KNIVES | SHUN SANTOKU

Caterers and amateur cooks have one advantage over professional chefs. Because we're working in our own kitchens or with one or two others in a borrowed kitchen, we can buy special knives that would be impractical for chefs. (Why? Because knives get knocked around in a commercial kitchen. They also get knocked off.) I have mostly bought German knives, sometimes French. However I have lusted after a Japanese knife since seeing some exquisite hand-made sashimi knives in Tokyo Mart in Sydney's Northbridge 20 years ago.
Those hand-made knives can easily costs $1000, even $2000. They are treasured for the fame of the knife maker (or sword maker, since the best Japanese knife makers were traditionally also sword makers), as much as for the craftsmanship on display in each knife. Shun knives don't have the history of some of the rarer knives made totally by hand. They have only been made since 2003. They're largely hand forged from 16 layers of steel. The handles are asymmetrically shaped and best suit a right handed cook. They are lighter in weight than equivalent European knives, but feel like an extension of your hand. The santoku shape is versatile and 12.5cm blade makes it a great knife for when a full 20cm or 27cm chef's knife is overkill.

KNIVES | SHUN SANTOKU