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Kirk.S

Kirk.S

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I recently bought a knife that's better than my skill level: A 240mm Tanaka Ginsan Nashiji. I've used it quite a bit these past couple weeks and have enjoyed it, though there's a little bit of a learning curve. And I've showed it off to some friends, who like the look, but wonder about what makes it special. I found that I can list off the specs, but I don't really understand why this knife is good, and why I saw it recommended so much in these forums. Can anyone help?
 
Honestly I can't wait for people to hold (hold, not use) my 240mm Gengetsu gyuto. I guarantee you they have never held a knife so big yet so light before
 
Tanaka Ginsanko hits a sweetspot between price, stain resistance, ease of sharpening, thin behind the edge, lightness. The profile and grind are, of course, a personal taste. Its rather impossible to try to make non knife people understand why a knife is "special"
FWIW, I have two Tanaka Ginsanko knives, none of them really shined until I put a fresh edge on, they were really easy to sharpen and took a very keen edge.
 
Kirk Stonick said:
Not yet. Trying to change from rocking cuts to push cuts, so of course I'm a little slow at the moment.
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Keep at it. There’s a book called “an edge in the kitchen “ that’s a great primer on technique suited to your new knife.

One day you’ll have to chop four onions for a recipe and you’ll be looking forward to that part of your prep. That’s when you’ll know you got your money’s worth.

Also, Xenifs comment may be spot on. It may need a quick touch up. Use super light pressure to start or go to a pro. Eventually you’ll want to learn to sharpen yourself.
 
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rickbern said:
Keep at it. There’s a book called “an edge in the kitchen “ that’s a great primer on technique suited to your new knife.

One day you’ll have to chop four onions for a recipe and you’ll be looking forward to that part of your prep. That’s when you’ll know you got your money’s worth.

Also, Xenifs comment may be spot on. It may need a quick touch up. Use super light pressure to start or go to a pro. Eventually you’ll want to learn to sharpen yourself.
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This is what you mean, I guess:
 
rickbern said:
Also, Xenifs comment may be spot on. It may need a quick touch up. Use super light pressure to start or go to a pro. Eventually you’ll want to learn to sharpen yourself.
Click to expand...

It may need more than a light touchup. I've never had the knife in question, but most of my new J-knives that weren't sharpened by the vendor required a full sharpening at 1000 or lower, with full pressure, before they performed to my expectations. A couple arrived basically useless OOTB.
 
ian said:
It may need more than a light touchup. I've never had the knife in question, but most of my new J-knives that weren't sharpened by the vendor required a full sharpening at 1000 or lower, with full pressure, before they performed to my expectations. A couple arrived basically useless OOTB.
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^^^^This.

If this is your first Japanese knife and it is not the sharpest thing you've ever touched, it needs sharpening. Many Japanese knives do not come super sharp out of the box.
 
Xenif said:
Tanaka Ginsanko hits a sweetspot between price, stain resistance, ease of sharpening, thin behind the edge, lightness. The profile and grind are, of course, a personal taste. Its rather impossible to try to make non knife people understand why a knife is "special"
FWIW, I have two Tanaka Ginsanko knives, none of them really shined until I put a fresh edge on, they were really easy to sharpen and took a very keen edge.
Click to expand...
Ahh, good to know. The knife arrived sharp, but no sharper than other new knives as far as I could tell. My sharpening skills are such that I can get my knives to a similar level of sharpness, but I imagine I'll need more practice before I'll be able to make this knife really shine.
 
Sharp knives make life easier and make food taste better. A sharp knife requires less force to cut. Less force means less work for you and less damage for the food being cut. Sharp knives make food preparation faster and more consistent. Dull knives are dangerous because they require more force to use and their behavior in use is unpredictable. A sharp knife goes where you tell it to.
 
As a thin, sharp knife requires less force the board contact will less violent. The board contact is the major factor in edge dulling.
 
Technique is also important, so you need to either adopt a technique that suits the blade,
or buy blades that are designed for your preferred technique.

Curved profiles vs flat profiles are a discussion topic with various tradeoffs.

One thing to keep in mind is if you have a curved profile, it often helps to add a
little draw to your chopping and don't do it strictly verticall up down.
 
I bought my first j knife a bit more than 3 years ago and been sharpening since then. First knife was a normal moritaka gyuto as, what I felt was special with it was the finish and craftmanship vs european high end knifes or global knifes. It had some personality too given it was kurouchi finish. It was very sharp ootb, every time I pulled it out from the drawer it was a joy to use. Basicalky sharper, easier to use (given average to good technique), food became much more delicate when cut w the knife since it was so sharp and no force needed. All food preparation was effortless thanks to the knife. The balance of the knife was spot on for me. Basically it is a tool that at least I feel is so much better at the task, not jusr sharper, and it is also some sort of craftmanship going into making it that gives me some sense of satisfaction. Its the way the blade and edge is produced that together gives the end result that its a superior tool for the task, and on top of that it can be sharpen ridiculusly sharp which other high end european knife cant. Dont know if OP can relate, but thats how it is explained to me.
 
OP, imho, stop rocking cutting and only do pull or push cutting depending on the task. Unless you have a very rounded belly of the knife instead of flatter. Your knife will come to life
 
Nick112 said:
OP, imho, stop rocking cutting and only do pull or push cutting depending on the task. Unless you have a very rounded belly of the knife instead of flatter. Your knife will come to life
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Tanakas tend to have a pretty curved profile, so they can rock chop. Be careful not to rotate the blade while it is in forceful contact with the board or to walk-chop. This is because the hard, thin, brittle edge of good knives chips easily if lateral (sideways) forces are applied. For the same reason, don't scrape with the edge (flip the knife ofer and use the spine or put the knife down and use your hands).

I do occasionally carefully rock chop with these knives. OTOH, the grind of these knives tends to suit glide chopping, which is by far the mot common techinique that I use. The knife can easily be made sharp enough that this technique is noticibly faster than rock or walk chopping in most situations.
 
All this is good information, but I still think that if the OP is not initially wowed by a first fancy knife, it’s more likely because it’s not sharp, not because he/she needs to change technique. (I don’t really know the OP’s history, but I’m inferring that it was a big step up.) Maybe I’m wrong though.
 
Where did you buy the knife from? KnS, off BST or elsewhere? I thought that the ginsan Tanakas were KnS exclusives. Could be wrong about that though.

I got mine from KnS and it arrived quite sharp.
 
I got mine from K&S. I have only a little sharpening experience so I was nervous to put it to a stone, but I decided to try sharpening it on my Shapton pro 2000 this weekend, and it turned out to be by far the best sharpening job I've ever done. The first time I've gotten a knife sharp enough to easily shave hairs. It's cutting noticeably better now. Still having to get more used to push cutting, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
 
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