Hatsukokoro Nakagawa 135mm Ajisaki Ginsanko Ebony Black Buffalo Horn Handle

These have a solid feel with little overall flex but behind the edge they are super thin and ‘nail-going.’ This means the edge can be temporarily bent with pressure against a fingernail–an old style test for proper thinness on a fine ground blade. While not the thinnest in our stock at the spine, behind the edge they are quite possibly the thinnest. They will cut very very smoothly but can be easy to damage if any twisting, lateral pressure or scraping is applied. These are best suited for those already using thin edged Japanese knives and maybe not the best first Japanese knife for someone used to tougher knives. 

Nakagawa-san’s knives are characterized by superb edge formation and edge life with good toughness. This is due to excellent heat control during forging and a very thorough heat treatment. His carbon steels are easy to sharpen across most steel types. Nakagawa-san is one of only a few blacksmiths in Sakai to forge Ginsanko and VG10 stainless steels. His ginsanko is one of the best we have used and sharpened, with superb edge life, toughness and edge formation.

These knives feature super fine grinding by Morihiro, known for his single and wide double bevel grinding work. Morihiro was instrumental in bringing Sakai’s tradition of single bevel grinding to double bevel wa-hocho. He was the sole sharpener of the Konosuke Fujiyama line (until 2018) and also works on the Sakai Kikumori Choyo series as well as other projects from Sakai.

Do not leave wet. Hand wash & dry, no dishwasher. Hardwood-end grain or softwood long grain cutting boards are preferred; avoid bamboo and plastic cutting boards.