Hatsukokoro x Nakagawa Ginsan Bunka 180mm

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This series is produced for Hatsukokoro, forged and heat treated by the legendary Satoshi Nakagawa, then ground and sharpened by Morihiro Hamono.

Satoshi Nakagawa (中川悟志) is arguably the best blacksmith when it comes to forging and heat treating Ginsan. For context, Satoshi Nakagawa is the sole apprentice and successor of legendary blacksmith Kenichi Shiraki. After over 20 years under Shiraki-san’s mentorship and following Shiraki-san's retirement, Nakagawa-san now leads Nakagawa Hamono in Sakai, where he continues to craft blades with exceptional quality.

This gyuto has a Ginsan (Silver 3) core, which is a fine-grained stainless-steel that is easy to sharpen and has excellent edge retention. Ginsan overcomes the major downside of rusting associated with carbon steels (e.g. Aogami and Shirogami), while still providing many of the same benefits like ease of sharpening, higher peak sharpness and toughness. In other words - it cuts and performs like carbon steel, but without the high maintenance. In addition to Nakagawa's excellent heat treatment, you can be sure the edge retention and toughness of this knife is the best that Ginsan can offer.

In terms of fit and finish, the spine and choil are chamfered and polished, giving the blade a comfortable pinch grip. Additionally, while the blade is relatively wide, long and hefty, its balance point lies exactly at the pinch grip, allowing the knife to feel maneuverable despite its size. The end result is a blade with an impressive cutting ability due to its weight and grind, but with enough maneuverability to have finesse. This knife is a true workhorse.

Note: Sakai-made knives tend to be shorter because the measurement is from the neck to the tip, instead of the edge length.

Blade Type: Bunka
Core: Ginsan (Silver 3) Stainless Steel
Cladding: Stainless Steel Cladding
Handle: Ebony Octagonal Handle with White Buffalo Horn Ferrule
Spine Thickness at Heel: 2.7mm
Blade Height at Heel: 47mm
HRC: 61
Weight: 152g
Blade Length: 168mm
Overall Length: 321mm