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I've always said that I just don't like santokus and serrations, I like my edc with a PE and my kitchen knife as a western chef or a gyuto profile. But I'm normally a pretty open minded guy, so why was I so close minded about these two things? I use a bread knife all the time and it works great so why wouldn't a SE work well in a folder? And is a santoku all that different from a chef's knife?
I decided to try things out and got myself a Para3 in SE, a jumpmaster 2 and a K08 santoku.
Had them for about a week and I 'm gonna be using the para and K08 as my only knives for a month.
So far the serrations cut great and work well with all the things I normally cut during the day and broad thing blade of the santoku is a dream to use in the kitchen.
I will give an update after the month of use, but so far so good.

Good for you. This will be an interesting month for you.
That se para 3 really won me over. Hope this experiment goes well for you.

+2 on the se para3

This is exactly what I did several months ago, with serrations. I never really liked a fully serrated blade until I forced myself to EDC my Pacific Salt SE for a month. Using an SE blade for everyday carry like that completely changed my mind, and after the month was up it was hard to carry anything else!

I found that there really is no task a plain edge does that serrated blade can't do. I used mine for fine cutting, even used it to peel fruit. The key is to keep the serrations sharp. I would usually keep mine sharp enough to push cut phonebook paper: an easy task with the Sharpmaker UF rods. And when you have a fully serrated blade this sharp, you have an incredible cutting machine.

Enjoy your month!

Santokus are horrible things. No offence to Spyderco or anyone else. They are useless. 10” or 12” chef knife or nothing. Very opinionated, but I use one every day at work. Has to have a point, be long enough to actually cut something, and a nice rocker curve. If I knew how, I’d design my own. Yes, I’ve tried various Santokus.

On the other hand, SE pocket knives are splendid.

Jazz wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:34 pm

Santokus are horrible things. No offence to Spyderco or anyone else. They are useless. 10” or 12” chef knife or nothing. Very opinionated, but I use one every day at work. Has to have a point, be long enough to actually cut something, and a nice rocker curve. If I knew how, I’d design my own. Yes, I’ve tried various Santokus.

On the other hand, SE pocket knives are splendid.

Couldn't disagree more. As a former Chef, I'll use a western style 10" chef knife for probably about 90% of my cuts, but Santokus are great for slicing things where you're not rocking the blade. I wouldn't use one to dice 40lbs of onions but they're great for slicing small portions of meats etc.

I find the 10” chef can do it all quite well. I guess it’s what you’re used to.

My favorite kitchen knife is a 5” santoku. For everything except strawberries.

Jazz wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:25 pm

I find the 10” chef can do it all quite well. I guess it’s what you’re used to.

If I could only have one kitchen knife, it'd be a 10" chef. That and a paring knife is all you really need. But Santokus are nice for some tasks.

Hi Dammyippon,

Thanx for the post and the open mind. Keep us posted.

the Jumpmaster 2, in my opinion is a must for a bug-out-bag. Cuts like a witch for a very log time and is imperious to conditions.

sal

Good for you taking a chance on something different. Ive been pleasantly surprised a few times myself :D

I have yet to try any SE folder but i am curious about them. I'd probably want to get a sharp maker first though.

As far as chef knives go though, I actually like 8 inch knives with a western belly (German beer gut lol).
Even more so if their handle facilitates a pinch grip.

I'm a fairly tall, un-fairly lanky guy. I feel like an 8 inch blade length is all i need. Gives me a good mix of maneuverability and authority. I definitely use the knife belly for rocking and the knife tip on onions frequently.

But i have dreamed of a Japanese vegetable cleaver (i think it's called nakiri?)
If you get a good steel you can get some amazing blade geometry going on. I get the feeling with one of those you wouldn't really have to worry about lack of a tip because of how well it cuts.
But that would have to be for anything without bone in it.
And my knife does well on veggies anyway!

amazed that it took 10 posts, and Sal himself, for the Jumpmaster 2 to be mentioned or commented upon...one of my favorite blades and my next must have Spyderco! :rolleyes: Too little talk about this model :confused:

I think it is best you try and find out for yourself instead of listening to someone else. In this world, no one size fits all.

I've been playing with a Santoku for about 4 months and a partially serrated blade pocket knife for a month. So far I love the Santoku, but prefer the ones with the scallops on the side of the blade (or damascus) to help with keeping potatoes from sticking to the knife. I'm finding the pocket with the partially serrated section of blade a little to short for some uses so not big on it, probably ok if just using it on twine.

CG

I have no use for a fixed blade, but if I did, that Jumpmaster 2 looks awesome. Just look at all those serrations. It means business.

It’s interesting how personal knife choices are for people. There really is one perfect knife out there for each of us. We have a block full of decent kitchen knives, but the only one I use is the santoku.

I agree the lack of point on the Santoku makes it flawed for my uses, but that's about the only disadvantage it has in my eyes. This is why I like to have the 4" utility or similar to act as the companion. Utilizing the wide shape as a spatula to move veggies and meat to the pan from the cutting board is why it always pleases me to have in hand. Good luck with your experiment. Thanks for the pic too. It reminds me I have been wanting a Jumpmaster of my own for some time.

Jazz wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:34 pm

Santokus are horrible things. No offence to Spyderco or anyone else. They are useless.

Your good right to have this opinion. But not the truth per se .
I find Santokus are very useful, as in fact it's the most used blade in my kitchen, used for 90% of all tasks! I'm vegetarian, maybe that makes a difference.

I find with a longer blade, I can rock better and don’t have to lift the back of the knife as high during this, with thicker foods. I’m sure those Santokus chop just fine, (I like a shorter chef knife for chopping ‘shrooms) so if that’s your style, then great. The chef knife works to lift a pile of cut food just fine.

Like I did say, it was just my opinion. I could have worded it more polite. Sorry, y’all. :o
I made this vid just for fun, so feel free to make fun of me :p . Some cutting at work. The knife here is a brand new, 12” chef knife. I usually use a 10”. I used a shorter chef for mushrooms.

Someone should post a Santoku vid.

https://youtu.be/KnnuIlkkrto

Jazz wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 24, 2019 3:25 pm

I find with a longer blade, I can rock better and don’t have to lift the back of the knife as high during this, with thicker foods. I’m sure those Santokus chop just fine, (I like a shorter chef knife for chopping ‘shrooms) so if that’s your style, then great. The chef knife works to lift a pile of cut food just fine.

Chef knives definitely are the best for rocking cuts. I like Santokus for slices, like slicing some sausage for example. They have less curve to the edge so they keep contact with the material better.

It's kind of like your wharncliffes VS a leaf shape blade. You probably wouldn't reach for a wharnie to use a rocking motion on a cutting board, but that lack of belly has an advantage in other areas.

You can certainly get by without one, but they're nice for certain tasks. If I were building a kitchen knife set up from scratch, I'd get a 10" chef, then a 2.5-3" paring knife, then a Santoku, then a bread knife. I don't use much else unless I'm working with very large pieces of meat that need processed into smaller sections.