The Jikko Santoku knivies that we carry come in three varieties: the first is that made up of high-carbon steel, the second from blue steel, and the third from super blue steel. Each of these knives come with different handles as well. The Santoku with high-carbon steel comes with a resin imbued black pakkawood handle, while the blue steel Santoku comes with a green pakkawood handle and the super blue steel Santoku comes with a red pakkawood handle. Santoku knives are all-purpose chef knives comparable to the Gyuto but are better at chopping and worse for mincing. These knives are all carbon-based knives and so they rust if not cared for properly. The high-carbon variety is great for beginner cooks who do a lot of chopping, while the blue steel and super blue steel variety are great for intermediate and professional cooks and chefs.
Recommendation: All though a recommendation was given above, some additional details necessary to know before purchasing one of these knives is that they should each be dried and treated with oil after use and before being stored. These knives, aside from the high-carbon Santoku, require a whetstone for sharpening and should not be sharpening with a sharpening steel. While the high-carbon Santoku is easy to sharpen, the other two are not and require good sharpening skill.
