Gengetsu or Gesshin ginga?

So i am looking to buy one of these knives as soon as they are in stock... Any opinions on which one you prefer and reasons why? also white #2 or stainless in these 2 knives... any input will really help... just ready to make my purchase :beatinghead:

I would recommend talking to Jon. He will walk you through the highlights of each and will figure out what your needs are. My brother recently picked up the Ginga but I haven't gotten over there to test run it yet.

DeepCSweede said:

I would recommend talking to Jon

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lus1:


2 really different knives

I know I am not the only person who thinks that the Gengetsu is one of the best knives out there.

i have talked with him... just cannot decide....

El Pescador said:

I know I am not the only person who thinks that the Gengetsu is one of the best knives out there.

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yep, mine is awesome.

how are you on sharpening, ChefStokely?

ChefStokely said:

i have talked with him... just cannot decide....

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I've used a Gengetsu; I own a White #2 240 Ginga. I thought the Gengetsu was an excellent cutter. My Ginga is awesome.

I'm going to try and recall specific differences between the two. Could you answer these questions?

1. Do you prefer a standard ho wood type handle? Or would you prefer a burnt chestnut handle?
2. Do you prefer a laser or a slightly thicker knife?
3. Do you prefer a clad or monosteel knife?
4. Are you ok with owning a monosteel carbon steel knife and taking care of it?
5. Do you prefer a stiffer blade vs. one that may not feel as stiff?
6. Do you prefer a super light knife, or one that's more substantial in the hand?

I wish I could recall more specifics about the performance about the Gengetsu. Hopefully tk59 will chime in. I know he's used one and I think he owns one.

As for the Ginga, I can say that it's thin, feels unbelievably light in the hand, but is extremely comfortable. I felt almost no drag doing a fine julienne of cabbage, slicing pork, doing a chiffonade of basil, mincing parsley, experienced very little resistance cutting onions and garlic. It's a pleasure to use. I happen to prefer ho wood handles and the handle is extremely comfortable. The knife has very good feedback, can be used to rock chop as well as push/pull cut, and is not reactive (I only have a few areas of slight patina after using it for several days after removing the coating).

tk owns a semi-stainless version, and i know he really likes it. i own the white 2, and really like it. i haven't used a Ginga, but i'm sure it's very nice.

ChefStokely said:

i have talked with him... just cannot decide....

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At least it's a win-win decision: Get an awesome knife, or get an awesome knife.
They are completely different so it's a matter of personal preference, you'd really have to have some experience with both styles in order to know which you prefer. Most of us here are a little crazy, so we have something similar to both and consider them as filling different niches, even though they may both be 240 gyutos.

sharpen with a stone

ChefStokely said:

sharpen with a stone

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but how are you at it? the Gengetsu is a knife with a dramatic taper to the edge and tip, and you'll want to be comfortable maintaining thinness, or it will quickly become worse. if the Ginga is like Konosuke, which i think it is, though nicer (like i said, never used the Ginga) it won't be as much of an issue, but all knives need thinning eventually.

mhlee,
i like the look of the chestnut but have never felt either in hand... i prefer thinner knifes, i have a lot of knife cuts throught my shifts, as for clad or monosteel knife... i dont really know... as for taking care of my knife that would not be a problem but would at least like semi-stainless... i like a knife that is a little stiff.. and i like a well balanced knife... i have been using a globel chefs knife for the past couple of years so this is def a step up, but i do own a masamoto vg-10 sujihiki...

i think im decent at sharpening... could always use improvement as in anything else

ChefStokely said:

i think im decent at sharpening... could always use improvement as in anything else

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the Gengetsu is a great knife. i'm sure the Ginga is, too, but i've used knives that i think are similar to the Ginga, and i prefer Gengetsu (i like clad knives that have a bit of weight but which are very thin behind the edge, which is why i have Heijis and Takedas, and a Shig, and have owned Yoshikane and Kochi). from what tk has told me, the semi-stainless takes a great edge and really keeps it, so i would have no compunction suggesting it (i have the white steel, and would likely have gotten semi-stainless if i had it over again).

awesome thanks for your input

I don't think I can add anything more. Both are great knives and being a picky person, I could easily live with either as my workhorse option. However, I think the Gengetsu is a cut above though both in edge retention (semistainless) and sheer cutting pleasure. To me, it has the perfect balance between food release and thinness and the edge it takes is very nice. As Edipis mentioned, if you don't want to have to deal with "thinning" go for the Ginga. The white steel options on either knife are very nice and sharpen up incredibly easily, as most high-end carbon steel knives do. You take a hit on the edge retention though. Again, if you don't mind the sharpening and you like super keen edges, carbon may be the way to go.

I only have experience with the Ginga, and have only had it for about a month, but it has been a rough month. If the edge retention on the Gengetsu is better than the Ginga than it is absolutely incredible. I sharpened the Ginga out of the box a month ago, and have since touched it up once and it still has a sharp, usable edge. The retention has actually been the feature that most impressed me about this knife, other than the attention to detail on the fit and finish. I was actually planning on writing a email to Jon telling him how impressed I was when I read this post. If I hadn't just bought a knife I might start looking at the Gengetsu.