About MAC
MAC Knife was founded in 1964 by Tatsuo Kobayashi, who set out to build the world's finest kitchen knife using molybdenum high-carbon alloy steel for strength, thin blade geometry for precision, and ergonomic handles for everyday comfort. Every MAC knife is still made in the company's own factory in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, a region with over 800 years of blade-making history, and the company says it has never moved production outside Japan. MAC has sold more than 25 million knives since 1964, built around the patented MAC Edge, a hybrid grind between the traditional Japanese single-beveled chisel edge and the Western V-shaped edge, ground to roughly 30 degrees.
MAC's knives are hand-ground and hand-sharpened on water-cooled stones to a Rockwell hardness of 57 to 61, a range the company targets specifically so the blades take a very sharp edge while staying easy to re-sharpen at home. The Professional Series, which includes the santoku we feature below, is built with a full bolster for weight and balance closer to a Western chef's knife. Serious Eats named the MAC 6.5-Inch Hollow Edge Santoku one of the knives its editors said they would never give up, describing it as gliding through food easily and praising the compact blade for its control.
Brand website: macknife.com
What MAC makes
MAC's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Professional Series
full-bolstered santoku and chef's knives balanced for home cooks, featured on DIYRated — featured on DIYRated
Original Series
MAC's classic no-bolster line built around the patented MAC Edge grind
Superior Series
sub-zero tempered steel for improved edge retention over the original alloy
Chef Series
Western-style bolstered chef's and utility knives
Ultimate Series
MAC's premium tier with upgraded steel and fit and finish
Sharpeners and Honing Rods
hand-held sharpeners, honing rods, and waterstones sized to the MAC Edge angle
Why we recognized MAC
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. MAC earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
MAC products we rated highly
MAC Professional 6.5" Santoku (Hollow Edge)
In our testing, the MAC Professional Santoku stood out for a razor-sharp edge straight from the proprietary MAC alloy steel and hollow granton dimples along the blade that keep food from sticking during rapid slicing. Serious Eats editors separately named this same 6.5-inch hollow-edge santoku one of the knives they said they'd never give up, citing how easily it glides through food and how much control the compact blade offers. It holds a 4.7-star rating across 364 reviews in our data. The pakka wood handle looks and feels premium but wants careful hand-wash-only maintenance, and the 6.5-inch blade is a specialist tool for precision vegetable and protein work rather than an all-purpose workhorse.
Read the 7 Best Kitchen Knives of 2026 guide →What earned MAC the recognition
- Founded in 1964 by Tatsuo Kobayashi and still made entirely in the company's own factory in Seki City, Japan, a region with more than 800 years of blade-making history.
- Built around the patented MAC Edge, a hybrid grind between the traditional Japanese chisel edge and the Western V-edge, ground to roughly 30 degrees for a combination of sharpness and control.
- Blades are hand-ground and hand-sharpened on water-cooled stones to a Rockwell hardness of 57 to 61, hard enough to hold an edge while staying easy to re-sharpen at home.
- The MAC Professional 6.5-Inch Hollow Edge Santoku earned a top pick in our kitchen knife testing, with a 4.7-star rating across 364 reviews and a genuinely sharp edge out of the box.
- Serious Eats editors independently named the same santoku one of the knives they'd never give up, praising how it glides through food and how well the compact blade is controlled.