Proper Sharpening of Santoku (Sal or Taz)

[Wardo]

I have a Spyderco Santoku in need of sharpening. Seems like I read somewhere that the edge grind on the Santoku is asymmetrical (more like a chisel grind) but when I look at the grind it appears symmetrical to me. It's never been sharpened so it has the factory grind on it.

Can you tell me the proper way to sharpen a Santoku (including the angle(s) in degrees?) :confused: Don't want to mess up my favorite kitchen knife. :D

P.S.--I have a Sharpmaker as well as other sharpening devices.

Regards,
Wardo

[Dr. Snubnose]

Wardo, I'm not Sal or even Taz but FWIW I keep my Santoku at slightly below 15 degrees (single bevel) and haven't had any issues with chipping or rolling..... A lot of other people will probably
say they keep most of their kitchen knives between 30-38 degrees...but let see who chimes in on this one....Mr. Deacon is a wiz in the kitchen, with his favorite knives, maybe he can add some more info for you.....Doc :D

[Brad S.]

Wardo, I'm not Sal or even Taz but FWIW I keep my Santoku at slightly below 15 degrees (single bevel) and haven't had any issues with chipping or rolling..... A lot of other people will probably
say they keep most of their kitchen knives between 30-38 degrees...but let see who chimes in on this one....Mr. Deacon is a wiz in the kitchen, with his favorite knives, maybe he can add some more info for you.....Doc :D

Well, I aint Sal or Taz... But I do live in the same State... and that means something to someone I bet...

I really have nothing to add, except Ditto...

I have two Santoku's one Spyderco, one Kershaw.. both are symetrical

[NoFair]

I think all Spyderco Santukos are asymmetrical. I gave mine to Fairlane so he would be in a better position to reply at the moment :D

I sharpened mine at about 10-15 degrees on one side and just deburred when needed on the other. It isn't a full single bevel, but you can always grind it a bit to get it there.

The steel works well with a very thin edge and doesn't get too damaged by abuse either (wife used it as a cleaver on a chicken :o )

[The Deacon]

Think perhaps you read something about the way Santoku's are traditionally ground. All I can say for sure about the Spyderco version is that mine is symetrical, or as close to it as anything sharpened freehand a few dozen times can be. :o :D I don't use a Sharpmaker, but if I did, I'd be inclined to use the more acute (stones closer to vertical) setting. I agree with NoFair's observation regarding MSB-26 and think kitchen knives in general work best with a fairly thin edge. As I mentioned, I sharpen freehand using DMT stones, so I can't tell you the angle of mine. I can only tell you that each bevel is about 3/32" wide. In addition I generally give the edge a couple passes on a steel immediately before each use.

[sal]

I sharpen both sides,

keep it thin (about 30 degrees).

often is better than waiting until it gets dull.

sal

[Wardo]

I sharpen both sides,

keep it thin (about 30 degrees).

often is better than waiting until it gets dull.

sal

Thanks for all the replies. :D Both sides it is then.

Just to "de-confuse" me (because I'm old and have developed CRS :p ), did the Santoku come from the factory symmetrical or asymmetrical?

[tonydahose]

symmetrical...at least my 2 did. i cant remember a spydie having a chisel type edge (unless you count the serrated knives)

[NoFair]

symmetrical...at least my 2 did. i cant remember a spydie having a chisel type edge (unless you count the serrated knives)

Mine wasn't full chisel, but the sides weren't ground equally and it looked like it was that way on purpose. The left side (when holding the knife in front of you) had a small micro bevel that a full chisel lacks.

I've given away a couple of others and didn't check them before I gave them away :o

If you sharpen it on both sides it will eventually even out.

[Larry_Mott]

Doing a little tomb raiding here.. I just got my first Santoku and it is indeed asymmetrical, so is it on purpose? It shaves arm hair like a lawn mower and the bevels on both sides are pretty so it doesn't look like a "monday morning grind" :)

[npad69]

my spyderco santoku seemed symmetrical to me out of the box.

the only santoku with asymmetrical grind that i got out of the box was the one from mcusta but i reprofiled it to be 15dps anyway

[Koop]

My santoku, purchased new a couple of months ago is definitely asymmetrical. The edge is ground on both sides of the blade, but at different angles.

[JacksonKnives]

Sounds like someone at the factory has a philosohical disagreement with the specifications on the work order. :)

[The Deacon]

Sounds like someone at the factory has a philosohical disagreement with the specifications on the work order. :)

Not really. I suspect that, like most Spyderco knives, the Santoku gets sharpened by hand, using power equipment. For that reason, it's not uncommon for the factory edge on a PE knife to be less than perfectly symmetrical, but that's not the same as an intentionally asymmetrical grind. Heck, I sharpen freehand, often with the stone held in one hand and the knife in the other, so I'm sure any of my knives that have been sharpened more than a few times are not symmetrical.

[soundshaman]

Not sure about the Spyderco santoku but I have seen asymmetrical grinds from factory on a family members knife. It doesn't look as if is a mistake and I tend to sharpen that knife the way it came. It performs great. I would guess it has about 10 degrees on one side and 20 on the other.

[Cambertree]

As well as the natural asymmetry which is evident on most hand ground/sharpened knives, if you look closely enough (due to nearly everyone having a dominant/weak side hand and eye bias), Western styled Japanese knives often have a slightly asymmetrical grind by design, as well.

This recognises that humans are not CATRA machines or cutting jigs, and will usually cut with a slight bias to one side or the other, rather than exactly perpendicular to the material being cut.

This intentional edge asymmetry (often 70/30 or 60/40) supposedly corrects for this slight bias, and theoretically will start to 'throw' the material being cut off to the dominant side, while the weak hand continues to feed material into the cutting action. (Think of say, onions being sliced on a cutting board.)

This may seem like a trivial or inconsequential design element and observation, but remember this comes from the culture of ultra specialisation in crafts and trades.

A Japanese master bladesmith may perform the forging and heat treatment of a knife, but will often entrust the grinding, handle fitting, sharpening and polishing of his blades, to craftsmen who are specialists in their own right in all these separate areas.

Symmetry seems to be a natural thing for people to want in a tool, but why? Many custom tools have an intentional asymmetry to them. Think of hand crafted, custom shotgun stocks, with their strongly biased cast-off, and palm swells.

I've often thought (as a left hander) that if a knife has 'committed' to being right hand biased by virtue of its lock choice and clip placement, then why not go all the way, and shape the whole handle and edge for a right handed bias? And vice versa?

From JapaneseChefKnife.com:

"Left handed versions are normally in stock for immediate shipping. However, when it became out of stock, please allow 3 to 6 days for shipping.

For your information, many of the Japanese Kitchen knives come originally with double bevel edge sharpened 70/30 (face side/back side) for Western style knives. This geometry came from Japanese Traditional knives with single bevel edge and Shinogi blade construction. This is one of the special features and reasons why Japanese knives have an excellent cutting performance.

However, this 70/30 edge geometry is designed for right hand use, so we have a service to modify it to 30/70 for left handed users with re-sharpening process by skilled craftsman."

[peacefuljeffrey]

I have a Spyderco Santoku that’s well more than 10 years old. I don’t know exactly what year I bought it in. I’ve sharpened it many times, freehand, on my Spyderco ceramic whetstone.

• I don’t recall the knife being asymmetrically ground when new.
• The first time I sharpened it, I probably reprofiled it on a diamond stone first anyway.
• I sharpen it a much lower angle than usual for a much more acute edge profile than on a folding knife.
• I always use just the gray medium grit stone, and no more.

After the medium grit stone, and the burr removed, the thing is a scaaaaary beast in the kitchen. I’ve dinged it up and brought it back to tomato-terrorizing sharpness many times. A thin kitchen knife and a decent stone is a potent combination.

[Koop]

I touched up the Santoku K08 today. Light passes on the medium SM - I used the 30 degree Back Bevel (15 degrees) on the right side, which came with a steeper grind then the 40 degree edge (20 degrees) on the other side. Five minutes and it's tree topping sharp. My wife is loving this thing in the kitchen.