Tojiro Knife Professional Santoku 6.7" (17cm) (formerly DP) Review

Summary

A 170 mm Japanese santoku with a VG10 core clad in stainless steel, sold as the F-503 in the series Tojiro now calls CLASSIC (US buyers knew the line as DP). Check the model number and your board before you buy: the hard, thin edge is not for bones, frozen food or glass and stone boards.

Strengths

Genuine VG10 core under 13-chrome cladding, not a stainless blade with a marketing name.
Even double bevel suits both right- and left-handed cooks.
Light at about 190 g and sized for all-purpose daily prep.
Reviewers call it sharp out of the box and easy to sharpen on a stone.
Specialist sites call it the best-value entry into a VG10 Japanese knife, around $120.
The laminated handle and bolster are built to resist shrinkage, cracking and loosening.

Weaknesses

A hard, thin edge at HRC 60 can chip on bones, frozen food or glass and stone boards.
Fit and finish is basic for the price; one reviewer says the handle can feel cheap next to wa or PakkaWood handles.
Owners report it balances slightly handle-heavy.
Hand-wash only; the dishwasher dulls the edge and can stain the steel and handle.
The stainless edge can still react to salt, acid and moisture, so dry it after every use.
No saya or blade guard comes in the box.

Verified specifications

Model	F-503, in the series Tojiro now calls CLASSIC (formerly sold in the US as DP).
Type	santoku with an even double bevel, for right- and left-handed use.
Blade length	170 mm (6.7 in).
Overall length	about 295 mm (Tojiro); about 300 mm measured by Chef Knives To Go.
Weight	about 190 g (Tojiro); 6.8 oz (193 g) measured by Chef Knives To Go.
Core steel	VG10 (Takefu “V Gold 10”).
Cladding	13-chrome stainless steel, San Mai 3-layer construction.
Hardness	HRC 60.
Handle	black micarta laminate, full tang, with a stainless bolster and three stainless rivets.
Dimensions	spine about 2 mm at the heel, blade height 46 mm (Chef Knives To Go).
Made in	Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata, Japan, by Tojiro, which has made knives there since 1955.
Awards	Good Design Award 1981; Good Design Long Life Design Award 1996 (series level).

Full research notes and sources

Which model this is

This page covers Tojiro’s 170 mm santoku, model F-503, from the series the company now sells as CLASSIC. US buyers knew the line as DP, and Chef Knives To Go states the knife is unchanged, with only the name updated at the manufacturer’s request. The word “Professional” in the listing name is a seller label, not Tojiro’s separate TOJIRO PRO series, which has an all-stainless handle.

The ASIN is B000UAPQEA.

Steel and edge geometry

Tojiro builds the F-503 from a VG10 core clad in 13-chrome stainless steel in three layers, hardened to HRC 60. Chef Knives To Go publishes the measured geometry: a 2 mm spine at the heel and a 46 mm blade height, thin behind the edge and meant to take a genuinely sharp edge. That combination is why the santoku cuts cleanly and also why it chips. Independent testing of this exact knife is thin: Japanese Knife Lab ranks the 170 mm DP santoku as the best-budget santoku at about $120, but states it has not cut with the knife, so the ranking is spec-based rather than measured. Treat the reputation as consensus about the steel and geometry, not as lab data.

Sharpening and upkeep

Tojiro and its retailers call for hand-washing only, drying the blade right after use, and storing it on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 10-15 degrees per side, hone with a ceramic rod between sessions and skip pull-through sharpeners. The santoku guide suggests touch-ups every 2-3 months for home use, or every 1-3 months with a 1000 and 3000 grit stone. Tojiro’s Japanese operation offers resharpening, repair and a knife-recycling service, but no model-specific warranty for the F-503 was found on the pages read.

What owners say

Reviewers on Chef Knives To Go are strongly positive over years of use: one professional cook says it was her only knife for more than five years and still sharpens easily and holds its edge, and another reports daily use for about ten years and calls it a workhorse that takes a beating. Several call it sharp out of the box and say there is no better knife at the price. A Japanese-language review on Tojiro’s own shop found it felt slightly heavy in hand at first but fine in use for vegetables. A retail reviewer notes the fit and finish reflect the lower price, and more than one owner calls the balance slightly handle-heavy. Nobody has published a failure rate, so treat the chipping and finish notes as trade-offs of the steel and price rather than defects.

Chef Knives To Go and Cutlery and More list the santoku at about $122, and Japanese Knife Lab puts the 170 mm santoku at about $120 (all October 2026). Tojiro’s own Japanese shop lists it at ¥13,200 tax-included, so import and margin sit on top of that in the US. Below about $100 it is strong value; $110-135 is the normal, fair range; above $140 the value narrows, and the same money reaches a MAC 170 mm santoku listed around $140. There are no consumables: the ongoing cost is sharpening and storage gear, such as a 1000 and 3000 grit stone, a ceramic rod, and a blade guard or magnetic strip. Chef Knives To Go sells a santoku saya for $35 and a felt blade guard for $5 separately, since neither is included.