Favorite ginsan knives

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enrico

enrico

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Which forger/sharpener do you guys like? Looking to add a fully stainless gyuto to the collection and I have a Hado Ginsan Santoku and it preforms very well.

Cheers
 
Waiting for mine from Tadokoro, his is forged by Nakagawa, I think Hado's are by Shogou Yamatsuka, which is an excellent smith who also did some for Sakai Takayuki. Btw, would Suisin inox Honyaki count as one? Their steel is 19c27, which is the same as Ginsan.
 
Nakagawa Ginsan feels very refined. I had a Nakagawa x morihiro wide bevel which could easily have been a one and done knife for all around use

I also have a matsubara Ginsan, but in cleaver form. It's more rustic finish and the out of the box grind wasn't quite to my personal standards, but it's definitely a keeper. I have not tried his Ginsan gyutos but would imagine them to be similar.
 
+1 for Nakagawa/Morihiro. I use it at work as my stainless go to, feels sturdy and although doesn't cut like a laser is an all rounder, well worth the price imo.
As Tostadas says can be a one and done knife.
 
Giovanny Torres said:
+1 for Nakagawa/Morihiro. I use it at work as my stainless go to, feels sturdy and although doesn't cut like a laser is an all rounder, well worth the price imo.
As Tostadas says can be a one and done knife.
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Same goes for Nakagawa/Tadokoro, though it can cut very finely and goes through carrots like butter. My favorite ginsan. The OUL/Hado (Yamatsuka/Maruyama) in comparison is much nimbler, but very nicely executed as well. If forced to say anything I’d say Mr. Yamatsuka’s forges the steel a little bit harder. Tsunehisa is good for the price, I agree, but on the board as well as on stones it’s no comparison to the much more expensive knives mentioned above.
 
Been waiting for a ginsan gyuhiki from Tanaka. Reached out to Knives and Stones but they are no longer being made.
 
I really like my Kikuchiyo (Nakagawa) x Yohei (Takada) 240mm ginsan gyuto. Really nice and smooth cutting feel and surprisingly decent food release given how smoothly it cuts. Really nice fit and finish too.
 
+1 Nakagawa

I am not 100% sure of the sharpener so I will skip this part.... but my gyuto performs in a very very similar way to some of my carbon knives with all the benefits of stainless

I have only sharpened it once, but it felt "buttery in a good way" on the stones, it got quite an edge and has a very respectable edge retention IMHO

I am an AMATEUR sharpener so take my words with a grain of salt...
 
ModRQC said:
IME Ginsan is as good in cheap iterations than in higher end ones. Had a few, sharpened them all, thinned some, they were all the same to me. If going for the big bucks just make sure you do it for finish/geometry/expertise reasons, not steel itself so much.
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I don't agree at all, I've sharpened my coworkers tsunehisa and is totally different feel (harder to deburr) than my Nakagawa on the stones.
 
While I may not be qualified to identify if one knife is "as good" as another, I would agree with both @labor of love and @Giovanny Torres that I can tell the difference between different makers treatment while sharpening.

Ive got some Yoshihiro (likely made by Tsunehisa) in Ginsanko, Shigeki Tanaka, Hideyuki Tanaka, En, and Nakagawa Takada. While I don't know if i could go as far as saying i could tell which one is which if blindfolded, but I'm almost positive I could point out the Cheapy amongst at least the knives I have.

I do agree with @ModRQC though, that geometry would matter the most for me. As this is pretty much my stance with any steel within a category type (Simple Carbon, Alloyed, PM, etc.)
 
All the better to yourselves gentlemen. To me there is no tangible difference anymore - unless a particular steel really sucks compared with others of its kind. I don’t think Ginsan is particularly at risk of that.
 
The only Ginsan knife I have experience with is a Sukenari. It reminds me a lot of a stainless slightly more boring version of a Y. Tanaka. Mundane looking yet comfortable finish, not a lot of taper but in all other regards a nice great, rather stiff and sturdy feeling. Closest to stainless feeling stainless while still performing great. They measure blade to tip just like a lot of the Sakai knives. Kinda kicking myself for not buying a 240 when they were still dirtcheap a few years ago.
 
i have a 240mm ginsan damascus from Sakai Takayuki. there is a non-damascus version as well. forged by Yamatsuka and sharpened by Tosa. it is a very underrated knife. midweight with a high performance grind. its got a classic sakai size/profile at like 232mm/48mm so it's not a modern profile. but it really performs well. when they show up on BST which is not too often, they tend to hang around for a while as they are not the most well renowned knife and you can probably get one for a good price. they are also available from togo.
 
tostadas said:
Nakagawa Ginsan feels very refined. I had a Nakagawa x morihiro wide bevel which could easily have been a one and done knife for all around use

I also have a matsubara Ginsan, but in cleaver form. It's more rustic finish and the out of the box grind wasn't quite to my personal standards, but it's definitely a keeper. I have not tried his Ginsan gyutos but would imagine them to be similar.
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Oh I agree, fit and finish are amazing, I started using one a week ago and I'm in love
 
dmonterisi said:
i have a 240mm ginsan damascus from Sakai Takayuki. there is a non-damascus version as well. forged by Yamatsuka and sharpened by Tosa. it is a very underrated knife. midweight with a high performance grind. its got a classic sakai size/profile at like 232mm/48mm so it's not a modern profile. but it really performs well. when they show up on BST which is not too often, they tend to hang around for a while as they are not the most well renowned knife and you can probably get one for a good price. they are also available from togo.
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I have sold a migaki and damascus version of this knife once before and came right back around to it later. Other than the cladding, they are indeed the exact same knife. A 240 Martell CPM and 240 Takayuki damascus ginsan have been the only two gyutos in my knife drawer for a while now. I look around once in a while but nothing else has been enticing enough to potentially replace either.
 
@ftermath said:
I have sold a migaki and damascus version of this knife once before and came right back around to it later. Other than the cladding, they are indeed the exact same knife. A 240 Martell CPM and 240 Takayuki damascus ginsan have been the only two gyutos in my knife drawer for a while now. I look around once in a while but nothing else has been enticing enough to potentially replace either.
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Does a western-handle version of this knife exist?
 
@ftermath said:
I have sold a migaki and damascus version of this knife once before and came right back around to it later. Other than the cladding, they are indeed the exact same knife. A 240 Martell CPM and 240 Takayuki damascus ginsan have been the only two gyutos in my knife drawer for a while now. I look around once in a while but nothing else has been enticing enough to potentially replace either.
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Are you guys talking about the line that usually comes w ebony handle?
 
dmonterisi said:
i have a 240mm ginsan damascus from Sakai Takayuki. there is a non-damascus version as well. forged by Yamatsuka and sharpened by Tosa. it is a very underrated knife. midweight with a high performance grind. its got a classic sakai size/profile at like 232mm/48mm so it's not a modern profile. but it really performs well. when they show up on BST which is not too often, they tend to hang around for a while as they are not the most well renowned knife and you can probably get one for a good price. they are also available from togo.
Click to expand...
I picked up a Damascus petty from Tsubaya in Tokyo three years ago. Had no idea what it was at the time. Staff there asked: "don't you want a knife with a nicer handle?" Didn't care so went ahead and bought it.

Amazing slicer with great convexity. Such that I eventually found out togo had them and I ended up getting the 270 suji.

Comparing the two Takayuki (petty and suji) to a Ginsan Takada Gyuto I would say the Takayuki have a bit more heft and convexity whereas the Takada is flatter and more laserish. Which is better really is going to depend on grind preference.
 
Is it known who is the smith(s) on the Takayuki Ginsan series?
 
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