Santoku Knife - Chitose - Molybdenum Steel
An all-purpose Japanese kitchen knife from the Chitose range by Wahei Freiz. Molybdenum-vanadium steel blade, natural wood handle. Made in Japan.
About the santoku
Santoku (三徳) means "three virtues" - a reference to the three specialist Japanese knives the santoku was designed to replace: the deba for fish, the gyuto for meat, and the nakiri for vegetables. Developed in Japan in the 1940s as Western ingredients became more common in Japanese home kitchens, the santoku combined the virtues of all three into a single, general-purpose blade. It is now the most widely used kitchen knife in Japan.
The santoku has a wide blade with a flat cutting edge and a rounded tip - a profile that suits a clean downward chopping motion rather than the rocking action of a Western chef's knife. The wide face also makes it practical for scooping and transferring ingredients from board to pan.
About the knife
The CHITOSE santoku is made from molybdenum-vanadium stainless steel - an alloy that balances rust resistance with edge retention, and is well suited to everyday home use. It does not require the careful maintenance of high-carbon steels, making it a practical and approachable choice. The blade is light at 94g, which suits extended prep work without fatigue.
The handle is natural wood, fitted with a black resin collar where blade meets handle. Wood handles improve slightly in feel with use - they settle into the hand, and the surface takes on character over time. This is in keeping with the spirit of the Chitose range, which is built around the idea that well-made everyday tools become more meaningful the longer they are used.
- Blade material: Molybdenum-vanadium steel
- Handle: Natural wood
- Total length: approx. 290mm
- Blade length: approx. 155mm
- Weight: approx. 94g
- Product code: CS-055
---------------------------------------------------
Wahei Freiz was established in 1951 in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture - one of Japan's foremost centres of metal craftsmanship and cookware production. The company produces a wide range of kitchen tools across categories, combining traditional metalworking skill with considered, practical design. The name brings together wahei (和平), meaning peace and harmony, and freiz - a coined word the company created from "fresh days" — reflecting the spirit of good, everyday cooking.