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Santoku 210mm Parker Asahi Synthetic Take Down Set

Santoku 210mm Parker Asahi Synthetic Take Down Set

By Kamon Knives


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Benjamin Kamon

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This 210mm Santoku, forged from Apex Ultra Steel by the renowned Austrian blacksmith Benjamin Kamon, is a masterful fusion of precision engineering and cutting-edge metallurgy. Featuring Kamon's signature Santoku profile, the blade is crafted with convex bevels and a "walkschliff" tip, offering unmatched versatility in the kitchen. Its striking Wave pattern, enhanced by a black-etched, oil-slick finish, highlights its refined design as much as its functionality. Hardened to an exceptional 67 HRC through an advanced fluidized sand heat treatment process, the blade exhibits an impeccable grain structure and carbide alignment, ensuring superior edge retention and durability. Cryogenic treatment further enhances its hardness and toughness, delivering unparalleled cutting precision.

Engineered for optimal ergonomics and performance, the knife features a handle made from a unique synthetic compound developed by Parker Asahi. This material, a blend of rubber and wood fibers, provides a comfortable, resilient grip ideal for extended use without fatigue. Kamon's signature torpedo-shaped titanium end caps add both sophistication and distinctive detail to the handle's design. Created for professional chefs and culinary enthusiasts alike, this Santoku excels in a variety of tasks, from slicing vegetables paper-thin to butchering proteins with surgical precision. The Apex Ultra Steel ensures a razor-sharp edge that endures prolonged use, setting new benchmarks for high-performance kitchen knives.

Accompanying this extraordinary knife is a custom saya for secure storage and transportation, along with the Parker Asahi Cook N Cut Pro cutting board. Crafted from the same innovative material as the handle, this cutting board measures 600mm x 330mm x 30mm, offering a durable, knife-friendly surface that preserves the blade’s edge while providing stability during use. Together, the knife and cutting board set exemplify the perfect synergy of advanced design and functionality. This creation represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship, making it an essential centerpiece for any serious culinary endeavor.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Overall Length: 340mm
  • Edge Length: 210mm
  • Spine Heel: 5.23mm
  • Spine Mid: 2.66mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 0.78mm
  • Blade Height: 56mm
  • Weight: 253g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 67
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: TexturedAcid Etched (Forced Patina)
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Parker Asahi Synthetic Compound, Titanium
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous
  • Saya / Storage Included: Yes

Blade type

Santoku

三徳

A shorter, lighter all-purpose knife — usually 165 to 180 mm — built around the same "three virtues" the name describes: meat, fish, and vegetables. The edge is flatter than a gyuto's, with a rounded, sheepsfoot-style tip, favouring a straight up-and-down push cut over a rocking motion. Its compact length and modest height make it easy to control, which has made it the default home-kitchen knife across much of the world.

The santoku trades reach and tip precision for manageability. The flatter profile and shorter blade suit smaller hands, smaller boards, and cooks who chop rather than rock, but those same dimensions limit it on large proteins and tall vegetables where a longer, taller blade does the work more easily. Think of it as a gyuto's more approachable counterpart rather than a replacement.

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Cutting edge steel

Apex Ultra

Low-alloy fine-grain carbon tool steel

Typical HRC
64–68
Corrosion class
Carbon
Production
Conventional
Origin
Austria (developed by Tobias Hangler and Marco Guldimann; project led by Hangler at Messerschmiede Hangler)

Apex Ultra is one of the most carefully engineered non-stainless kitchen knife steels in modern circulation, and the project of an Austrian smith — Tobias Hangler — who set out, with Marco Guldimann, to design a steel for the kitchen rather than borrow one from another industry. It carries roughly 1.25 percent carbon, around four percent chromium, modest tungsten and molybdenum, and a small vanadium addition. The composition is tuned to produce a fine, evenly distributed carbide structure that supports hardness up to 67 HRC while delivering toughness comparable to 52100 at the same hardness — a combination that is the entire point of the steel.

What this means for a cook is unusual permission. You can ask a maker to grind an Apex Ultra knife thin enough that a White #1 owner would call you brave, then ask for the heat treatment to land at 65 HRC, and the resulting edge will hold for longer than Aogami Super without microchipping. It sharpens cleanly on natural and synthetic stones alike and patinas slowly because of the chromium content, though it is not stainless and should be treated as a carbon steel.

Apex Ultra has become a signature steel of the European maker community, and the Modern Cooking catalogue carries an unusually deep bench of smiths working in it. Tobias Hangler himself heads that group, alongside Marco Guldimann, Benjamin Kamon, Martin Huber, Jonas Johnsson, Karol Karyś, Birch & Bevel, and MCx. It is genuinely a step forward — one of the relatively few cases where the marketing claims and the underlying metallurgical data are saying the same thing.

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Blade construction

Mono Steel

A knife forged from a single piece of steel — no laminations, no clad layers. The simplest and most direct construction. The entire blade is the cutting steel, with no softer outer jacket to protect or contrast it. Most contemporary Western kitchen knives in carbon and stainless steel are mono-steel constructions, as are honyaki and most European bladesmith work.

The trade-off is straightforward: mono-steel knives are easier to forge, sharpen, and reason about, but the entire blade carries the cutting steel's properties — including its reactivity if it's a clean carbon. There is no soft jacket to protect a more brittle core from impact, so the heat treatment and geometry have to do all the work.

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Grind

Convex

A grind whose bevel bulges outward in a gentle curve from spine to edge, rather than running flat. That extra steel directly behind the edge makes a convex grind notably strong and resistant to chipping, while the curved geometry helps food release and lets the blade glide through dense ingredients with less wedging than a flat grind.

The strength comes at the cost of ultimate thinness and ease of maintenance. A convex edge has more metal behind it, so it is not quite as effortlessly keen as a thinly flat-ground edge, and it is harder to sharpen freehand — holding the curve takes a stropping technique or a deliberate hand rather than a single fixed angle. The reward is an exceptionally tough, smooth-cutting edge.

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Handle construction

Takedown

A takedown is a hidden-tang construction built to come apart. The tang passes through the handle and is drawn up by a threaded fitting — a nut at the butt, or a pommel that screws down — so the handle can be dismantled and re-fitted rather than being permanently bonded in place. Everything else follows the hidden-tang pattern: a concealed tang inside a one-piece handle, with no steel showing along the grip.

The point of the design is serviceability. Because the handle is mechanical rather than glued, it can be taken off for thorough cleaning and drying, swapped for a different material or profile, or replaced entirely if it is ever damaged — all without destroying the original fittings. It is the construction to choose for a knife meant to be maintained and kept for the long term, and for owners who like the option of changing a handle later.

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Shipping & Returns

Shipping

We process orders 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and ship from our shop in Sydney, Australia. We ship with FedEx, UPS and DHL.

We are happy to offer free international shipping on a variety of orders depending on location and order value.

Free Shipping Regions and Minimum Order Values

For Australia and New Zealand the minimum is $500AUD. For the rest of the world it is approximately €1000EUR. The discount is applied automatically when you reach the minimum cart value at checkout.

Returns

If you're not entirely happy with your purchase, you can return it within 14 days of delivery for a refund. The item must be in its original condition with all original packaging.

  • Returns are accepted for 14 days
  • The customer is responsible for return shipping costs
  • A 15% restocking fee may be applied to change-of-mind returns
  • We do not accept returns on second-hand items for change of mind

Faulty or Damaged Items

You must notify us within 5 business days of receiving your order. Photographic evidence of damage is required. Once approved, Modern Cooking will cover return shipping costs.

Product Care

Cleaning: Clean by hand with warm water. Avoid wetting the handle when possible.

Sharpening: We advise using whetstones to sharpen your knives and a honing rod or steel to maintain the burr between sharpening sessions.

Reactive Steels: Reactive steels like Aogami Super, Apex Ultra or premium reactive German and Swedish steels are susceptible to rust if not properly cared for. Keep the knife dry between uses and when storing for longer periods, wiping the blade with Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil is a wise choice. A patina can be a beautiful personal feature on your knife and helps to stop rust forming.

Handle Care: For non-stabilised wooden handles, apply Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil from time to time. Food-safe wax can be applied to both stabilised and non-stabilised wooden handles. Never apply hot wax or oil as you risk warping or damaging the handle.

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