The Yoshida Tosa Santoku SUJ-2 Kuro-uchi 170mm (6.7") is a compact and versatile all-purpose kitchen knife, ideal for everyday prep work. Hand-forged by Yoshida Hamono in Japan, this santoku is well-balanced and efficient—perfect for slicing, dicing, and chopping vegetables, meat, and fish with control and ease.

At 170mm in length, this santoku hits the sweet spot for most home cooks—long enough for a range of tasks but compact enough for control and maneuverability on smaller cutting boards. It’s a reliable, go-to knife for fast, efficient meal prep.

This blade is sold without a handle, giving you the freedom to create a fully custom look and feel. Browse our selection of handles to complete your knife. Want us to install one for you? Simply select the Handle Fitting Service when adding the blade to your cart.

BLADE SHAPE:

The santoku, meaning “three virtues,” refers to its ability to handle meat, fish, and vegetables with equal skill. It’s the Japanese equivalent of a Western chef’s knife, but with a slightly shorter, taller blade and a flatter edge profile that excels at straight-down chopping and push-cutting techniques.

STEEL:

The blade is forged from SUJ-2, a high-carbon tool steel prized for its exceptional hardness (63–64 HRC), long-lasting edge retention, and ease of resharpening. Thanks to its high carbon content, it performs like a true workhorse—but also requires a bit of extra care. After use, rinse thoroughly and dry immediately to prevent rust.

LAMINATION:

This santoku features san-mai lamination, a traditional Japanese method where a hard steel core (hagane) is sandwiched between two softer outer layers (jigane). This triple-layer construction improves the blade’s structural integrity, enhances toughness, and helps prevent chipping—all while maintaining a sharp, high-performance edge.

GEOMETRY:

The double-bevel blade is symmetrically ground, making it suitable for both left- and right-handed users. A distal taper ensures the blade becomes gradually thinner from heel to tip—providing strength and power at the base, and precision at the tip for smooth, accurate cuts.

BLADE FINISH:

The blade features a kuro-uchi finish—a rustic, darkened upper section that forms during forging and is left unpolished. “Kuro” means black in Japanese, and this aesthetic is both traditional and functional: it helps protect the blade from oxidation while giving it a bold, distinctive look.

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:

This knife is hand-forged at Yoshida Hamono, a family-run smithy in Japan with a long tradition of crafting high-performance tools and swords, including handmade katanas. Known for their mastery of modern steels like ZDP-189, Yoshida Hamono blends centuries-old forging techniques with cutting-edge metallurgy to create blades that stand the test of time.