# Why I got this: 210mm Tanaka Ginsan Gyuto



## DitmasPork (Jun 7, 2018)

Why'd I buy this?

Not gonna go into characteristics of ginsanko steel, or heat treatment, or feel on the stonesenough has been said about this knifes technical and performance attributes on other threads in KKFthis is my first gingko gyuto, my first 210 and have only been using it for a few days. I have too many gyutos, every one of them in my current roster works exceptionally wella better gyuto wont make better food. I wanted to put some thought into why I bought this knife.

Once or twice a year I visit my family in Hawaii, to eat, hang at the beach and cook a lotsupper parties, poke, kalbi, etc. At first Id just make do with cutlery in my parents kitchenmy moms painfully dull, wooden handled Mac; and garishly colorful Kai Pure Komachi knives, all usable but not great. For the past four years Ive been bringing along a couple of my own 240mm gyutos and pettys. Since the cutting boards at my folks are on the small size, Ive been wanting to pickup a 210 gyuto. Im mainly a carbon guy, but desired a stainless because of the salty tropical humidity and abundance of acidic fruits Id be cutting.

All of my other gyutos are 240s, plus a 270. Felt there was a place in my humble collection for a 210.

After years of primarily using 240 gyutos, I really appreciated the nimbleness that 210s offer. Though Ill probably not reach for it when prepping coleslaw and melons, but a 210 has its positives in a small space. 

I came up with a shortlist of stainless 210s, in the sub-$200 range. After careful consideration I opted for the Tanaka Ginsan with ebony handle. When deciding on a the Tanaka Ginsan, I initially looked at the budget Lite versionopted for the semi custom handle because, hey, its a birthday present to myself! Regarding price, I tend not to nickel and dime amounts, anything within $50 difference is reasonable to me for a knife I'm intending to keep and useI'm not a catch and releaser.

Aesthetics and design.
Im not a professional cookdid do catering for a few years, and cook a heck of a lot of supper partiesmy professional background has mainly been design, media, art. Aesthetics and design plays an important roll in my decision making process in buying a knife. 
I responded to the look of the Tanaka Ginsan Nashiji Gyuto with the K&S ebony handle and brass ferrule. The contrast between the rustic blade Nashiji blade finish with the sleek, minimalistic ebony handle is stunninga simple red spacer and brass ferrule adding just a touch of bling. Ebony is very slick, hard, slippery, but not an issue since Im a pinch gripper.
Profile on the knife is very functionaltheres a utilitarian elegance to itgood all around height. F&F on handle excellent, blade finish decent with choil and spine rounded, though couldve used a finer grit from the shinogi down to the edgeno prob, that's why I have stones. OOTB sharpness on mine very good. Blade has some heft to it, quite stiff, definitely not a laser. Kanji is nicely smoothed overunlike my Mazaki which has slightly annoying sharp bits on the kanji. [Note: Contrast and lighting in the photographs are exaggerating the grind marks slightly.]

Customer service.
Very pleased with the buying experience, dealer responded to my email questions, knife arrived from Australia in just a few days.

The Contenders.
Other knives I considered that were sub-$200, stainless, wa-handled, 210mm gyutos were the Kaeru, Gesshin Stainless.

Research.
Read everything I could find on the Tanaka Ginsan Nashiji on KKF threads and on other knife forumseven on a german knife forum.

Buyers remorse and second-guessing?
Very happy with the Tanaka Ginsan gyuto. Was however second-guessing myself when I found out about JKIs EN Ginsanko after I made this purchase. Im now trying to rationalize getting a 240 EN.


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## Xenif (Jun 7, 2018)

I never even thought about that handle combo, beautiful contrast. May I ask if that brass will tarnish? 
Nice review, always nice to follow the whole thought process of buying a knife, Enjoy!


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## DitmasPork (Jun 7, 2018)

Xenif said:


> I never even thought about that handle combo, beautiful contrast. May I ask if that brass will tarnish?
> Nice review, always nice to follow the whole thought process of buying a knife, Enjoy!



Yes brass does eventually tarnish, brass pins on my Western handled knives are quite tarnished. I do have a bottle of Brasso thatll hopefully do the trick if needed.


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## Lazyboy (Jun 7, 2018)

DitmasPork said:


> Yes brass does eventually tarnish, brass pins on my Western handled knives are quite tarnished. I do have a bottle of Brasso thatll hopefully do the trick if needed.



It's called patina ... start a new brass patina thread


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## S-Line (Jun 7, 2018)

I've had a K&S original tanaka ginsanko with the bubinga/ brass combo ferrule from when it first launched and I still haven't seen mine tarnish yet. Granted I did give the knife away to a good friend of mine but I still see him post pictures of it from day to day. I don't think that would be something you need to worry about.


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## DitmasPork (Jun 7, 2018)

S-Line said:


> I've had a K&S original tanaka ginsanko with the bubinga/ brass combo ferrule from when it first launched and I still haven't seen mine tarnish yet. Granted I did give the knife away to a good friend of mine but I still see him post pictures of it from day to day. I don't think that would be something you need to worry about.



No, I don't worry about things like that, just normal wear and tear to me. Kinda wished they had the bubinga option, like the look of it. How did you like your Tanaka?


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## Wdestate (Jun 7, 2018)

Nothing to do with the knife but one of my favorite books you have there with it.


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## K813zra (Jun 7, 2018)

Man does it ever look good with that handle. Thanks for sharing.


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## Choppin (Jun 12, 2018)

Stunning handle. I was thinking about getting a Kaeru 210, but Ill take a closer look at this one


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## DitmasPork (Jun 12, 2018)

Choppin said:


> Stunning handle. I was thinking about getting a Kaeru 210, but Ill take a closer look at this one



I had the 210 Kaeru on my short list, but the what swayed me against were the following: it was out of stock, too impatient to wait; I'm a lefty, righty d-handles are a turn-off; the purely cosmetic, faux wide bevel was not to my taste, whereas the Tanaka has a true wide bevel.

A selling point for me with the Tanaka was that it was Ginsan, a steel I've wanted to try, liked the Nashiji blade finishcould've gotten the Tanaka "Lite" for $38 less, but felt it wasn't a lot of money for better f&f and ungraded handleit was a birthday to myself. 

Happy with the knife, though in hindsight I'd probably also be seriously considering the Gesshin EN Ginsanko, which comes with a sayait wasn't available when I made this purchase.


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## Choppin (Jun 12, 2018)

DitmasPork said:


> Happy with the knife, though in hindsight I'd probably also be seriously considering the Gesshin EN Ginsanko, which comes with a sayait wasn't available when I made this purchase.



Just saw this one, wasnt on my radar. To me it seems closer to a laser while the Tanaka is a mid weight, is that correct? I havent tried either but looking at the specs...


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## kevpenbanc (Jun 14, 2018)

Paid a visit to James' showroom a few weeks ago and got to handle a 210 Tanaka Ginsan.
The pics of the handle don't do it justice, no criticism, the figure on the one I checked out was stunning and the brass and red spacer just set it off.
Nice knife !


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## Keith Sinclair (Jun 14, 2018)

It is nice to see a design and arts person appreciate a Tanaka Nashiji with simple ebony handle.


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## acxenithzz (Oct 14, 2018)

Great writeup! I'm really curious about the profile of this knife. It's been hard for me to tell from photos posted online, but is there much of a flat spot? I've heard that Tanaka profile are usually pretty curved, and that definitely seem very true on the 240's, but I'm wondering if that's the same on the 210. Thanks!


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## LostHighway (Oct 14, 2018)

Nice review, knife, and photos. Thanks for taking the time. I suspect either this knife or the Damascus reactive version is in my future. Almost everyone who has owned these knives seems to like them. For now I'm looking for a longer, flatter, gyuto but someday. I agree that the aesthetics, edge grind aside, are very appealing. I'll take elegant simplicity over flash any day.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Oct 14, 2018)

DitmasPork said:


> No, I don't worry about things like that, just normal wear and tear to me. Kinda wished they had the bubinga option, like the look of it. How did you like your Tanaka?



I've got a bubinga handled one. I like the look of yours. Want to trade?


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## Danzo (Oct 15, 2018)

acxenithzz said:


> Great writeup! I'm really curious about the profile of this knife. It's been hard for me to tell from photos posted online, but is there much of a flat spot? I've heard that Tanaka profile are usually pretty curved, and that definitely seem very true on the 240's, but I'm wondering if that's the same on the 210. Thanks!



Can confirm the 240 profile has little flat spot, but still a great working profile. Grind is fantastic too, no convex but wide bevel ish lends to pretty decent food release. All around fantastic value knife. I snuck in right before the price jump.





I opted for the lite version to save a few bucks. The ebony handle is actually really nice, but the F&F is horrendous. See the choil area pic. I’ll get around to fixing it when I rehandle, but if you never intend on doing it yourself I suggest the K&S version.


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## acxenithzz (Oct 15, 2018)

Thanks for sharing!


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## Chicagohawkie (Oct 15, 2018)

For 200 bucks this knife is a jem! Not much of a flat spot, but the profile is very effective. Has become one of my favs.


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