Etched
Kagemitsu 立山 Tateyama Nashiji, Santoku (universal knife), ginsan steel - blade only - "Etched"
Kagemitsu Tateyama santoku
Double-sided sharpened and laminated (Sanmai) blade made of stainless steel with a core of Japanese Ginsan steel. The blade is extremely thin and manually sharpened and has no thickening, which makes sharpening on Japanese water stones very easy.
Ginsan steel is stainless steel with a pure composition of carbon, chromium and iron. Ginsan steel is also called Silver #3 Steel or Gin-3 and is manufactured by Japan's Hitachi Metals Ltd. The purity of Ginsan steel makes it a top performer in edge retention and corrosion resistance.
Ginsan steel is virtually identical to Shirogami #2 steel, but its high purity reduces Rockwell hardness, making it easier to sharpen than the Aogami and Shirogami steel series. It is designed as stainless steel which can get a sharp edge and is easy to maintain, making it perfect for kitchen knives.
These knives are handmade in Tosa Japan. The Ginsan core steel is forged between two layers of softer steel, this outer layer is made of steel with a "misty" (Nashiji) pattern so that products stick less to the blade. It also ensures that the core steel is well protected against possible damage and oxidation.
Mount Tate (Tateyama), one of the Three Sacred Mountains of Japan (三霊山, Sanreizan), together with Mount Fuji (富士山, Fujisan) and Mount Haku (白山, Hakusan) and one of the 100 Famous Mountains of Japan, is located in the northern half of Japan's Kita Alps (北アルプス) and is one of the most accessible peaks in the area.
- Blade length: 170 mm
- Weight: 86 grams
- Sheet thickness: 2.0 mm
- Steel type: core steel: Japanese Ginsan steel (stainless) with 2 layers of steel (sanmai forged), with etched appearance (dark cut)
- Hardness: 61 (Rockwell C)
- Handle: none, this knife still needs to be provided with a suitable handle
The corrosion resistance of steel blades is determined by many factors, including use and maintenance. Steel with more than 11% chromium falls into the stainless steel category and is corrosion resistant. Ginsan steel contains 13% to 14.5% chromium, which is enough to make the stainless steel.
These knives are not dishwasher safe and very sensitive to hard and/or frozen products.
