Have you seen the new Shun Taiyo

Find deals on amazon
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Saccogoo said:
I seriously doubt it considering that we've already had someone mention Flavor Flav in this thread.
Click to expand...

Sorry to offend you. That post was to suggest the knife originally referenced had golden teeth, wore a large clock, and lots of diamonds. It was more of a hightened reality, a point of sarcasm if you will. Personally I find it very unnatractive. If yo feel that it compares with some of the damascus work that's done by the professional craftsman on this board, than that's your opinion. Obviously you have no problem with Shun or VG10. In my experience as a novice sharpener, I have found them to be inferior to the 95-year old Murray Carter and the probably 135-year old dude that makes Kochi knives. I have owned up to the fact that I am a substandard shapener. I have no real problem with Shun, as I have many colleauges that carry them. Maybe I am a hipster, who knows, but to me this knife looks like ****. Hopefully I'm still allowed to walk on your non-hipster hallowed ground.
 
Gravy Power said:
Sorry to offend you. That post was to suggest the knife originally referenced had golden teeth, wore a large clock, and lots of diamonds. It was more of a hightened reality, a point of sarcasm if you will. Personally I find it very unnatractive. If yo feel that it compares with some of the damascus work that's done by the professional craftsman on this board, than that's your opinion. Obviously you have no problem with Shun or VG10. In my experience as a novice sharpener, I have found them to be inferior to the 95-year old Murray Carter and the probably 135-year old dude that makes Kochi knives. I have owned up to the fact that I am a substandard shapener. I have no real problem with Shun, as I have many colleauges that carry them. Maybe I am a hipster, who knows, but to me this knife looks like ****. Hopefully I'm still allowed to walk on your non-hipster hallowed ground.
Click to expand...

don't encourage him.
 
ThEoRy said:
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.
Click to expand...

Um, I'm pretty sure I just described you, "the person who knows about knives," not some stupid schmuck who purchased a blade retail at Sur la Table or Williams Sonoma, right?

Besides, the profile on the Shun is exactly what it's supposed to be - European/Germanic. It's a tried and true design that's been utilized successfully for a long, long time by a number of high profile chefs. To ***** about a knife having a belly to rock over and through food is just as stupid as someone arguing that a knife is retarded because it's got an extremely flat profile and can't rock over food.

I mean, crap - the whole concept of a Japanese chef's knife is pretty freaking stupid from a conceptualization standpoint. If you want to be a purist, then you should be using a kiritsuke or usuba for your main chores, not a gyuto. There's not much of a difference from a "purist" standpoint in using a Shun chef or a Takeda chef, other than one is more widely available.

And in terms of supporting the concept of "much better values for the dollar," I'd hate to see what you think of the dumb bastard who buys a Devin Thomas blade versus a Takayuki Grand Cheff since both use the same steel.

(You see, you are the guy I described...you just didn't realize that you have become one of the fixie riding, PBR swilling smelly hipsters of the knife world.)
 
Saccogoo said:
Um, I'm pretty sure I just described you, "the person who knows about knives," not some stupid schmuck who purchased a blade retail at Sur la Table or Williams Sonoma, right?

Besides, the profile on the Shun is exactly what it's supposed to be - European/Germanic. It's a tried and true design that's been utilized successfully for a long, long time by a number of high profile chefs. To ***** about a knife having a belly to rock over and through food is just as stupid as someone arguing that a knife is retarded because it's got an extremely flat profile and can't rock over food.

I mean, crap - the whole concept of a Japanese chef's knife is pretty freaking stupid from a conceptualization standpoint. If you want to be a purist, then you should be using a kiritsuke or usuba for your main chores, not a gyuto. There's not much of a difference from a "purist" standpoint in using a Shun chef or a Takeda chef, other than one is more widely available.

And in terms of supporting the concept of "much better values for the dollar," I'd hate to see what you think of the dumb bastard who buys a Devin Thomas blade versus a Takayuki Grand Cheff since both use the same steel.

(You see, you are the guy I described...you just didn't realize that you have become one of the fixie riding, PBR swilling smelly hipsters of the knife world.)
Click to expand...


yay, i get to use my ignore list again!

or not: do we not have dip-shiat lists anymore?
 
it's not where it used to be, but i found the dip-shiat list! yay!
 
EdipisReks said:
yay, i get to use my ignore list again!

or not: do we not have dip-shiat lists anymore?
Click to expand...

tumblr_ln77qdRwc81qze0nj.gif
 
[video=youtube_share;QwKaeWkYbqk]http://youtu.be/QwKaeWkYbqk[/video]

Ok, all hilarious nerd fights aside, I don't think that there's anything wrong with this knife. I learned to sharpen "for real" on shun sg2 and, while a bit frustrating at first, it made me a better sharpener. It's not a steal that really excites me anymore, but it does have it's applications. I gave a shun sg2 knife to my sister and it held up to daily home use (no abuse but no maintenance) on a soft plastic board and was still functionally sharp after the better part of a year.

Some of their aesthetics, ergonomics, and profiles are not for me, but I think that only real argument against buying one that I tell people is that they are a bit pricey for what they are and there is a lot of cool stuff / very good competition at that level.... which is still pretty subjective as value is a personal thing. The $625 MSRP is in the "lol" category for me, but it seems like street price is $499, which is closer to the just "hard to swallow" bracket.

I normally don't go in for the "super bling" but I really don't think that the Taiyo looks bad... actually, I kinda like it.... sorta the same way I feel about Mercedes Benz's styling: not really my style, not really something that grabs me at first, but I still always check out an AMG when I see one. Profile looks perhaps a TAD too curved, but it's very hard to tell without using it. I can't help but think that if this knife were posted as an unknow or with a different maker's mark on it, the reactions would be very different.
 
Sacogoo- I have to admit I find it quite humorous that within one post you jazz hand the shun and curb stomp PBR. I'm guessing you find PBR not to your taste and therefore find it a great tool for ridicule. Interesting.
In all fairness, this new Shun could possibly be a rock star on the cutting board. I know my Fujis certainly are. But for that "hipster" who ponied up the cheddar to afford a Devin I say kudos. Yes, Shun knives are massed produced. Yes, some come to find them to be a bit too vanilla after awhile. For those they have the option to upgrade to the next level of Shun, or simply move on to another maker. Maybe they want something a little more "exotic" or esoteric. Not all cooks can treat themselves to a Lamborghini to scoot around in, but they might be able to fork out just enough to cover the Rolls Royce or Ferrari of knives.
All knives are subjective in their qualities to performance. Many here prefer the personal touch of the made-by-hand offered by several great makers on this forum. I'm one of them. Yet I still brought my ZKs and shuns to the ECG to show off. A few attendees chuckled and scoffed. But I didn't let them see me cry over it. Nor was I compelled to judge or dispense with cute little insults.
In short, chill out kiddo. Bring your opinions, just lose the judgements of character and insults. Please.
 
as much as possible i want to stay out of this, but i will say one thing... opinions dont really mean that much until you've tried something yourself. You can make educated guesses all you want, but sometimes things might surprise you. That being said, in general i'm still not a shun fan (and i've sharpened and/or used every line they make). But thats just my personal taste.
 
Saccogoo said:
I'd hate to see what you think of the dumb bastard who buys a Devin Thomas blade versus a Takayuki Grand Cheff since both use the same steel.

(You see, you are the guy I described...you just didn't realize that you have become one of the fixie riding, PBR swilling smelly hipsters of the knife world.)
Click to expand...

Same steel = same heat treatment? lol

Personal attacks are not allowed here, I'm not mad at you just a heads up. If you can't debate your points without ad hominem attacks you really should find another forum. Perhaps Gamefaqs would suit you?
 
Saccogoo said:
To ***** about a knife having a belly to rock over and through food is just as stupid as someone arguing that a knife is retarded because it's got an extremely flat profile and can't rock over food.
Click to expand...

:spankarse:

Hate word!

Not acceptable in todays society...
 
I've been waiting for the Taiyo to show up here...I just added one to my small collection. As usual I love the discussions here.
I have a box of three Kaji Fusion knives that I rarely use and figured I'd sell those on "The 'bay" and get the Taiyo because it looks much more usable than the Onion design. I've stated that Shun reminds me of Taco Bell in that they keep coming up with new items using the same old ingredients and I thought I had weened myself off of the brand thanks to you guys...
But I will admit that the bling factor + limited to 300 pieces is what hooked me. I figure it will lead to people asking questions about knives at gatherings and will be an easy way to engage in conversation about a very enjoyable hobby of mine. Leading people to the real thing via this forum and the vendors of boutique Japanese knives.

Anyway enough about my thought process. Here's a pic of my current collection. ZKramer, Taiyo, Gesshin Heiji nakiri, Takeda honesuki and mini-petty.

slostart.jpg
 
It's super comfy. Much more so than the traditional handles on my other knives. It really is a three dimensional design and fills the palm nicely. It's made of Micarta which I equate to fancy plastic. Could be an issue when wet? Also, it's heavy IMO. At first I thought it felt "dead" but I believe that's because it's so well balanced. My others esp. Heiji are very blade heavy and feel much different in the hard to put words to "feel" department.
 
I like the taco bell analogy. How good is it at actually cutting food? How's the edge retention?
 
NO ChoP! said:
I'd rather see a very plain Shun with good profile, good taper, good heat treat, good steal, etc...
Click to expand...

I agree with this for sure, it's a shame that escalating levels of damascus has been indentified as the only way forward for Shun, as many people would love their knives if they only had a scaled back elegance to the appearance.

I've had a lot of Shuns over the years and this looks to have a good profile, but beyond that it seems more style over substance, and that has always been the big problem with Shun.
 
I see so many shuns being used in professional kitchens. I would say 90% of them are dull, chipped, missing their tips, neglected, and people still think they are just plain awesome. I definitely do not agree, and I think shuns are terrible. But that is my personal opinion and I believe if you feel like you have found something that you truly like in a shun or anything else you should just continue to enjoy it and screw whatever anyone else thinks or says.

I would never buy a shun though. That is my advice. They are like a western gimmick of a japanese knife and most people who use german knives don't realize that it takes so much more effort to care for a japanese knife. So what happens in the end is they are chipped/damaged and people think that the knife is to blame.

I'm fairly certain that if I bought a shun and took care of it, the knife would always be sharp and in great condition. That still does not mean that I would enjoy using their terrible shapes and designs and faux damascus crap.

Oh I forgot to mention, I have a shun in my knife roll right now. Its a bread knife and its a loaf in itself.
 
I agree Shun leans on that faux Damascus concept way too much but there are dozens of Japanese makers doing the same thing these days. It wouldn't surprise me if they aren't all using the same source for their blade blanks.
 
i dont know about you guys, but i got a really good chuckle reading through this thread, thumbs up for entertainment!

anybody use their fuji gyuto? those are actually pretty cool and are tanaka r2 price range. i would never go for it, but interesting at least.
 
it really gets on my nerves when people talk smack about PBR. ive been drinking that stuff forever mainly because it goes great with the hot sweaty humid climate in Louisiana. In a blind taste test i promise you, Pabst will smoke busch, blue bull, and high life.Really, its too damn cheap to be "hip".
 
i like corona light in the summer, pbr is too gross which is funny because regular corona is pretty gross too yet dont mind the lite. out of all the cheap beers, theyre all crappy tasting if you ask me, but i prefer rolling rock of the bunch.
 
if you throw your beer budget out the window i think amstel light is the best right? no panda, if the PBR doesnt taste right to you, its probably not cold enough. the trick is you have to put them in the freezer first thing when you get home from another long hard double at work. On a hot, triple digit, summer afternoon a man will crave strange things, for me its PBR . But i quit drinking a month ago anyway so really im speaking in jest. alcohol got in the way of my knife addiction. also, flavor flav probably wouldnt use this knife, i kinda imagined him being more of a cutco kind of guy.
 
you're right! i dont mind coors light when it's literally ice cold and i can recall chugging down a pibber when taken fresh out of the freezer on a hot day and going 'ahhhhhhh that was refreshing'. on the really brutal hot days after work what i crave most is a cold shower whilst chugging cold beer, lol.

flavaflav, i imagine would just use gold cladded faberware or kitchenaid, as long as its covered in gold!
 
Nothing wrong with an ice cold PBR on a hot day, but if you live in Louisiana and want a really good light crisp beer, try an Abita Restoration Pale Ale or even an Abita Light. As for the Shun, it may or may not be a fantastic knife, but even if it is I personally would prefer an equally fantastic knife from a company that places a higher priority on craftsmanship than marketing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top