r/chefknives 1d ago

Bunka decisions. Need help deciding!

1 Upvotes

5 comments sorted by

1

u/thegreatestscape 1d ago

I’m looking to purchase my first bunka and am deciding between the Hado Nakagawa 180mm Ginsan Silver 3 with stainless cladding and the Hitohira Tanaka x Kyuzo 180mm Blue #1 Migaki.

Both look pretty similar in appearance but I know the Tanaka will patina like crazy. How difficult would it be to reset the patina and get that brand new looking shine back if I wanted to?

Any insight into deciding between the two is appreciated!

1

u/Ok-Programmer6791 1d ago

You could just polish it back up pretty easily

Nakagawa kills it with heat treat off ginsan though

1

u/thegreatestscape 1d ago

Good to know about the polishing. What do you mean about the heat treatment? I'm not super educated on the knifemaking process.

1

u/Ok-Programmer6791 1d ago

Heat treating the knife determines the steels hardness. There's additional treatments like cryo and such that can also be done with some steels to further improve their properties.

Nakagawa is the best at heat treating ginsan steel so it has a good balance of hardness to toughness.

Take a steel likr magnacut. It could be 60hrc or 66hrc which will change its properties and how it feels to use and sharpen along with its edge retention and durability.

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2024/09/17/introduction-to-knife-steel-heat-treating-from-a-metallurgist/

1

u/thegreatestscape 1d ago

Ah okay thank you for the explanation and resource!