About The Santoku Knife

The Santoku Knife (三徳包丁) is an all-purpose kitchen knife originated in Japan.

The word santoku in Japanese means "three virtues" or "three uses".
Therefore, it can be use for slicing, dicing, and mincing.

This knife is characterized by its relatively small size (between 13 to 20 cm) and a lightweight knife. The santoku knife's blade is thinner than any other knives, making it is easy to use for a precision cut.
The knife can be a double-edged / single-edged knife, so it can be used for both right or left-handed people.

Santoku knife was created by combining Nakiri Bocho knife (Japanese traditional knife used for cutting vegetables) and Gyuto knife (knife for cutting meat).

Learn more about the santoku knife in our article link below!

All You Need to Know About The Japanese All-purpose Knife: Santoku Knife
The santoku knife is one of the essential kitchen utensils both for a beginner cook to professional chefs. It is a commonly use knife in the Japanese kitchen.
Let's learn about the santoku knife's usage, the history of the santoku knife, and other useful information you should know before using the santoku knife.
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About Gihei Knife

Gihei knife is a traditional knife made with forging technology that was transmitted in Sanjo City, and also with the inherited technology developed over the 5th generation.

It is a knife made with steel that tempered one by one, handmade by the blacksmiths.
The steel that tempered one by one can produce an excellent knife that has a dense and homogeneous component.

Gihei knife has good durability and may last for a long time because it always made with the best materials and technology.

Therefore, it is said to be a knife that can be used for a lifetime period.

About Blue Paper Steel

Blue paper steel is the same kind with Yasuki steel.
It refers to steel that contains chromium, tungsten and carbon compounds in steel made from iron-based raw materials.

Chrome has the effect of increasing toughness and hardenability (hardness to steel core).
Meanwhile tungsten has the effect of increasing abrasion resistance (resistance to friction).

There is a hard-to-break effect, making it be able to use for a long time.

What is Yasuki Steel?

"Yasuki Steel" refers to the special steel manufactured and developed by the Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

The steel that had been used for katanas in ancient times called "Tama Steel (玉鋼)" become the root for high-quality steel that modern knowledge and technology created nowadays.

In Yasuki steel, the components that believed to give impurities to the cutlery (such as phosphorus and sulfur) have been excluded to the utmost limit.

Therefore, it has the ideal function as a kitchen knife that have a nice viscosity and hard to break.

The Santoku Knife are Suitable for These Ingredients

Fish : suitable, Meat : suitable, Vegetables : suitable

Santoku kitchen knife is a versatile knife that can cut three ingredients such as meat, fish, and vegetables.

Because it is unnecessary to change the kitchen knife for each ingredient, it becomes a kitchen knife that is useful in ordinary households.

The History of Tsubame-Sanjō, "The Blacksmith City"

The genealogy of manufacturing of Niigata Prefecture, Tsubame-Sanjō goes back to the Edo period.
The place was prospered as a place to create Japanese metal nails since the early Edo Period (1603 – 1868).

In the early days of the Kan'ei period, the farmers have difficulty making a living by doing agriculture alone because of the repeated flood from the Ikarashi River flowing through the center of the Sanjo Town.

Therefore, the farmer invited the craftsmen of Japanese metal nail making from Edo to teach them about their manufacturing technologies.

This is the beginning of the Japanese metal nail making in Tsubame-Sanjō.

After that, new blacksmithing technology is transmitted, and products are changed from Japanese metal nails to sickles and kitchen knife, etc.

At the same time, many blacksmith are nurtured.
The farmers who started the blacksmith job as side jobs are becoming professional blacksmiths.

When entering the Meiji period (1868 - 1912), the full-time blacksmiths had increased rapidly.

"The Blacksmith City", Tsubame-Sanjō is popularly known after merchants start to trade for hardware products with making use of rivers as the access to the town.

After the war, the mass production of the products progressed.
The product from Tsubame-Sanjō become widely distributed in Japan and also worldwide.

Currently, the manufactures in Tsubame-Sanjō are mainly processing metals.

Many of useful instruments like kitchen goods such as kitchen knives and kitchen tools and utensils, living goods, gardening goods, etc. are produced widely in the city.

How to Care and Usage Notes

How to Care

- How to care after using it
After use, please wash the dirt off, wipe it with cloth after rinsing it with hot/warm water, and keep it dry.
(Kitchen knife is weak to acid, salt, and moisture)

- Storage method
For knife that not to be used for a long time, spray it with vegetable oil (such as Camellia oil) throughout the knife after drying it.
After that, wrap it in newspaper or thin papers and keep it in a place with no humidity.

- How to care when rust comes out
If rust comes out frequently, please sharpen the blade with Shiage-to Whetstone/Grindstone （2000#～）.
The rust can fall easily without putting much strength for sharpening.

Usage Notes

The kitchen knife is made considering the shape, blade hardness, thickness, angle, etc. so that the ingredients can be cut well and the knife can be easy to use.

Please use the knife correctly according to its purpose of use.

Gihei Knife's Product Gallery

Size / Specification

Product Details

Size:	Length 310mm Blade Length 165mm
Weight:	135g
Materials:	Blade: Yasuki Blue Paper Steel No. 2 Handle: Magnolia Tree Pattern: Angle from Katsura Tree
Country of Origin:	Japan (Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture)