No need to get testy. And it wasn't me that attempted to derail the OP's initial inquiry with the defacto "I think Shun sucks because too many people own them so buy this esoteric brand instead" response one typically sees around here.
And since I'm not overly familiar with the "heat treat track record" of the Shuns, perhaps you could provide more detail in terms of why the heat treat issue is such a problem that you would dissuade the OP from looking at the product in question and going with another brand. (As a side inquiry, is this "heat treat" issue that you specify the reason why Shun went to the VG Max steel versus it's original Takefu VG-10? Would this "heat treat issue" adversely affect their blue steel offerings in the same manner as you feel it affects their VG-10 and SG2 knives? I haven't seen a white paper or other such things from Shun in terms of their methodology of tempering their blades, so if you could provide some insight to this perhaps it would help the OP in determining if this knife is the correct choice for their use. What procedure do they use for their previous VG-10 products that is so bad and is it the same method used on this newer "Blue" line?)
Or is it simply a sharpening issue that you have with the Shun's steel? Do you use natural stones or synthetics when you sharpen? I've found that synthetics such as the Shapton Glass stones that I use don't have much of a problem in sharpening the powdered steel blades or the higher hardness stainless stuff such as VG-10. I do know that my Miyabi with VG-10 steel is "different" in terms of how it feels/works on a stone versus my Shuns, but I am not familiar with the differences in the tempering procedure between the two makers. I also feel that there is a difference in terms of ease of sharpening as well as subsequent edge holding between the Shun steels that I have (two listed as "Cobalt MV Steel", two listed as "VG-10 Clad" and one listed as "VG Max.") Perhaps it is simply a natural progression in terms of a product and it's growth based on a time based application in a real world environment.
For the price, the knife in question (Shun Blue Kiritsuke) seems to be a pretty decent product all things considered. Obviously there is a plethora of alternatives in aogami #2 steel (not to mention #1 and AS) if you were simply to include all gyuto type knifes, but when you get into the kiritsuke style, you are going to be limiting your choices. Takeda and Moritaka offer them in AS, Suisin has one in an Inox Honyaki and another in shirogami #1 (that Densho 240 kiritsuke at JKI is hella nice), but all of those are in the $300 and going up quickly price range.
While the Shun seems to be a pretty decent offering all things considered, if the OP wanted another option, the Takayuki stuff is nice. The 17 layer Damascus Kiritsuke they have uses VG-10 and is a double bevel similar to the Shun with a street price of approximately $190.:
