What's the difference between a gyuto and a santoku?

Tsunehisa Swedish Damascus Washiji 165mm Santoku, and 210mm Gyuto

When people come into the shop looking for a new everyday knife, I usually steer them towards a santoku or a gyuto, both Japanese knife styles suitable for a wide variety of cutting tasks.


Both shapes can handle most vegetables and cut boneless proteins, have good heel height for knuckle clearance and enough length to get through some larger foods. However, enough differences exist that might lead someone to choose one over the other.


A top tier hand forged Gyuto: Sakai Kikumori Kikuzuki Kasumi 210mm Gyuto

Gyuto:

The gyuto is the Japanese interpretation of the French style chef's knife. In the Meiji era (1868-1912) Japan was rapidly changing after opening its borders to outside influence. Western cuisine was embraced, and the gyuto knife started being produced. It literally means 'cow blade,' due to the impression that Westerners ate mostly beef. The gyuto knife gained popularity as Japanese people changed their diets, eating and cooking in a more Western style. Although the translated meaning of the knife implies it's mainly for beef, it really is an extremely all-purpose shape: a long double-beveled blade and pointy tip just like a French chef's knife, but with Japanese steel, featuring a harder and thinner edge for improved performance. Gyutos range from 6" to up to 14". (We find the most useful sizes to be 8"-10") In the 1990s, fine dining chefs in the West started to catch on to the gyuto's superiority, and at this point, it is probably the most popular knife in most professional kitchens throughout the world.


This Santoku is a beast: Touroku Sakai Blue Super 165mm Santoku - Migaki

Santoku:

Santoku means 'three virtues' and was designed in the 1940s for Japanese home kitchens as an all-purpose knife that can handle the duties of the Deba (fish) Nakiri (vegetables) and Gyuto (meat).

It has a thin, double-beveled blade with a sheepsfoot profile, a subtly curved edge that is much flatter than the gyuto's, and is typically 6-7" long. Because of its compact shape, it's a great knife for smaller spaces. 

Which is right for you? 

The santoku knife is perfect for someone who wants a no-frills blade that's easy to use. If you cook for one or two people, or have a little less space in your prep area, it's a great fit. If you are doing a lot of stir-fry style dishes and soups, it's usually perfect. For professionals, I'll recommend this knife if they need a smaller knife during a busy service. And for a gift, such as a younger person's first good knife, or for a wedding, this is a solid choice.

I find the gyuto to be a little more well-rounded in its abilities, with its pointy tip and more curved profile. The thinner tip can do all sorts of detail work like fine dicing shallots, and the longer curved blade can handle tasks like thin slicing roasts and portioning meat and fish. And because it has more curve, it is really excellent for mincing big bunches of herbs. I generally recommend this shape to professional cooks, as well as home cooks who cook frequently, have extra kitchen space, and process more meat and large vegetables such as cabbage and squash. 

While either style can fill the needs of a main prep knife, you might just find one more comfortable than the other! 

A few of each that I recommend:

Browse our full collection of gyuto and santoku knives.


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