Sabatier 7" Forged Santoku

[UnknownVT]

Santokus are very fashionable, as ConsumerSearch.com in their survey review of Kitchen Knives says -
"Santoku knife. While sales of traditional knives are stagnant, popularity of santoku knives have tripled. Both chefs and enthusiasts extol the virtues of this knife style."

So, one of the most vaulted names in kitchen cutlery - Sabatier - making a Forged Santoku is worth looking at.

The knife has good heft and was well balanced. One feels confidence with it in hand.

It is triple rivetted and the handle is of integral bolster and end cap design, fits my hand well -

It was pretty sharp right out of the package - but I found one side's angle was pretty obtuse - so I had to work at the bevel to cut in a more acute angle - and because of the way I use a (fine diamond) flat stone I ended up with a sort of convexed edge. Now it is real sharp and slices through paper like no body's business.

So I took it to the cutting board to slice and dice some veggies....

and this is when I found what was wrong with the knife -
it does NOT cut through things well - oh sure it is "sharp" - but there is not much control when cutting through things like onions.

Why? - the blade is f-ing thick behind the edge, possibly because of the fancy cutouts or Granton/kullen edge (for a "non-stick" face) -
so despite having sharpened the knife - it acts more like a cleaver (albeit with a razor sharp edge). So that was over an hour of sharpening wasted - unless I am willing to work a LOT harder to reduce the blade face thickness substantially behind the edge.

A shame what appears to be a great knife in almost all aspects - except for the one area where it really counts - the ability to cut properly.

So am I disappointed?
of course......

Upset?
not really....

Huh?

I didn't say anything about cost and where I got it -

$11.83 from WalMart -

a "Sabatier" made in China - I thought Sabatier was French.....
however that does NOT automatically make it rubbish, there are now LOTs of quality items made in China....

However it appears that "Lifetime Brands Inc." are using the vaulted "Sabatier" name.

--
Vincent
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[earlofgray]

it's not made for what your doing.cut up a half of a cow then it will work.
really for small things you need small cutters for big things well you get it. but thanks for the heads up

 

[UnknownVT]

it's not made for what your doing.cut up a half of a cow then it will work.
really for small things you need small cutters for big things well you get it. but thanks for the heads up

Interesting input -

This is my understanding and what ConsumerSearch.com says about Santokus -

"Japanese santoku knives
A new trend among enthusiasts is the santoku knife. While sales of traditional knives are stagnant, sales of santoku knives have tripled in the U.S. Similar to a chef's knife, a santoku knife has a shorter, thinner blade. Some models have a hollow edge (sometimes called a Granton edge), which is intended to minimize friction between food and knife surface for speedier slicing. Many reviewers say that a santoku knife is a great addition to your collection of kitchen knives and that because of their shorter, thinner blades, santoku knives excel at thinly slicing vegetables and doing delicate work.
Editors at Cook's Illustrated, however, say that a santoku knife can't replace a chef's knife entirely. That's because their blades are too short and thin to achieve the kind of versatility of a chef's knife. For example, santoku knives are not recommended for cutting bone."

It also says right on the back of the package (see photo above) :
"The most essential knife, perfect for slicing, chopping and dicing"

So I think I was doing EXACTLY what the knife was designed/intended for.

EDIT to Add -

from -
Santoku entry at Wikipedia.com

"The word santoku means "three good things," a reference to the three cutting tasks it performs: slicing, dicing and mincing.

The santoku is much like a smaller version of the western chef's knife. The double beveled blade excels in areas where single beveled, (chisel ground) Japanese blades such as yanagis and usubas struggle, especially chopping and mincing, but also rough slicing. The thin blade and acute angles are ideal for precision cutting. They are poor if incorrectly used on bones or very hard vegetables such as winter squash, or waxed Rutabaga/Swede/Turnip."

--
Vincent
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2007
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2006
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2005
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2004
http://clik.to/UnknownVincent

 

[misque]

Interesting input -

This is my understanding and what ConsumerSearch.com says about Santokus -

"Japanese santoku knives
A new trend among enthusiasts is the santoku knife. While sales of traditional knives are stagnant, sales of santoku knives have tripled in the U.S. Similar to a chef's knife, a santoku knife has a shorter, thinner blade. Some models have a hollow edge (sometimes called a Granton edge), which is intended to minimize friction between food and knife surface for speedier slicing. Many reviewers say that a santoku knife is a great addition to your collection of kitchen knives and that because of their shorter, thinner blades, santoku knives excel at thinly slicing vegetables and doing delicate work.
Editors at Cook's Illustrated, however, say that a santoku knife can't replace a chef's knife entirely. That's because their blades are too short and thin to achieve the kind of versatility of a chef's knife. For example, santoku knives are not recommended for cutting bone."

It also says right on the back of the package (see photo above) :
"The most essential knife, perfect for slicing, chopping and dicing"

So I think I was doing EXACTLY what the knife was designed/intended for.

EDIT to Add -

from -
Santoku entry at Wikipedia.com

"The word santoku means "three good things," a reference to the three cutting tasks it performs: slicing, dicing and mincing.

The santoku is much like a smaller version of the western chef's knife. The double beveled blade excels in areas where single beveled, (chisel ground) Japanese blades such as yanagis and usubas struggle, especially chopping and mincing, but also rough slicing. The thin blade and acute angles are ideal for precision cutting. They are poor if incorrectly used on bones or very hard vegetables such as winter squash, or waxed Rutabaga/Swede/Turnip."

--
Vincent
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2007
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2006
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2005
http://clik.to/UnknownVT2004
http://clik.to/UnknownVincent

Touche'!



Nice review, BTW. It was surprising to see the high-end Sabatier name tagged with a 'Made in China' moniker. Some things just ain't right and that's one of'em for sure.

I think the best Santoku's come from Japan. I have a Tojiro-Pro (model F-508) that just flat out rocks(!) at the "three good things". I don't even think of trying another because this one is "The One" for me.

I need to add that I also have a Seki Ryu Santoku and the Spyderco model too. They are both wonderful and see use in my kitchen but my Tojiro-Pro model F-508 is my very favorite. It feels great in hand and cuts like the proverbial laser. Veggies fear it!

 

[FlyingMuskrat]

If you don't mind it not ever looking the same again, I think that you could put a small saber grind near the edge with a flat file. then polish the blade so that it wouldn't really show.

Or you could send it to Tom Krein