Tokageh 7″ Classic Series Santoku Knife Review
August 10, 2017
Star Rating: 5.0 Stars
Overall Rating: Excellent Quality Professional Knife
Knife: Tokageh Classic Series 7 inch Santoku Knife
Brand: Tokageh
Bladesmith: Unknown
Made In: Yangjiang, China
Blade Construction: Damascus – 66 layers of Stainless steel on each side with a VG-10 steel core (HRC 62) and hammered divots which adds beauty and additional non-stick characteristics to the blade
Blade Thickness:
Rockwell Rating: HRC 62
Edge: Double-beveled blade with a 8° – 13° angle
Handle: G-10 (a fiberglass based cloth laminate similar to Micarta) with a single-rivet
Tang: Full tang with single rivet
Weight:
Total Length:
NSF Approved? The construction appears to meet NSF standards but I cannot find an official NSF approval seal
Cleaning: Handwash in warm water and towel dry. Do not place in dishwasher.
Cost: About $99 on sale Amazon.com
Availability: Currently available (July 2017)
Warranty: LIFETIME WARRANTY: 100% Satisfaction or Money Back Guaranteed
Tokageh 7″ Classic Series Santoku Knife Review Summary
Star Rating: 5.0 Stars
Overall Rating: Excellent Quality Professional Knife
Joe Bartlett aka The Knife Nerd joined me for another knife review. The Tokageh knife company donated two of their knives for us to review… their 8 inch Gyuto Chef’s Knife and their 7 inch Santoku. Both knives did well through most of the tests however the Gyuto clearly out performed the Santoku. It offered very minimal resistance on the dense vegetables like carrots and onion. And on the tomato test the Gyutuo completely outshined the Santoku.
Overall the Tokageh Santoku Classic Series knife with 66 layers of Damascus steel is a quality, well performing knife and did well on most of our knife review tests. It has a VG-10 steel blade hardened to a 62+ Rockwell using the cryogenic hardening process. The blade has a full tang design with a G-10 Garolite handle designed with a “soft D” shape which feels comfortable in the hand. It also feels firm in the grip (i.e. so slipping) and has a nice roll while cutting vegetables. The hammered steel gives the blade a cool look, but it also helps to release food while you slice because it is similar to a granton edge (although to be truly practical as a hollow edge the pounded metal would need to extend lower).
Opening the box we see that the knife is set in a custom designed knife box to firmly hold it in place and protect it during shipping. Inside the lid the primary features/specs of the knife are displayed. There is a micro-fiber cloth with the Tokageh logo (for polishing the blade after cleaning), a VIP card, and a website & facebook address card.
From the design of the packaging, the included marketing materials in the box, and the construction/look of the blade it is very similar to what you might get with a Dalstrong, Zelite Infinity or other brands which we believe are being produced in China and then sold to various companies to put their own finishing touches and brand names on. The challenge that we have found with some of those brands is that the finishing of the edge can be inconsistent. So we were pleasantly surprised and pleased with how well the Tokageh Santoku performed.
The Tokageh Santoku has a little thicker spine than their Gyuto and that may be the reason that it had more resistance going through the onion and carrot. And it clearly struggled with the freehand tomato slicing, although if I held the tomato it easily made nice slices. Or perhaps the influencing difference between the two knives is the angle of the edge. The manufacturer states for both knives that the angle is between 8° and 13°…perhaps the Gyuto is closer to 8° and the Santoku is closer to 13°.
If that’s true then perhaps if you put the Santoku on a 5,000 grit whet stone you could refine that edge a little and get it to perform like the Gyuto. But overall the Santoku is still a good, sharp, well-performing knife and certainly worth $99.
Note: According to Wikipidia the definition of Santoku is, “The word refers to the three cutting tasks which the knife performs well: slicing, dicing, and mincing. The Santoku’s blade and handle are designed to work in harmony by matching the blade’s width/weight to the weight of blade tang and handle, and the original Japanese Santoku is a well-balanced knife.”
Tokageh 7 inch Santoku Knife Video Review
| Tokageh Santoku Knife Review | |||
| Possible | Actual Rating | Test | Notes |
| Sharpness | |||
| 5 | 4 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | It pulled nicely through the carrot with minimal resistance. |
| 5 | 5 | Shallot Test | Performed very well on the shallot w/ clean cuts. |
| 5 | 4 | Onion Test | Felt a little resistance making the horizontal cuts but overall it performed well. |
| 3 | 1 | Tomato Test | Pretty much a fail on the free hand tomato test. Still plenty sharp enough to cut a tomato if you hold it, but the free hand test is about the fineness of the edge and this knife struggled. |
| 3 | 3 | Basil Test | Fabulous job on the basil chiffonade w/ no bruising or tearing. |
| 3 | 2 | Paper Test | Easily cut the paper but it did leave slight serrations in the cut. |
| Comfort | |||
| 5 | 5 | Comfortable Handle | Very comfortable ambidextrous handle. Has a good “grip” in the hand while not sticking or biting. |
| Quality Materials | |||
| 5 | 5 | Steel Quality | VG-10 core with 66 layers of softer steel |
| 3 | 3 | Durability | This knife should hold up during normal professional kitchen work |
| 3 | 3 | Handle Quality | The full tang and durable material make for excellent handle construction |
| Quality Construction/Design | |||
| 4 | 4 | Overall Construction Quality | The materials and steel are high quality. |
| 3 | 3 | Design, Engraving, End-cap, etc | Damascus steel blade, etched name on the blade, brass spacer, mosaic pin, and simple end cap. The hammered steel gives it an elegant look. |
| General Ratings | |||
| 5 | 3 | High-end Knife? | 1 = under $25; 2 = $26 – $75; 3 = $76 – $150; 4 = $151 – $300; 5 = $301+ |
| 5 | 4 | Utility | Nicely designed santoku knife. The edge has a good roll to it (not too flat), the handle is comfortable and doesn’t slip. I gave it a 4 because it is 7″ which is a little short for a professional knife. |
| 7 | 5 | Overall Impression | This is both a good looking knife and a practical one (except I’d like to see an 8″ or 10″ version). The edge good be a little more honed because even though it performed well the Tokageh Gyuto clearly out performed it and had a keener edge. |
| 5 | 4 | Our Star Rating | Overall this is a nice knife. But due to it’s shorter length and the lackluster way it handled the tomato test I would rate this knife at a 4 star. But I bet that a few strokes on a 5,000 grit whet stone would hone the edge so it flies through the tomato test. |
| Total | |||
| 69 | 58 | 5.0 Stars = Excellent Quality Professional Knife – See Overall Ranking Below formula: (actual score/total possible*6) |
|
Buy This Knife on Amazon
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission for each knife purchased. With that said, I stand by the review presented here.
5 stars on Amazon
TOKAGEH Santoku Knife 7 inch
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