Kaishin Ginsan (Silver #3) Damascus 165mm Santoku

This "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 Finishes
  
• Damascus
  
• Blade Length(heel-to-tip): 155mm (6.1")
• Blade Height (at heel): 46mm
• Spine Thickness
• Above heel: 3.4mm
• Middle: 2.9mm
• Handle
• Shape: Hachikaku (Octagonal)
• Material: Japanese Magnolia (Ho Wood)
  
• Kuchiwa: White Buffalo Horn
• Length: 128mm
• Overall Length: 299mm
• Weight: 143g (4.83oz)
• Hand chiselled mark: In Japanese Kanji "Kaishin" (魁心)
• Stamp mark (Back): In Japanese Kanji "Ginsan" (銀三)

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.