Tsunehisa Ginsan Migaki Santoku 165mm

Both are all-purpose Japanese knives, and for most home cooks either will handle the bulk of daily prep. The choice comes down to length, blade shape, and how you like to cut.

A gyuto is the Japanese chef's knife, with a gently curved edge that lets you rock and slide through cuts as well as chop. Tojiro's guide to Western knife shapes gives 150 to 210mm as the household size for a gyuto and up to 360mm for professional use. The extra length and pointed tip give you reach and versatility, from proteins to large produce.

Tojiro's guide to Japanese knife shapes gives 165 to 170mm as the household size for a santoku, which has a flatter profile and a rounded sheep's-foot tip. It rewards a straight up-and-down push cut, feels nimble in smaller hands or tight kitchens, and is the classic Japanese household knife.

Rule of thumb: choose a gyuto if you want one do-everything knife with more reach, or a santoku if you prefer a compact, easy-to-control blade. Plenty of our customers end up owning both.

Match the shape to your stroke. Rock chopping keeps the tip on the board and rolls the curved belly through the food, so a gyuto or a Western chef's knife suits it, and Japanese knives rock fine as long as you rock gently.

Up-and-down chopping, the Chinese style, wants a straight run of edge, so a nakiri, usuba, santoku or bunka suits it better; a curved edge chopped straight down easily leaves pieces joined. Neither shape is better; it depends on how you cut.

A Japanese dictionary explains the name of the santoku (三徳包丁) as coming from the three things it handles: meat, fish and vegetables. The same dictionary entry points from the santoku to the bunka (文化包丁), treating the two as one knife.

One Japanese knife maker guide distinguishes the two by the tip. It says that in the Showa era the bunka was made with its tip cut at an angle, and the santoku came after it by rounding that tip.

Ginsan steel, also known as Silver #3 or G3, is a stainless steel made by Proterial in Japan, containing 0.95 to 1.10% carbon and 13.00 to 14.50% chromium, and it is used in Japanese knives because it combines the sharpness and ease of sharpening of carbon steel with the rust resistance of stainless steel. It is a fine-grained steel that takes a very sharp edge, and rated by Proterial at over 59 HRC, it offers a practical balance of edge retention and sharpenability for everyday kitchen use.

The name "Ginsan" (銀三) literally means "silver three," referring to its Silver #3 designation. Its moderate chromium content makes it far less reactive than carbon steels, so it won't discolor or rust as quickly, while its carbon content keeps the edge keen and responsive on the stones. For home cooks and professionals who want a stainless knife that still feels like a traditional Japanese blade, Ginsan is a common middle ground.

Yes. Proterial lists the steel as GIN 3 (銀紙3号) with 13.00 to 14.50% chromium, above the Japan Stainless Steel Association's 10.5% minimum for stainless steel.

Proterial describes it as a stainless steel with hardness and sharpness comparable to carbon steel, used in various kitchen knives and scissors, and the association notes that stainless, strictly, means it rusts less. Wash the knife and dry it after use.

The Tsunehisa Ginsan Migaki knife line is a budget-friendly, entry-level Japanese knife series that uses Ginsan (Silver #3) stainless steel and features a slightly thicker spine with a convex grind to prioritize food release over pure cutting thinness.

This line is designed for first-timers and home cooks who want a Japanese knife that is easy to maintain and forgiving to use. The thicker spine and convex grind mean the blade is less likely to wedge in dense foods like carrots or potatoes, and it pushes cut food away from the blade more effectively than a very thin, flat-ground knife. The steel, Ginsan, is a straightforward stainless that is one of the easiest to sharpen, making it an ideal choice for someone still learning proper sharpening technique. The trade-off is that it won't feel as laser-like or slice through onions with the same effortless resistance as thinner knives, but for a household cook who values versatility and less sticking, this is a practical and well-considered design.

Tsunehisa (恒久) means permanence. Shibata Knives describes Tsunehisa as its original brand, and says it selects knives that will have a long life, inspecting each one before delivery. Its own words are that it delivers knives worthy of a permanent position in your home.

The brand is built on traditional Japanese forging techniques with modern materials, and Shibata Knives offers after-sales maintenance and sharpening for the line.

Tsunehisa is a brand, not a single smith or a workshop. Shibata Knives describes it as an original brand of the company, run by Takayuki Shibata, and Shibata Knives does not name the workshop that makes each line. The company inherits traditional Japanese forging techniques with modern materials, and experienced staff inspect each knife before it is delivered.

What stands behind each Tsunehisa knife is that selection and inspection, and the company offers after-sales maintenance and sharpening for the line.