Granton or Plain Edge? Choosing the Best Santoku Knife

In a restaurant kitchen most of the knife work is vegetables: white onion for salsa and tacos, tomato and serrano for pico de gallo, cilantro, cabbage for tostadas, and jalapeños by the pound. A santoku is built for exactly that work. Its blade is shorter and taller than a chef’s knife, with a flatter edge and a tip that curves down to meet it, so it chops straight down and slices cleanly without much rocking.

Santokus come from German, Swiss, Japanese and American makers, with plain edges or a row of scallops along the side called a granton or hollow edge. This guide explains which features matter, names eight santokus worth buying from makers who publish their specifications, and gives a straight answer on whether the granton edge is worth paying for.

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Quick verdict: which santoku to buy

Five santoku knives side by side

Our five standout picks, one for each kind of cook, with the specifications each maker or its listing states. All eight santokus are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Hardness is listed only where the maker or its listing states it; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best santoku knife

These eight knives cover the santokus most home cooks will consider: Japanese blades from Mac, Shun and Tojiro, forged German knives from Wüsthof and Zwilling, stamped workhorses from Victorinox and Mercer, and a small OXO santoku with a sheath. We have kept away from the three santokus already reviewed on our best Japanese knife page (the Misono UX10, the Global G-80 and the Kai Seki Magoroku), so the two guides give you more choice rather than the same list twice; the reasons are explained further down. Each review covers who the knife suits, the specifications its maker states, and one honest reason to skip it.

Granton or plain edge: does the scalloping help?

A granton edge (also called a hollow, fluted or dimpled edge) is a row of shallow ovals ground into the side of the blade just above the cutting edge. Makers say they reduce sticking: Wüsthof describes its hollows as being “for reduced sticking”, Victorinox says its fluted blade resists sticking to soft foods, and Mac puts dimples on its Professional santoku for the same purpose.

Independent testing is less convinced. In its santoku review, America’s Test Kitchen saw no reduction in sticking from granton edges, noted that two of its top three knives did not have them, and called the feature unnecessary. Our view from the prep side: buy a santoku for its blade thickness, steel and handle, and treat the edge style as a tiebreaker. If you slice a lot of potatoes for papas or cucumbers for a salad, a granton edge does no harm. If you mostly dice onions and chiles, a plain edge is easier to wipe clean.

How to choose a santoku knife

Blade length

Santokus generally run 5 to 7 inches, according to America’s Test Kitchen, against 8 to 10 inches for chef’s knives. A 6.5- to 7-inch blade is the most useful all-rounder; a 5- or 5.5-inch santoku is easier on a small board but slow on a whole cabbage.

Thickness and weight

Thin blades cut dense vegetables without splitting them. America’s Test Kitchen’s best-performing santokus were all 2 mm or less at the spine and felt “substantial but not bulky”. Light knives are less tiring when you are dicing for a crowd.

Steel and hardness

Harder steel holds an edge longer but is less forgiving. Only some makers publish a figure: Wüsthof states 58 HRC and Zwilling 55 to 58 HRC for the knives here. When a maker does not state it, we say so rather than guess.

Handle

A handle that grips when wet matters more than looks in a busy kitchen. America’s Test Kitchen preferred handles no more than 3 inches around at the widest point. If you are left-handed, check that the handle is symmetrical.

Care

Only the Victorinox and Zwilling knives here are rated dishwasher safe by their makers, and Zwilling still recommends hand washing. Every other pick should be washed by hand and dried straight away.

Santoku or chef’s knife?

America’s Test Kitchen calls it “really a personal choice”: a good santoku can match a chef’s knife, but if you want the extra length and heft of a chef’s knife, keep it and add a santoku rather than replacing it. The santoku’s flatter edge suits an up-and-down chop; the chef’s knife’s curved belly suits rocking through herbs and slicing a whole roast. In a kitchen that breaks down pork shoulder for carnitas and then dices onions for the salsa, both earn their place. Our guide to the best chef knife covers the longer option, and a knife set is worth a look if you need several knives at once.

Why the Misono, Global and Kai santokus are on another page

America’s Test Kitchen’s winning santoku is the Misono UX10 7-inch, and Global and Kai make well-known santokus too. All three are reviewed on our best Japanese knife page, alongside gyuto, nakiri and petty knives. Rather than repeat them here, this guide covers the other santokus most cooks shortlist. If you want the Misono, read that review. Other Global santokus, including the G-48 that America’s Test Kitchen tested, were down to their last few units on Amazon when we checked.

Keeping a santoku sharp

Japanese-style blades are sharpened at a finer angle than older German knives: Shun’s listing gives a 16-degree edge for its Classic santoku and Wüsthof 10 degrees per side for its Asian-style blades. Hone often, sharpen when honing no longer brings the edge back, and use a sharpener set to the right angle. Our knife sharpener guide explains the options, and a wood or plastic cutting board protects the edge between sharpenings. Keep a santoku away from bones and frozen food; that is a cleaver’s job.

How we chose these eight santokus

We started from what a Mexican kitchen asks of a santoku: even dice of onions, chiles and tomatoes, finely chopped cilantro, and clean slices of cooked meat. We then looked for santokus from makers who publish specifications (Mac, Victorinox, Shun, Wüsthof, Zwilling, Mercer, Tojiro and OXO) that were sold on Amazon in the United States and in stock when we checked. Specifications come from the maker’s own product page where we could read it, otherwise from the brand’s Amazon listing, and each review says which. We used America’s Test Kitchen’s santoku knife review for how several of these knives, or their close relatives, perform. Some good knives are missing because they were down to their last few units, including the Zwilling Pro 7-inch, the Mac Superior and the Shun Classic hollow-ground santoku. We left out marketplace brands with unverifiable steel or “Damascus” claims. We have not used these products ourselves; where we describe how a knife performs, we say whose findings those are.

Santoku knife questions, answered

What is the best santoku knife brand?

There is no single best brand, but makers that publish their specifications and stand behind their knives are a safe start: Mac, Misono, Shun, Wüsthof, Zwilling, Victorinox, Mercer and Tojiro among them. Be wary of listings that promise exotic steel and dozens of layers without naming a maker.

Which santoku does America’s Test Kitchen recommend?

Its winner is the Misono UX10 7-inch santoku, with the Zwilling Pro 7-inch rocking santoku as runner-up and the Mac Superior 6.5-inch as its Best Buy. It also recommends the Victorinox Fibrox Pro 7-inch granton santoku. We cover the Misono on our Japanese knife page and the Victorinox here.

What is the best santoku knife for the money?

The Victorinox Fibrox 7-inch granton santoku. Victorinox rates it dishwasher safe, gives it a lifetime warranty against defects, and America’s Test Kitchen recommends it. The Mercer Millennia is the alternative if you want a second, even cheaper knife.

Is a granton edge worth it on a santoku?

It is optional. Makers say the hollows reduce sticking, but America’s Test Kitchen saw no reduction in its santoku testing and called the feature unnecessary. Choose by blade, steel and handle first.

Can a santoku cut meat?

Yes, boneless meat. A santoku slices cooked carne asada or chicken cleanly. It should not be used on bones or frozen food; Global’s care guide, for example, says not to cut through frozen foods or bones. Use a cleaver for bone, and meat claws to shred carnitas.

Can santoku knives go in the dishwasher?

Most should not. Of the knives here, only the Victorinox and the Zwilling are rated dishwasher safe by their makers, and Zwilling still recommends hand washing.

Which santoku to start with

Start with the Mac MSK-65 if you want one quick, light santoku for daily vegetable prep. Choose the Victorinox Fibrox if you want a tough knife that costs little and can go in the dishwasher, and the Shun Classic if you want a keen Japanese edge with a sharpening service behind it. Whichever you buy, keep it sharp and use it on a wood or plastic board.

Want one made in Japan? See our guide to the best Japanese santoku knives.

On a budget? See our guide to the best cheap santoku knives.

Related guide: Santoku vs chef knife.

A good santoku is one piece of a working kitchen. Our guide to Mexican cooking tools covers the rest, and salsa roja vs salsa verde is a good place to put all that diced onion and chile to use. And if you would rather leave the chopping to someone else tonight, see the menu or call to order.