A Japanese Chef’s knife is a wide bladed 5-7” knife with an overall thinner spine and taper than a French or German style chef’s knife. The spine runs parallel to the relatively flat cutting edge which has a bolsterless heel and only curves near the tip to create a broad bladed knife similar in shape to a cleaver. The taper is ground thinly and lengthened to give it maximum precision when slicing. The word Santoku translates as “3 good things” which means it is versatile like a chef’s knife and cuts vegetables, fish and meat.