Santoku knives are Japanese-style chef knives that are versatile and can be used for a variety of tasks in the kitchen. They are ideal for mincing, dicing, and slicing, as they feature a straight edge with a narrow sheep’s foot blade. The blade of a Santoku knife is usually about an inch shorter than a standard 8-inch chef knife, and it is made of thinner and harder steel, which makes it better suited for precision cutting. The Santoku blade is designed for the up and down chopping technique often referred to as “push-cutting” . The wide blade associated with a Santoku also makes it useful for "scooping" food off of a cutting board and moving it to a sauté pan or other dish.

Santoku knives are particularly adept at creating very thin slices of foods, which improves the overall aesthetics of completed dishes. They are best used for cutting meat, slicing cheese, slicing, chopping or dicing fruits, vegetables, and nuts, mincing meat or herbs, and creating fine slices, particularly useful for vegetables and seafood. However, Santoku knives are not suitable for tougher jobs such as deboning meat, slicing bread, or precision tasks such as peeling.

In summary, Santoku knives are versatile and can be used for a variety of tasks in the kitchen, including mincing, dicing, and slicing. They are particularly useful for creating very thin slices of foods and are best used for cutting meat, slicing cheese, and chopping or dicing fruits, vegetables, and nuts. However, they are not suitable for tougher jobs such as deboning meat, slicing bread, or precision tasks such as peeling.