The finish is the first thing that catches your attention with the Tetsujin Ginsan Kasumi. Naohito Myojin’s kasumi work is remarkably even, with a soft, silky surface that contrasts beautifully with the mirror-polished spine. Along the blade, the organic cladding line brings some movement to that otherwise restrained appearance—a lovely detail from Toru Tamura’s forging. There’s plenty to appreciate here without needing a dramatic pattern or a heavily decorated blade.
What makes this line particularly appealing, though, is how that finishing work carries through to the cutting geometry. The blade is very thin behind the edge, with the low resistance you’d expect from a laser. It really shines when moving through dense, firm ingredients, where a thicker blade can take noticeably more effort to push through. The chamfered, polished spine and smoothed choil also help reduce hot spots where your fingers contact the blade, making the attention to detail useful as well as attractive.
The core is Ginsan, also known as Silver #3, in a stainless-clad sanmai construction. Edge retention isn’t its strongest selling point, but the ease of sharpening makes that a trade-off worth considering. Just as importantly, the thin geometry continues to offer low cutting resistance even after the edge has lost some of its initial sharpness. You’re getting a knife whose performance depends on more than a freshly sharpened edge.
Coming out of Tosa, this is a sought-after line with limited availability. It makes sense for cooks who value fine geometry and careful finishing, and who are happy to sharpen a little more often in exchange for a blade that is easy to bring back to form.
By
Myojin Riki
