NY Magazine's Santoku Knife Rating

When it comes to knives I can get a little pissy. Not that I'm an expert or anything, but I used to sell Global knives, so I know a little bit about the subject. And I know that most knife rankings, especially those done by glossy food magazines (yeah - I edit a food magazine, but it's not glossy - so there) are scraped together by cooks and food writers that are still clinging to the pathetic German knives they grew up with at culinary school. Bleech!

So hallelujah and all that to New York Magazine for having the insight to get an expert to rank santoku knives! Chef Masayoshi “Masa” Takayama tests ten knives straight outta the box, with the Shun santoku ranking first, and the Rachael Ray knife ranking last. Nothing against Ms. Ray (come on, that previous rant was satire...), but I agree with Masa's comment that "the stainless steel is cheap", which is what really makes that knife a piece of junk. You can purchase a knife because you like the name on it, you can purchase a knife because it feels good in your palm, but if you purchase a knife made out of cheap steel, it's going to start out dull and it's all downhill from there. Take a closer look at the MISONO UX10 that Masa ranked #2, it's a thing of beauty, and it's MOFO sharp, which is the whole point, isn't it? And what the heck...this Hattori is on my wish list.