Went through everything at the WS and SLT stores and liked the Shun Fuji the best. Used it about a month straight and really liked it. A little big and heavy, felt more like a chef's knife than a normal santoku (although I was previously using a Global G4 which is a pretty thin and light knife). The handle took all of a day to get used to and then it felt very natural in my hands. I really like the textured wood surface which I felt gave me a little more grip than anything else I tried.
Then I got the Zwilling Kramer carbon with the western handle just to have at home. I tried the SS Damascus blade in the store and just wasn't a big fan of it. Bought some blocks to send out and have the handle replaced, but haven't gotten around to sending it out yet.
When I saw the SLT release of the Zwilling Kramer Meji handles, I thought what the hell, might as well order them and try them out to reassure myself I like the Fuji's better. The blade is pretty sharp out of the box and I just used a strop on it before cutting some potatoes, celery and carrots back to back with both knives. It cuts like butter. Such a smoother slice. Feels 1/2 as "thick" in your hand as the Fuji. After 2 carrots I'd switch back to the Fuji and I felt like I was used a 10" heavy chef's knife with a dull blade. It's amazing how much better in my hands it felt. The paring knife too, slightly different profile but I really liked it more (and based on looks alone, I WANTED to like the Fuji's better). The handle is my only complaint, the welds on the bolster are sloppy and not fully connected, I see it being an issue with cleaning and cosmetically it just irks me. I'm going to return them and get a new pair which I hope will have better quality control. The Fuji had a more comfortable and tapered bolster but the sheer performance of the Meji still was enough to make me want to pick it up over the Fuji to use. (I'm new to sharpening, so to give them both a full side by side test, I'm sending them out to be professionally sharpened and will then test again side by side).
Also, mostly cosmetic, but still...the Fuji had a SS damascus cap on the end of the handle, made a very nice finishing touch whereas the Meji is just the wooden handle.
