Nakagawa Ginsan Kiritsuke 240mm. On my first trip to Japan, I visited Mr. Kenishi Shiraki who at the time was considered one of the top blacksmiths in Japan. During my visit, I met a young apprentice named Satoshi Nakagawa who had been working with Shiraki san for a couple of years. Now Mr. Shiraki has retired and Nakagawa san has taken over the business and is now a master smith in his own right. He is one of the few blacksmiths that are doing honyaki blades which are very difficult to forge out of a single piece of carbon steel.
This blade you see here is made with Silver 3 steel also known as Ginsan steel. It's fully stainless and one of our favorite steels for kitchen knives.
Also after being tipped off by our forum customers, I inquired about the rumor that Morihiro san sharpened these blades and this was confirmed by our contact.
Blacksmith: Nakagawa San
Sharpener: Morihiro San
Location: Sakai, Japan
Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai
Cladding: Stainless
Edge Steel: Ginsan
Edge Grind: Double Bevel; Even 50/50
Handle: Wenge Octagonal
Ferrule: Buffalo Horn
Weight: 7.3oz / 208g
Blade Length: 230mm
Overall Length: 383mm
Spine Thickness at Heel: 2.9mm
Blade Height at Heel: 44.3mm