--- slug: santoku_or_gyuto_which_first_knife category_path: home_kitchen/kitchen_dining/cutlery_knife_accessories/santoku_knives type: buying_guide title: "Santoku or Gyuto: Which First Kitchen Knife?" lead: "A 165-180 mm santoku for most home kitchens: it's the all-rounder built for the home cutting board, and the name — three virtues — means meat, fish, and vegetables. Pick a 210 mm gyuto (chef's knife) instead if you often break down large cuts or cook Western dishes on a big board." recommendation: name: "A 165-180 mm stainless santoku" reason: "The santoku is the shape Japanese home cooking settled on for a reason: short enough to control on a home-sized board, tall enough to knuckle-guide, with a flat-ish edge that takes cabbage and a curve that still rocks through herbs. The gyuto's extra length and pointed tip win on big roasts, melons, and long slicing strokes — pros default to it — but that length works against you on a 40 cm board in a small kitchen. Both cut the same foods; this is a question of your board size and cooking style, not of quality. Whichever you pick, one good knife beats two mediocre ones." published: 2026-07-07 updated: 2026-07-07 ---