Kaishin "Thin Series" Ginsan (Silver #3) 165mm Santoku
$185.00This "thin series" wa-santoku is a "laser" knife, handcrafted and hand-sharpened by a team of traditional artisans and craftsmen. With Ginsan (Silver #3) steel, you get similar hardness and some of the characteristics of Shirogami #2, but with stainless / rust resistance properties, making this knife much easier to maintain. The grind is quite smooth, with good thinness behind-the-edge and quality sharpening matching the price range of this series. The polish is done to a higher standard than most other knives of this cost, so the knife is very enjoyable to use. More importantly, Kaishin's magnolia handle comes with a blonde/marble buffalo horn kuchiwa, something less seen in knives of this budget range. Overall this is a knife of superb value for money.
Spec:
- Origin (Made in): Sanmu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
- Brand: Kaishin
- Knife Type: Santoku
- Blade
- Construction: San Mai
- Grind: Double-edged Blade (50/50 Grind)
- Hagane (Core Steel): Ginsan (Silver #3)
- Jigane (Cladding): Stainless Steel
- Hardness: 60-62 HRC
- Hand-forged, hand-grinded, hand-sharpened
- Blade Length: 165mm (6.5")
- Blade Height (at heel): 47mm
- Spine Thickness
- Above heel: 2.9mm
- Middle: 2.5mm
- Handle
- Shape: Hachikaku (Octagonal)
- Material: Japanese Magnolia (Ho Wood)
- Kuchiwa: Blond/Marble Buffalo Horn
- Length: 131mm
- Overall Length: 310mm
- Weight: 137g (4.83oz)
- Hand chiselled mark: In Japanese Kanji "Kaishin" (魁心)
About Kaishin 魁心 / Nakamura Hamono Kogei 中村刃物工芸
Nakamura Hamono Kogei is a young company founded in 2015 as a teamworking workshop for emerging traditional Japanese blacksmiths. Teaming up a number of traditional craftsmen and seasoned sharpeners, Nakamura Hamono Kogei has created its original brand “Kaishin” (魁心) to showcase what can be achieved when like-minded blacksmiths work together to perfect their crafts.
Care:
Ginsan (Gin3 or Silver #3) is a stainless carbon steel, with 14% added Chromium. Retaining the character of Japanese carbon steel, with similar hardness of Shirogami #2, Ginsan is stainless. It's edge retention is only slightly inferior to Shirogami #2, but the fact that it combines ease of sharpening, carbon steel character as well being stainless makes it a great choice for those who wish to have a Japanese carbon steel knife that is easy to maintain.
Cutting Surface:
Recommended cutting surface: wood, rubberized boards and high-end composites, and quality plastics such as polyethene make acceptable cutting surfaces, and will help protect and prolong knife’s edge. AVOID glass, metal, countertops, and other rigid, non-forgiving surfaces.
Sharpening:
We recommend sharpening all quality Japanese knives on whetstones, as we believe they yield the best results for your knives.