Where to buy a Santoku knife

Hi all,

I am looking for a nice place to buy a Santoku knife. I will be visiting Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Nagano, Tokyo and Osaka - among others - during my trip.

Should I just go to Kappabashi Street, where I will be near anyways during sightseeing in Tokyo? Or are there much better places (with perhaps better prices?).

Also, is it clever to buy a Santoku over the more specific knives? It is just to use at home, I am not a professional :).

Cheers,

Ilya

I've seen santoku knives sold in department store chains. I don't know if they're pro quality like Shun but those stores can be one place to look. I also saw a couple sold in the stalls at Tsukiji as well.

I am unfamiliar with the brands. Could you perhaps recommend brands to look out for between the 5.000/12.000 range?

I recommend to visit Seki city where is very famous for Sekino-Magoroku.
You may find nice one.
Here's website for your reference below:

http://www.japonika.fr/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&sear...

Got my santoku in Kappabashi at a shop called Tsubaya. I am not sure if this is the case, but since there is so much competition, shops in Kappabashi might offer better prices. I mean, there was another knife shop just a couple of steps across the narrow street. Maybe someone else can comment on that.

I, like you, am just a home cook and did not know the brands or knife maker names. I just bought one that I thought looked cool that was in my price range. I use it almost daily and am pretty happy with it.

As for whether you should get specific knives is up to you. If you are going to be filleting fish and slicing sashimi, often, then get yourself a deba and yanagi. One thing to keep in mind when buying a specialty knife is that most of these are angled on one side. So it matters if you are right or left handed.

I hope this helps.

When you are in Osaka go to Tower Knives - http://www.towerknives.com

Most of the knives from there come direct from Sakai which is well known for making this stuff. You'll get help in English there as well.

The other benefit of this place is its right next to Tsutentaku which is one of the big sightseeing areas in Osaka so if you are visiting there you don't have to take a lot of time out of your travelling itinerary.