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Product Description
If there is were any justice in the world this santoku-bocho might sell a million.
Why. Well, it's the thinnest santoku we've ever encountered. We could just about name it the Scallop Santoku. From the almost-standard spine, the blade abruptly hollows out, to taper out again along the top of the blade path. We haven't used this knife but we're looking forward to the "incredible food release!" emails from buyers.
The blade is tall. People like that. It's aogami#2 core steel. People like that. It's not expensive. People like that.
One thing will stop us from selling a million. Homi san isn't going to make a million and in truth he won't even make thirty. When we receive your order we'll call Homi san and ask nicely if he has one lying around. If not, he'll forge one just for you.
| Blade steel: | Aogami #2 / nantetsu |
| Bevel: | Ryōba double bevel |
| Blade construction: | Sanmai rolled steel |
| Left-handed available: | Oval handle suits left and right handers |
| Handle: | Hounoki (magnolia) |
| Ferrule: | Plastic |
| Blade length: | 165mm |
| Overall Length: | 305mm |
| Blade height: | 54mm |
| Blade spine: | 3mm but don't let that fool you |
| Handle length: | 129mm |
| Handle width: | 29x22mm |
| Weight in hand: | 114g |
Product Reviews
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Wonderful Knife - Light, Thin, Nimble, Not Delicate!
Posted by Erik on 16th Jul 2023
I bought the nakiri and santoku at the same time. My thoughts on them are basically the same so I will leave the same review for both.
Homi-san's boxing/packaging is excellent. His presentation easily exceeds knives I've purchased for 3x or more the cost of this one. This contributes to the initial good impressions but also suggest that if this level of thought has been put into the packaging, then it is quite likely it has been into the blades as well. And in my opinion, that is definitely true.
Now, my only critique is that Homi-san uses a thick coat of lacquer. Lacquer is common on carbon steel Japanese knives and many people leave it on their blades. If you're one of them, then know your blade is well protected. But, if you're like me and prefer to remove the lacquer, just be prepared to use a little elbow grease. I went with lacquer thinner and steel wool. On the up side of this though is that Homi-san's kurouchi finish is quite resilient!
But, once that was dealt with it was off to the races! Michael mentions the "scallop" grind and a curiosity if it helps food release. I'm going to go with a maybe. It is present on both knives, although shallower on the nakiri but it sits a good distance from the edge. Neither knife has bad food release and maybe the scallop is lending to that but I'm not convinced of it. But it certainly doesn't hurt and definitely lends to the overall nimble feel of the blades.
As I said in the title, these knives are light but not delicate. They slice very well and just feel great in the hand and on the board. These are the kind of knives I like for daily drivers: Excellent performance without needing to be babied. Homi-san's cladding does not appear to be very reactive either so that just contributes to their robustness. The knives are ground to a near zero edge that out of the box is quite nice but also very easy to brighten up and maintain.
The finish is what you should expect for tools of this nature. There is nothing egregious but the spine and choil could use a little softening. I've had much more expensive knives by well-known makers who are carried at many of the popular vendors that exhibit the same level of finish in this regard.
Overall, these are slicey, good performing knives that I'm quite pleased with. I think these are a very nice value that will provide years of excellent service.
Now, if we can just talk Homi-san into making some 180's... :)
