit the bill for me. I own several and simply put this is by far my favorite. Geometry is great and the hadle is very comfortable. The edge out of the box easily shaved hair off my wrist. Super happy with this one!
8 people found this review helpful
I like a short, wide knife and Santoku knives fit the bill for me. I own several and simply put this is by far my favorite. Geometry is great and the hadle is very comfortable. The edge out of the box easily shaved hair off my wrist. Super happy with this one!
excellent knife, handle needs workPosted By: kevin mckelvey - verified customer
8 people found this review helpful
This knife is currently my favorite around the kitchen. It's a great knife. But it had a few issues. The main one is that, while the steel portion of the knife was flawless, the wooden handle was not fitted to the tang, and the knife was virtually unusable until I fixed this. The wood was not really sanded: there were sharp edges along the router lines, but much more importantly sharp metal stuck out all over the place. The rivets were not flush and the tang extended beyond the wood almost all around. These metal edges were really sharp. I rolled the knife up in a towel, got out some 600 grit emery paper and a block, and in about 1/2 hour had all of the metal sanded flush with the wood. I also gave the wood a very light sand and knocked the sharpness off the router edges as well. Lastly, I buffed the wood with extra fine steel wool. It's now a great handle. The other issue, which is really just a quibble, is that the "stainless" cladding really isn't. It should be described as being less reactive than the blade steel. But it darkens and takes a patina while you work with it. The blade is extremely nice--I'm basically a push-cutter and I the shape works very well when used this way. I particularly like the tip, which can be used to do extremely fine work. As advertised, AS is an extremely good blade steel--with kitchen use it can go for 4-5 days before it loses it's razor edge and needs a touch-up. But the touch-ups are trivial. Literally a couple of strokes on each side with a finishing stone and it's back to its usual nasty got-ya edge that it likes to take so well.
8 people found this review helpful
This knife is currently my favorite around the kitchen. It's a great knife. But it had a few issues. The main one is that, while the steel portion of the knife was flawless, the wooden handle was not fitted to the tang, and the knife was virtually unusable until I fixed this. The wood was not really sanded: there were sharp edges along the router lines, but much more importantly sharp metal stuck out all over the place. The rivets were not flush and the tang extended beyond the wood almost all around. These metal edges were really sharp. I rolled the knife up in a towel, got out some 600 grit emery paper and a block, and in about 1/2 hour had all of the metal sanded flush with the wood. I also gave the wood a very light sand and knocked the sharpness off the router edges as well. Lastly, I buffed the wood with extra fine steel wool. It's now a great handle. The other issue, which is really just a quibble, is that the "stainless" cladding really isn't. It should be described as being less reactive than the blade steel. But it darkens and takes a patina while you work with it. The blade is extremely nice--I'm basically a push-cutter and I the shape works very well when used this way. I particularly like the tip, which can be used to do extremely fine work. As advertised, AS is an extremely good blade steel--with kitchen use it can go for 4-5 days before it loses it's razor edge and needs a touch-up. But the touch-ups are trivial. Literally a couple of strokes on each side with a finishing stone and it's back to its usual nasty got-ya edge that it likes to take so well.
