Mid-tier ginsan knife?

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks @SwampDonkey. Curvier edge profile is a bit of a bummer, especially since the knife looks like such a nice flat profile in the K&S photos. Perhaps when time comes to upgrade my 270, I’ll ask K&S for some shots of one of their Tanakas on a board or something.

K&S version:

Cook's Edge version:

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

$300 probably puts you in the realm of a "standard" @MSicardCutlery. Matt does AEB-L very well and it is superior to Ginsan in most every way and is easy to sharpen.

By "standard" I just mean a no-frills, performance-oriented knife like Matt is building a name on. You could work with him on profile. Matt's blades paired with a lightweight handle like cherry or maple have put smiles on a lot of faces.

Shoot him a message here on the forum.

EDIT: I own four Sicard's and am pondering the fifth.

 

[blokey]

High hardness AEB-L is just brilliant steel, sharpens like carbon and takes a mean edge.

 

[Seemore]

I’ve been looking for a ginsan (or similarly easy to sharpen stainless—e.g. SKD) guyto and petty for use in a professional setting. I already have a Heiji semi-stainless guyto and petty I love for home, but I want something a bit thinner and, importantly, cheaper for work. Sick of sharpening most stainless I’ve tried, I turned to ginsan and SKD as options.

I’m seeing mostly really expensive options (e.g. lots of love for Nakagawa ginsan, Kagekiyo ginsan, Hado ginsan, or Yoshikane SKD) or a slew of generic cheapo options around $100-150 (Tsunehisa, Yahiko, etc.), with some claiming there’s a huge quality difference and others saying there isn’t.

Is there no mid-range option (say, $200-300 for gyutos) with these types of steels? Ideally something with a thin tip and flatter profile, good geometry, good balance of edge retention and durability/sharpenability.

Katsuto Tanaka, AKA Matsubara. On the unmentionable one's website, perhaps you'll recognize the graphics. I can't speak to his Ginsan, but the two A2 knives I have seem quite carefully made, sharpen and hold very nicely, and I love the feel (home cook here). Good luck.

 

[henkle]

+1 S. Tanaka

 

[tostadas]

Katsuto Tanaka, AKA Matsubara. On the unmentionable one's website, perhaps you'll recognize the graphics. I can't speak to his Ginsan, but the two A2 knives I have seem quite carefully made, sharpen and hold very nicely, and I love the feel (home cook here). Good luck.
View attachment 252432

I have his ginsan cleaver. Easy to sharpen and care for.

 

[heirkb]

Update for everyone—thanks (or no thanks) to @blokey, I pushed a bit past my initial price range and went with the Tadokoro in 270mm. Though, to be fair, the Tadokoro 210, like the Nakagawa and Kagekiyo I’d posted, would have been pretty much within my initial price range.

I was initially looking for a 210, with plans to later upgrade my 270, but figured I’ll just go 270 now and get a cheaper 180 gyuto or petty instead of both a 150 petty and 210 gyuto. I’ll reserve the smaller size mostly for shallots, garlic, miscellaneous line work.

 

[blokey]

Update for everyone—thanks (or no thanks) to @blokey, I pushed a bit past my initial price range and went with the Tadokoro in 270mm. Though, to be fair, the Tadokoro 210, like the Nakagawa and Kagekiyo I’d posted, would have been pretty much within my initial price range.

I was initially looking for a 210, with plans to later upgrade my 270, but figured I’ll just go 270 now and get a cheaper 180 gyuto or petty instead of both a 150 petty and 210 gyuto. I’ll reserve the smaller size mostly for shallots, garlic, miscellaneous line work.

You are welcome! Tadokoro is really nice to do business with, his wife (I assume) speaks English and can help you with ordering, you can ask for specific length or height. Just remember tho the default handle is the more expansive ebony, you can ask for ho wood. They also do sayas with really good price.
https://www.tadokorohamono-marushin888.com/en/contact

 

[heirkb]

You are welcome! Tadokoro is really nice to do business with, his wife (I assume) speaks English and can help you with ordering, you can ask for specific length or height. Just remember tho the default handle is the more expansive ebony, you can ask for ho wood. They also do sayas with really good price.
https://www.tadokorohamono-marushin888.com/en/contact

Good to know for future orders—thank you! The website was definitely a bit intimidating at first.

In this case, I used a proxy service for the order, since I wanted to bundle up the shipping to the US with some other things I’d already ordered from Japan that the proxy is storing for me. Here’s hoping the 270 gyuto is in stock and ships quickly

 

[EShin]

Update for everyone—thanks (or no thanks) to @blokey, I pushed a bit past my initial price range and went with the Tadokoro in 270mm. Though, to be fair, the Tadokoro 210, like the Nakagawa and Kagekiyo I’d posted, would have been pretty much within my initial price range.

I was initially looking for a 210, with plans to later upgrade my 270, but figured I’ll just go 270 now and get a cheaper 180 gyuto or petty instead of both a 150 petty and 210 gyuto. I’ll reserve the smaller size mostly for shallots, garlic, miscellaneous line work.

Very good choice! His knives are fantastic performers with probably the best edge retention of any ginsan I’ve tried. The reason could be that although Mr. Nakagawa is the smith, Mr. Tadokoro does the tempering himself.

Thought about mentioning Tadokoro but the fact that it’s a bit over your budget and that I feel that they’re finished nicer than Heiji’s made me hesitant. Anyway, looking forward to hearing how you like it once you get it. By the way, blade height is usually a bit low (like Kagekiyo) so if you want a bit more height, you should ask about it, even if you’ve already placed the order.

 

[itzjustchris1]

Kagekiyo Ginsan. I’ve tried so many Ginsan’s and now I only get Nakagawa and Yamatsuka. I still need to try S.Tanaka.


https://miuraknives.com/japanese-kn...32-japanese-knife-kagekiyo.html#/36-size-24cm

 

[pitted_soul]

K&S has some new stock and great prices on the S. Tanaka Ginsans

https://www.knivesandstones.com.au/...hiji-gyuto-teak-handle?variant=43118392639709​

Note this is the .au website so shipping may take some time depending on your location. But the price is killer and they are all out on the US site.

 

[Qifgt]

Jns kaeru seem to have decent food release ,convex grind. Seem very good for price ,prolly my pick for professional setting.

Kaeru at 15min