G Line – Professional Mono-Steel Series

Proven Performance for Over 40 Years

The G Line is known for its outstanding sharpness, blade durability, and impressive hardness of around 62 HRC. For more than 40 years, it has been one of the most trusted knives among professional chefs in the Osaka region.

This series was created under the leadership of Ichimonji’s second-generation owner, Umewaka, who spent five years and over 200 prototypes developing it. The goal was to produce a knife that meets the exacting demands of serious chefs for hardness, precision, and long-term performance. The result became one of the cornerstones of professional kitchens in Japan.

Why G Line Stands Out

The G Line follows a clear and simple philosophy: no wasteful design, only genuine quality.

Every detail serves a purpose. There are no unnecessary decorations or cost-adding embellishments. It is a knife made purely for performance and longevity.

Mono-Steel Construction (Zenko Method)

Each G Line knife is made from a single piece of high-carbon steel, hardened and sharpened without layering or cladding. This construction method, known in Japan as Zenko, produces a sharper and more responsive edge compared to clad or Damascus knives made from the same steel.

Because the entire blade is forged and heat-treated as one solid piece, the process demands exceptionally precise temperature control and expert handling. Hardening, tempering, and straightening must be performed with deep understanding of steel’s inner structure. Only a few craftsmen in Japan are able to master this process.

A mono-steel knife may look simple, but its refinement lies within the metal. To the eye, it might resemble inexpensive knives, yet the difference becomes immediately clear once you begin to cut. This understated nature makes it especially valued among professionals and connoisseurs.

📹 Watch Ichimonji’s knife-making process

VG1 Stainless Steel

The blades are made from VG1 stainless steel, produced with exceptional precision using high-purity raw materials. Containing 1% carbon and 14% chromium, this steel offers the ideal balance of hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and cutting performance.

These four elements define the quality of any knife, and the G Line performs at a consistently high level in every one of them.

About Ichimonji

Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide is one of Japan’s most respected and historical knife brands. Its knives are trusted by leading chefs in Japan and around the world, including René Redzepi and Massimo Bottura.

Located in Sakai, the heart of Japan’s knife-making culture, Ichimonji has always designed its knives in close collaboration with working chefs. Their blades are true professional tools, built to support precision and long-term use in the kitchen.

Despite its long history, Ichimonji has never distributed its knives overseas.

This is because the brand is deeply committed to full customer support. They see each purchase not as a simple transaction but as the beginning of a long relationship with the user. Providing that level of care was difficult across borders, so for decades they focused entirely on their domestic customers in Japan.

Through mutual trust and technical understanding, Tohg Sharpening, led by master sharpener Yuske, who trained and worked at Ichimonji in Japan, became the first authorized distributor and sharpening partner in Europe.

Note from Yuske

The G Line series are fully handcrafted and go through a complete series of traditional processes such as mono-steel forging, precise heat treatment, and hand-finishing.

This level of craftsmanship is rarely seen among knives under €300 in Europe.

The result is a blade that offers superior sharpness, precision, toughness, and edge retention.

Even compared with renowned series such as Nenox (Nenohi) or UX10 (Misono), G Line excel in blade quality and consistency.

While many brands add costs through decorative designs, Ichimonji focuses entirely on functional quality: the steel, the geometry, and the performance.

If you are looking for a tool to truly work with, not a decorative kitchen item, this is what you are looking for.

Tohg Sharpening – Authorized Partner in Europe

Tohg Sharpening was founded to bring authentic Japanese knife sharpening to those who seek true craftsmanship.

Many sharpening services in Europe advertise “Japanese sharpening,” but most are self-taught, relying on online videos or general techniques. Authentic Japanese sharpening requires years of direct apprenticeship under a master. Without understanding the geometry of Japanese knives, these services often make edges thicker, reduce cutting performance, or even damage the blade.

At Tohg Sharpening, there are no compromises. Our work is not simply sharpening but a traditional process called tohging, a method that transforms the knife.

Each knife is thinned and hand-sharpened using at least eight whetstones, taking around one hour per blade, while most other services take only a few minutes.

Our process restores the true potential of high-quality knives.

Yuske, the master sharpener, trained directly under Ichimonji’s master sharpener and worked for the brand in Japan. With that background and close communication with the company, we can offer full support and ensure every knife is treated with the same care and standards as in Japan.

What Defines a Good Knife

Many Japanese knife brands popular in Europe are mass-produced or design-oriented, focusing on appearance rather than performance.
Brands such as Shun and Miyabi, and even some knives priced over €400, often simplify or omit key manufacturing steps. Their high price often reflects decorative handles or Damascus patterns, features that do not contribute to the knife’s actual cutting performance.

Material matters, but not as much as heat treatment

The essential factor in knife quality is not the material name but the heat treatment.
Even high-end materials like VG10 can perform poorly if the heat treatment is inadequate.

Quality knives vs poorly made knives

A high-quality blade holds its edge well, allows fine sharpening, and maintains the right balance between hardness and ease of resharpening.
Poorly made knives dull quickly, cannot be thinned properly, or have edges that crumble. These problems can occur with any steel type or price range.

For example, knives such as Nenox may cost over €600, yet Ichimonji’s professional lines, including VG10 Sword, Kirameki, G Line, and Special Carbon Steel Series, offer comparable or even better performance at significantly lower prices.

It can be difficult to judge a knife’s quality by appearance alone. That is why our goal is to provide authentic knives that combine true craftsmanship and fair pricing, supported by deep technical knowledge and years of experience under Japan’s top sharpeners.