Santoku knives have not been a part of Japan’s storied blade tradition for long. Instead, they were created in the mid-20th century as a home cook’s multipurpose knife—the name, in Japanese, translates to “three virtues.” Most sources say those three virtues are working with meat, fish, and vegetables, though I’ve seen at least one publication say the term may also refer to three different cutting techniques: slicing, dicing, and chopping.

The blade of a santoku is quite tall, giving it a bit of heft that such a short knife would otherwise lack, and its spine curves down significantly to meet the tip. This blade shape is sometimes called a sheep’s foot blade, which is fairly common for paring knives.