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Influencer StackWhat the influencers actually use.
Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

Japanese chef's knife

A thinner, harder blade ground for slicing rather than for heavy chopping

Santoku, gyuto and related shapes, ground thinner and hardened further than a European chef's knife, often around 15 degrees a side. The steel takes a keener edge and keeps it longer. It also chips if you twist it or run it into a bone. High-carbon versions cut best. They discolor and rust unless dried straight away, which is why stainless and damascus-clad versions outsell them. Prices start near $60 and climb past several hundred. Above a point you are buying handle and finish.

Who backs it

Sorted by strength of stance

  • J. Kenji López-AltDoes it

    Chef and food writer · The Food Lab

    He has cooked with KAN's Japanese knives for about eight years and given a lot of them away to friends and colleagues. Five years went into his own shape with bladesmith Gordon Hanson, the shi-toku. It is a santoku profile with the curved tip of a Western chef's knife, so it can rock-chop. Both knives sell under his name. His ethics page counts such partnerships among the paid ones.

    Source: kenjilopezalt.com: 2025 Holiday Gift Guide

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Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.