Ideal for slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing, and cutting foods of all types, the Santoku Knife is the perfect addition to anyone's kitchen. Both professionals and home-cooks enjoy using this Japanese cutting implement when preparing vegetables, meats, fish, and cheeses.

The Santoku knife is an Asian knife, specifically Japanese. This general-purpose kitchen knife can be anywhere from five to seven inches in length, with thin sheepsfoot blade. Compared to knives used by western chefs, the Santoku is most similar to Chef's Knife. The Santoku is best for precision-cutting and slicing, as the blade is too thin to handle bones, pits, or stems.

The only materials you'll need to get started using a santoku knife are the following items- a cutting board made from wood or plastic, a vegetable on which to practice chopping, and, of course, the Santoku knife itself. An apron is optional, but recommended.

Before you begin to slice with your Santoku knife, you must practice holding it properly. The correct technique is begun by placing your index finger and thumb behind the blade to provide proper support. The rest of your fingers should curl around the handle, aligned in the provided finger grooves, if your particular model of knife has them.

Gripping the knife in the manner previously described, take hold of the vegetable to be sliced in your other hand. Bring the knife down onto the vegetable while drawing the blade inwards, towards yourself. You will than drag the point through the vegetable to complete a single slice. Repeat these steps as often as necessary until the task is complete.

Another technique that can be used involves adding pressure to the top of the blade with the flat of your free hand. This works best when mincing or dicing items that do not necessarily need to be held steady, such as onions or garlic.

Maintaining a Santoku knife involves very little extra care. Just hand-wash and dry your knife immediately after use, and take care not to dull it prematurely by slicing on hard surfaces. Sharpening the knife is best left up to a professional, due to the Santoku's extra-fine blade.

Learning how to use a Santoku knife takes a bit of practice for the inexperienced chef- however, the time spent learning how to use this knife will be well worth it in the end.