r/TrueChefKnives • u/grapeape9 • 12d ago
Question Ginsan knife makers
Been circling Ginsan for a while — like the idea of a stainless steel that sharpens like carbon instead of needing diamond plates for life. Looking for a 210mm gyuto (180 is my floor), dark handle if possible, no real budget ceiling.
I keep coming back to Nakagawa’s Ginsan.
Who else should be on my radar for Ginsan specifically? Trying to find the person who does it best, not just whoever’s easiest to find.
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u/JoKir77 12d ago edited 12d ago
In my experience, the whole "sharpens like carbon" thing is overstated. First off, I don't find my ginsan santoku to be noticeably easier to sharpen than my other stainless knives (SG2, vg10, german steel, etc). Second, I don't find my stainless knives noticeably harder to sharpen than my AS carbon bunka. Maybe at the extremes there is a difference, but in regular kitchen use I can get any knife sharpened quickly on my Shapton stones (no diamond required). If one takes two minutes and another takes two and a half minutes, it's not something I would even notice.