Chromax is a semi-stainless steel with a character between carbon and stainless - it sharpens like a carbon steel, achieves 64-65 HRC for exceptional edge retention, and resists corrosion better than reactive carbon steels while remaining capable of a patina with acidic foods and sustained moisture. Takamura pairs it with a hammered tsuchime stainless cladding and the same laser-thin grind that defines every knife they make in Echizen. The result is a knife with carbon steel sharpening character and near-stainless maintenance - at a price that consistently surprises people who pick one up.
The Chromax santoku at 170mm brings the Takamura laser grind to an accessible price point with a hammered tsuchime stainless cladding that provides food release alongside the visual appeal. At 5.2 oz and 46mm height with a 2mm spine this is a well-proportioned all-purpose knife. Zirf calls the blade a laser - sharp out of the box and worth getting before it goes out of stock. Brian is a home cook who spent considerable time reading and watching videos before buying - finds the fit and finish excellent, the edge sufficient for his needs, and took emery cloth to the choil for a more comfortable pinch grip. Calls it a real value. Limit two per customer.
What Customers Are Saying: Sixteen five-star reviews. Zirf calls the blade a laser - sharp out of the box and worth buying before it goes out of stock. Brian is a home cook who spent a lot of time researching before buying - finds excellent fit and finish, took emery cloth to the choil for a more comfortable pinch grip, and calls it a real value. Multiple reviewers confirm the Chromax sharpens easily and holds an edge well above its price point.
Care Instructions: Chromax is a semi-stainless steel - highly stain resistant under normal kitchen conditions but capable of developing a patina with acidic foods and prolonged moisture exposure. Hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber cutting boards. Avoid bones, frozen foods, and hard materials. Sharpen on quality water stones - Chromax at 64-65 HRC sharpens like a carbon steel and responds well to stropping between sessions.
The Chromax santoku at 170mm brings the Takamura laser grind to an accessible price point with a hammered tsuchime stainless cladding that provides food release alongside the visual appeal. At 5.2 oz and 46mm height with a 2mm spine this is a well-proportioned all-purpose knife. Zirf calls the blade a laser - sharp out of the box and worth getting before it goes out of stock. Brian is a home cook who spent considerable time reading and watching videos before buying - finds the fit and finish excellent, the edge sufficient for his needs, and took emery cloth to the choil for a more comfortable pinch grip. Calls it a real value. Limit two per customer.
What Customers Are Saying: Sixteen five-star reviews. Zirf calls the blade a laser - sharp out of the box and worth buying before it goes out of stock. Brian is a home cook who spent a lot of time researching before buying - finds excellent fit and finish, took emery cloth to the choil for a more comfortable pinch grip, and calls it a real value. Multiple reviewers confirm the Chromax sharpens easily and holds an edge well above its price point.
Care Instructions: Chromax is a semi-stainless steel - highly stain resistant under normal kitchen conditions but capable of developing a patina with acidic foods and prolonged moisture exposure. Hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber cutting boards. Avoid bones, frozen foods, and hard materials. Sharpen on quality water stones - Chromax at 64-65 HRC sharpens like a carbon steel and responds well to stropping between sessions.
- Blacksmith: Takamura Hamono
- Location: Takefu Knife Village, Echizen, Japan
- Construction: San Mai
- Steel: Chromax Semi-Stainless Steel
- Cladding: Stainless Hammered
- HRC: 64-65
- Finish: Tsuchime (Hammered)
- Edge Grind: Even 50/50 Double Bevel
- Handle: Western
- Limit: Two Per Customer
- Weight: 5.2 oz (150g)
- Blade Length: 171mm
- Total Length: 300mm
- Spine Thickness at Base: 2mm
- Blade Height: 46mm
Reviews
16 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) quality! Super happy with this one!Posted By: Brian
24 people found this review helpful
I've spent so much time reading and watching videos on this site and I finally decided to purchase this santoku. Now that I've used it a few times, I'm really happy with my choice. Fit and finish are excellent and it's easy care. It's plenty sharp OOTB for me. I'm just home cook, so a few swipes on a ceramic rod is all I need to maintain a performance that suits me. I did take some emery cloth to the choil to make it comfortable with my pinch grip. It looks great on my magnetic block. This one's a real value!
24 people found this review helpful
I've spent so much time reading and watching videos on this site and I finally decided to purchase this santoku. Now that I've used it a few times, I'm really happy with my choice. Fit and finish are excellent and it's easy care. It's plenty sharp OOTB for me. I'm just home cook, so a few swipes on a ceramic rod is all I need to maintain a performance that suits me. I did take some emery cloth to the choil to make it comfortable with my pinch grip. It looks great on my magnetic block. This one's a real value!
Handcrafted beauty for a beautiful pricePosted By: Ali
31 people found this review helpful
I got this for an anniversary gift for my wife. She is a home cook but used to work in her family's restaurant so she has pro knife skills. Wanted to get her a quality, versatile kitchen knife that also had a story. The Takamura brand is apparently very well known among chef knife fanatics and for good reason, the quality is very high and it feels handmade (because it is, apparently this brand is just a family business run by 3 guys in a small factory). The hand-hammered steel is beautiful and effective--it makes starchy food less likely to stick-- and the hand engraved kanji is beautiful. I really think it's the best japanese knife you can get for the quality, if you care about that hand crafted feel.
31 people found this review helpful
I got this for an anniversary gift for my wife. She is a home cook but used to work in her family's restaurant so she has pro knife skills. Wanted to get her a quality, versatile kitchen knife that also had a story. The Takamura brand is apparently very well known among chef knife fanatics and for good reason, the quality is very high and it feels handmade (because it is, apparently this brand is just a family business run by 3 guys in a small factory). The hand-hammered steel is beautiful and effective--it makes starchy food less likely to stick-- and the hand engraved kanji is beautiful. I really think it's the best japanese knife you can get for the quality, if you care about that hand crafted feel.
High performance at a modest price point. A great find!Posted By: Austin Moody
19 people found this review helpful
Very nice little knife. I've now bought several as gifts for clients. I'm a 6-year custom knife-maker who doesn't have enough time to make knives as gifts, and these knives perform like my own. In my opinion these knives offer a tremendous value in terms of price:performance. They are easily maintained with a quick touch-up on a ceramic honing rod, too.
19 people found this review helpful
Very nice little knife. I've now bought several as gifts for clients. I'm a 6-year custom knife-maker who doesn't have enough time to make knives as gifts, and these knives perform like my own. In my opinion these knives offer a tremendous value in terms of price:performance. They are easily maintained with a quick touch-up on a ceramic honing rod, too.
Excellent edge retention and food releasePosted By: Stephen Sedmak - verified customer
32 people found this review helpful
I'm really impressed with this Chromax Santoku compared to the other Japanese-style kitchen knives I own, including MAC, Tojiro DP, Fujiwara FKM, and even Takamura R2. The Chromax hammered finish exceeded my expectations with dramatically improved food release when cutting starchy vegetables compared to my flat-surfaced Santoku knives - butternut squash sticks to them like glue, but brushes right off the hammered finish on the Chromax. True, butternut squash doesn't simply fall away, but only needs a light touch to release from the blade, which is still a vast improvement over a flat polished metal surface. Out of the box-sharpness measured 80 on my PT50B, which is REALLY sharp, and after cutting 3/8" sisal rope 50 times on a wooden cutting board, it measured 160, which is still legitimately razor-sharp. No chipping or edge rolling. Stropping with polish-loaded denim brought it right back to 80 sharpness. This is with the factory edge! For comparison, a measurement of 300 is considered to be typical "working sharpness"; my Tojiro DP's VG-10 factory edge measured 115 fresh-stropped and 235 after 50 rope cuts, and Fujiwara FKM's AUS-8 factory edge measured 140 and 285, respectively. Takamura Chromax was almost as sharp after heavy use/abuse as Fujiwara FKM AUS-8 is fresh out of the box! And with a quick stropping, it's back to being a laser-cutter. While I'm curious if I can do better than the factory edge, at this rate it's going to be a long time before I feel the need to even try. Compared to Takamura R2, cutting ability is almost as good, but the Chromax blade is MUCH tougher - as one would expect from the modified tool steel used in Chromax. In my book, Takamura Chromax's toughness and hammered finish more than make up for the tiny edge that Takamura R2 has in cutting ability. Regarding corrosion, after a couple weeks of daily use, a faint patina is forming on the edge with diligent washing and towel-drying of the blade immediately after use every time. The patina doesn't seem to have affected cutting ability. If I let it sit after use without washing and drying, the edge might rust and need re-sharpening. Finally, the handle is very comfortable to use, and doesn't hot spot in a pinch grip, whereas I needed to use sandpaper on my Tojiro DP knives. All-in-all, the Takamura Chromax Santoku is a wonderfully-designed and manufactured kitchen knife, so long as you take proper care of it.
32 people found this review helpful
I'm really impressed with this Chromax Santoku compared to the other Japanese-style kitchen knives I own, including MAC, Tojiro DP, Fujiwara FKM, and even Takamura R2. The Chromax hammered finish exceeded my expectations with dramatically improved food release when cutting starchy vegetables compared to my flat-surfaced Santoku knives - butternut squash sticks to them like glue, but brushes right off the hammered finish on the Chromax. True, butternut squash doesn't simply fall away, but only needs a light touch to release from the blade, which is still a vast improvement over a flat polished metal surface. Out of the box-sharpness measured 80 on my PT50B, which is REALLY sharp, and after cutting 3/8" sisal rope 50 times on a wooden cutting board, it measured 160, which is still legitimately razor-sharp. No chipping or edge rolling. Stropping with polish-loaded denim brought it right back to 80 sharpness. This is with the factory edge! For comparison, a measurement of 300 is considered to be typical "working sharpness"; my Tojiro DP's VG-10 factory edge measured 115 fresh-stropped and 235 after 50 rope cuts, and Fujiwara FKM's AUS-8 factory edge measured 140 and 285, respectively. Takamura Chromax was almost as sharp after heavy use/abuse as Fujiwara FKM AUS-8 is fresh out of the box! And with a quick stropping, it's back to being a laser-cutter. While I'm curious if I can do better than the factory edge, at this rate it's going to be a long time before I feel the need to even try. Compared to Takamura R2, cutting ability is almost as good, but the Chromax blade is MUCH tougher - as one would expect from the modified tool steel used in Chromax. In my book, Takamura Chromax's toughness and hammered finish more than make up for the tiny edge that Takamura R2 has in cutting ability. Regarding corrosion, after a couple weeks of daily use, a faint patina is forming on the edge with diligent washing and towel-drying of the blade immediately after use every time. The patina doesn't seem to have affected cutting ability. If I let it sit after use without washing and drying, the edge might rust and need re-sharpening. Finally, the handle is very comfortable to use, and doesn't hot spot in a pinch grip, whereas I needed to use sandpaper on my Tojiro DP knives. All-in-all, the Takamura Chromax Santoku is a wonderfully-designed and manufactured kitchen knife, so long as you take proper care of it.
Perfect giftPosted By: Mariam - verified customer
21 people found this review helpful
Bought this knife as a present for my partner who wanted to get a first Japanese knife. He was very pleased, it looks good and is very sharp. He is left handed but found the knife comfortable to use. It was very easy to order on the website and delievered quickly here in Canada. Will definitely order more knives from chefknivestogo.com
21 people found this review helpful
Bought this knife as a present for my partner who wanted to get a first Japanese knife. He was very pleased, it looks good and is very sharp. He is left handed but found the knife comfortable to use. It was very easy to order on the website and delievered quickly here in Canada. Will definitely order more knives from chefknivestogo.com
Awesome Awesome Good looks and performance at a great price!Posted By: BobZ
27 people found this review helpful
Laser performance in a Santoku! This knife has great fit and finish and will probably be the sharpest knife you ever get out of a box. Thin tip and thin behind the edge, it just glides through food. I like it so much i just bought the big brother gyuto.
27 people found this review helpful
Laser performance in a Santoku! This knife has great fit and finish and will probably be the sharpest knife you ever get out of a box. Thin tip and thin behind the edge, it just glides through food. I like it so much i just bought the big brother gyuto.
Great little knifePosted By: Collin Conner - verified customer
27 people found this review helpful
The chromax santoku performs beautifully, and it is a perfect choice for someone with smaller hands. I got it for my wife since see finds my 10.5 gyuto unwieldy. I have noticed that the high carbon edge picks up rust splotches very easily if you cut something acidic and leave it out or don't dry right away after washing.
27 people found this review helpful
The chromax santoku performs beautifully, and it is a perfect choice for someone with smaller hands. I got it for my wife since see finds my 10.5 gyuto unwieldy. I have noticed that the high carbon edge picks up rust splotches very easily if you cut something acidic and leave it out or don't dry right away after washing.
Takamura Chromax Santoku Like a Good WomanPosted By: HBunny - verified customer
22 people found this review helpful
I am a chef in a medium volume restaurant and use this knife for prep (not as a line knife). Its performance is incredible. Looking at the prepped ingredients, one can tell this knife cut them. The cut faces of foods are smooth as silk. The knife puts no stress on the ingredients as it glides through. Micro-sized mincing is easily achieved. A quick hone after each prep job has kept the blade impressively sharp for two weeks so far. The very edge of the blade, the core steel, is developing a gorgeous patina. Keep it dry. The design encourages proper blade-pinch grip. It's very nimble and fun to use.The most impressive part is how impossibly thin the blade stays behind the cutting edge (until the textured portion).This knife feels great, looks great, and performs far beyond expectation.
22 people found this review helpful
I am a chef in a medium volume restaurant and use this knife for prep (not as a line knife). Its performance is incredible. Looking at the prepped ingredients, one can tell this knife cut them. The cut faces of foods are smooth as silk. The knife puts no stress on the ingredients as it glides through. Micro-sized mincing is easily achieved. A quick hone after each prep job has kept the blade impressively sharp for two weeks so far. The very edge of the blade, the core steel, is developing a gorgeous patina. Keep it dry. The design encourages proper blade-pinch grip. It's very nimble and fun to use.The most impressive part is how impossibly thin the blade stays behind the cutting edge (until the textured portion).This knife feels great, looks great, and performs far beyond expectation.
Chromax SantokuPosted By: Edward Roth - verified customer
23 people found this review helpful
Not much has changed since my first review. The knife is a pleasure to use. The handle is quite comfortable with very good blade height and I find it perfectly balanced for a pinch grip. Plus it's very good looking. And yup, it's a sharp one.
23 people found this review helpful
Not much has changed since my first review. The knife is a pleasure to use. The handle is quite comfortable with very good blade height and I find it perfectly balanced for a pinch grip. Plus it's very good looking. And yup, it's a sharp one.
You Gotta Be Kidding..Posted By: Edward Roth - verified customer
27 people found this review helpful
I was skeptical of the comments from the other reviewers about the sharpness of this knife, even Steve's remarks. Have you ever used a fine straight razor? This santoku OWNS the word sharp.You ever use a scalpel? Yeah, it's all that. At 64-65 rockwell it should also hold that edge and be fair on the stones to sharpen. I just used it to dissect a fresh pumpkin...butter mean anything to you? Onions? It smiles with joy because onions offer no resistance at all. Meat? Cuts like surgery...Any questions? This knife is light, laser, deft and beauty...worth more than the cost and a dream to use. You want value on one super all-round knife, you get this one while it's in stock. My only gripe...I really like a wa type handle but still 5 stars.
27 people found this review helpful
I was skeptical of the comments from the other reviewers about the sharpness of this knife, even Steve's remarks. Have you ever used a fine straight razor? This santoku OWNS the word sharp.You ever use a scalpel? Yeah, it's all that. At 64-65 rockwell it should also hold that edge and be fair on the stones to sharpen. I just used it to dissect a fresh pumpkin...butter mean anything to you? Onions? It smiles with joy because onions offer no resistance at all. Meat? Cuts like surgery...Any questions? This knife is light, laser, deft and beauty...worth more than the cost and a dream to use. You want value on one super all-round knife, you get this one while it's in stock. My only gripe...I really like a wa type handle but still 5 stars.
Super sharpPosted By: Cody Penton - verified customer
29 people found this review helpful
Like previous reviewers have stated, you can shave with this thing OOTB. Screaming sharp. I just got it so I can't say how well the edge holds but this is by far the sharpest OOTB knife I've ever used.
29 people found this review helpful
Like previous reviewers have stated, you can shave with this thing OOTB. Screaming sharp. I just got it so I can't say how well the edge holds but this is by far the sharpest OOTB knife I've ever used.
The only santoku you'll need to know aboutPosted By: Leo - verified customer
26 people found this review helpful
Man the edge out of the box on my knife was a 9.5/10 just because I've never met a 10. handle is super comfortable, patina takes tons of onions, garlic or any acid material to form, since this is a semi stainless steel. Edge outperforms any I ve tried, aesthetics on this hammered finish is beautiful, lightweight with a nice balance to it. Extremely thin behind the edge. But the best of all is the sharpening characteristics; it feels like a white
26 people found this review helpful
Man the edge out of the box on my knife was a 9.5/10 just because I've never met a 10. handle is super comfortable, patina takes tons of onions, garlic or any acid material to form, since this is a semi stainless steel. Edge outperforms any I ve tried, aesthetics on this hammered finish is beautiful, lightweight with a nice balance to it. Extremely thin behind the edge. But the best of all is the sharpening characteristics; it feels like a white
