Have you seen the new Shun Taiyo

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

marc4pt0

Senior Member
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
4,073
Reaction score
2,838
Location
Maryland
Has anybody seen Shuns New bling blade? I came across this last night while doing a little surfing. Looked further into it and found that it won Blade magazine's knife of the year 2012. I'm sure this means something to somebody(s), and I'm guessing Mr Ken Onion was a little disappointed.
I'm curious though. After seeing the accolade, the price and the limited production number of 300 I started to think... What if shun actually "got it right"? Aside from the over-the-top "Damascus", would you be turned on by a high performer limited production from your home boy Shun?
I have 3 shun Fuji and liked them all. I collect with great curiosity (within a certain price range) and these 3 found a spot in my collection. I would never pay full price for them, but I would recommend them as a solid performer. Take it or leave it. That said, I am not considering buying this new one, but would love to put it through its paces to see how it performed. The handle shape and its "twist" does have me a little curious...

http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/press/the-shun-taiyo-is-the-blade-shows-kitchen-knife-of-the-year

7517597468_7fe8bd76bc_b_zps9cff6cb4.jpg
 
Nope, no offense Marc.
But it's got no soul. If I was a robot, or even had a robot arm, I might consider it.
It's the Bud Light of expensive knife brands.
 
Believe they stole the twist handle from MCusta.

I'd rather see a very plain Shun with good profile, good taper, good heat treat, good steal, etc...

This is like lipstick on a pig....
 
I think lipstick on a pig is the perfect description. Lots of bling going on there. Reminds me of the trash that I catch my wife watching - real house wives.

And No offense taken. I was just pontificating over the possibility of Shun actually nailing a knife that would hit on many of the high performance requirements we consider mandatory. I'm not saying that this knife in particular is it. No, not by a long shot. Just think it was kind of entertaining that this one is a limited production of "only" 300, quite expensive and picked out of who-knows-what to win blade magazine's high praise.
For many of us Shun was what I call the white Zin of knives. A gateway knife to a much better world of knives and makers.
 
The Bling is strong with this one . . .
 
Believe they stole the twist handle from MCusta.

I'd rather see a very plain Shun with good profile, good taper, good heat treat, good steal, etc...

This is like lipstick on a pig....

i would just like to see the basic Shun chef knife with a good profile. They already have acceptable steel and heat treat, and every of the 8 and 10 inch Shun chef knives i've handled has had a perfectly acceptable distal taper and geometry, but the profile is the problem.
 
i would just like to see the basic Shun chef knife with a good profile. They already have acceptable steel and heat treat, and every of the 8 and 10 inch Shun chef knives i've handled has had a perfectly acceptable distal taper and geometry, but the profile is the problem.

The Shun Fuji has an acceptable profile, but it is a tall/wide blade.

The Shun Taiyo must be aimed at the mass market. Bling aside, who wants to pay that much for a 8 inch blade? I want my 10 inches.
 
What's the sense of that recurve choil? Do you want an extra-sharp heel? Or is it just poor design?

I've tried a couple of these and I like it....but I think it would be the very last tiebreaker for me.
 
Sorry I couldn't find the info on the link. What are they asking for this?

Edit: I also chuckled about this having just seen a thread on the very same topic here:
The Taiyo’s blade is a traditional Japanese kiritsuki blade
 
"The Taiyo’s blade is a traditional Japanese kiritsuki blade. Japanese master chefs favor this multi-purpose blade shape and use it in ways similar to the European chef’s knife. The Taiyo’s blade has a cutting core of SG2 “micro carbide” steel. With SG2’s incredibly dense and pure grain structure, it takes and holds a fine edge with unparalleled durability. 160 layers (80 on each side) of Damascus cladding support"


The lols are strong here as well.
 
I found the Shun Kramer distal taper to be very lacking. I also found the 10" Fuji that I handled to have a rather thick tip for my taste. I think everyone considers Shun to be rather chippy, and not always the easiest to sharpen....

I think the blue steel line was their shot at making a knife we would consider usable.
 
I know the topic has been debated over and over again, and I'm certainly a novice. But last night I went through a full blown 1200-5000 grit on everything in my kit (not a lot mind you). My Kochi Migaki and Carter 7.2 Sun take so much less time and take such a more keen edge the my Shun 7-inch Asian cooks knife. They make it so I never want to touch that knife, or any VG10 again.

Edit: I will say this Shun 7-inch Asian cooks knife has a great profile (no belly), and hasn't thought about chipping. Now the SG2 Shun Kramer I had...only Lays had more chips.
 
i sharpened several Shun VG-10 knives, for a friend, the other day. they took about 5 minutes each, to go from crap to de-burred, easy shaving sharpness. Shapton Pro 320 to 1k Chosera to 8k Gesshin to strop, each knife. there is nothing wrong with Shun VG-10, except that which is wrong with stainless steel. if you are getting chips on Shun SG2, then the fault is yours and only yours.
 
if you are getting chips on Shun SG2, then the fault is yours and only yours.

No I don't doubt you for a second on that. That was well before culinary school and my time here. I beat the living heck out of that knife, both on the board and on a steel (didn't even know what stones were at the time). In regards to the VG10, it's more than likely a sign of my inexperience. But point being that the premium carbon knives were much more easier to sharpen for someone of my skill.

Anyways, back to topic of the bling Shun. What is Flavor Flav going to have to shell out to get this stud?
 
I would be highly suspect of the edge if you think that carbon is that much easier to sharpen. all knives need basically the same things. i bet you've produced a wire edge on the carbon knives. persistent wire edges are what i produced on carbon knives, for a long time.
 
I would be highly suspect of the edge if you think that carbon is that much easier to sharpen. all knives need basically the same things. i bet you've produced a wire edge on the carbon knives. persistent wire edges are what i produced on carbon knives, for a long time.

Appreciate the advice. I'm assuming I'll know this if my carbon blades go dull after very little use, as the wire edge will have broken off?

Again apologies to everyone for the sub-topic but I always like knowledge.

Edit: I should also note, the Cater and Kochi wer apporixmately nine and six weeks off a a Jonathan Broida sharpening, respecively, where as the Shun has always been handled by me with it's OOTB edge.
 
Appreciate the advice. I'm assuming I'll now this if my carbon blades go dull after very little use, as the wire edge will have broken off?

that is the wire edge collapsing, unless you are cutting something really acidic (like a mango soaked in 18m hydrochloric acid). try running the edge of the knife against the edge of your cutting board, after your final stone, then polishing again. i bet you'll notice a dark line appear on the edge of the cutting board, and your knife edge will last longer.
 
No more bling than the vast majority of over-the-top custom handles or damascus work you see on a lot of knives around here.

Actually, at least to me, the color scheme is quite balanced on the Taiyo. It's better than seeing five differing colors/materials on a slim octagonal handle mod up.

The problem seems to lie in the fact that Shun produced it and that means it's going to be immediately discounted by the carbon knife hipster noobs who, upon discovering that such knives exist, think that the only decent knife is made by some 93 year old withered Takefu forge master in a slag dust covered kimono who's arthritic, burnt fingers are only able to shape three knives a year that have the fit/finish/look like they were hammered and ground by a chimpanzee on shrooms.

I've had several Shun's (and other knives that use VG-10) for quite a while now and use them almost daily in a high volume production kitchen (along with various carbon steels). Never had a problem with putting a hair shaving sharp edge on them and have never had a chip on any of them.
 
No more bling than the vast majority of over-the-top custom handles or damascus work you see on a lot of knives around here.

Actually, at least to me, the color scheme is quite balanced on the Taiyo. It's better than seeing five differing colors/materials on a slim octagonal handle mod up.

The problem seems to lie in the fact that Shun produced it and that means it's going to be immediately discounted by the carbon knife hipster noobs who, upon discovering that such knives exist, think that the only decent knife is made by some 93 year old withered Takefu forge master in a slag dust covered kimono who's arthritic, burnt fingers are only able to shape three knives a year that have the fit/finish/look like they were hammered and ground by a chimpanzee on shrooms.

I've had several Shun's (and other knives that use VG-10) for quite a while now and use them almost daily in a high volume production kitchen (along with various carbon steels). Never had a problem with putting a hair shaving sharp edge on them and have never had a chip on any of them.

congratulations, you've produced a reply far dumber than those you apparently don't like ever could have.
 
The problem seems to lie in the fact that Shun produced it and that means it's going to be immediately discounted by the carbon knife hipster noobs who, upon discovering that such knives exist, think that the only decent knife is made by some 93 year old withered Takefu forge master in a slag dust covered kimono who's arthritic, burnt fingers are only able to shape three knives a year that have the fit/finish/look like they were hammered and ground by a chimpanzee on shrooms.

This paragraph made me laugh! Saccogoo, you're way off in my opinion but I love your imagery in that paragraph.
 
This paragraph made me laugh! Saccogoo, you're way off in my opinion but I love your imagery in that paragraph.

good thing he's totally wrong, otherwise Maxim wouldn't have many Shigefusa emails to send out.
 
congratulations, you've produced a reply far dumber than those you apparently don't like ever could have.

I seriously doubt it considering that we've already had someone mention Flavor Flav in this thread.
 
No more bling than the vast majority of over-the-top custom handles or damascus work you see on a lot of knives around here.

Actually, at least to me, the color scheme is quite balanced on the Taiyo. It's better than seeing five differing colors/materials on a slim octagonal handle mod up.

The problem seems to lie in the fact that Shun produced it and that means it's going to be immediately discounted by the carbon knife hipster noobs who, upon discovering that such knives exist, think that the only decent knife is made by some 93 year old withered Takefu forge master in a slag dust covered kimono who's arthritic, burnt fingers are only able to shape three knives a year that have the fit/finish/look like they were hammered and ground by a chimpanzee on shrooms.

I've had several Shun's (and other knives that use VG-10) for quite a while now and use them almost daily in a high volume production kitchen (along with various carbon steels). Never had a problem with putting a hair shaving sharp edge on them and have never had a chip on any of them.


You have described no one here.

The reason most here don't like shun is the belly on the gyuto and the over hyping marketing speak. They're selling to a different market than us, the people who know about knives. I've used them but for sure there are much better values for the dollar.
 
I seriously doubt it considering that we've already had someone mention Flavor Flav in this thread.

i'm sorry you're developmentally disabled. do you find it to be a major problem in your life, or do you live in a really stupid place where it's okay?
 
Back
Top