Santoku • 165 mm • Ginsan • Japanese Oak Wa-handle  •  for both left and right handed use

Features of the Nawame Series

Nawame literally translates to “rope pattern.” The steel is first forged in the traditional way and then worked with special hammers and rollers to give the knife its unique appearance. At its core, the OEM uses Ginsan steel, a semi-stainless steel known for its high hardness of 60–63 HRC. The blade is completed with a Japanese octagonal oak wood handle.

GINSAN /Gingami No.3 ("Silver Paper No.3”) / Gin#3 ("Silver#3") / Ginsan-kō ("Silver 3 Steel")

Gingami No. 3, known as ginsan steel silver steel (manufactured by Hitachi Metals Ltd.) is a semi stainless steel. It has a very fine structure, which can be maintained easily and can be sharpened to extreme sharpness. Hitachi steel factory disigned silver to position it next to the well known VG10 steel, same characteristics, but a little less chrome and more refinement. The ginsan silver steel becomes more and more popular with home cooks and professionals.

Elwin de Veld about OEM

An Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is a company that manufactures an original product that is sold under another company’s brand name. In the case of knives, an OEM might manufacture a knife and sell it to several different companies who then simply add their price margin and sell the knife under their own brand name. This is a common practice in the Japan knife industry. Does it affect quality? No it doesn't, in fact, it can mean a stable production for the knifemaker. 

In this particular OEM case, a well known knifemaker from Sakai, provides knives from other producers from the region. A well overthought choice, to provide a beautiful blade with a stunning handle.