Yeah, I like the short Shuns, the parers and the six inch utility. I bought both my daughters the so-called "Garden set" with the 3 1/2" veggie knife (the sheepsfoot with the straight edge) and these terrific little herb snips (for Xmas). They both have herb gardens 1/2 the size of the Amazon jungle, so I thought they deserved some dedicated shears. Naturally, I had to try out the paring knives and make sure they were up to snuff. A few strokes on a very fine stone and I almost cut off my thumb the first time I pushed one through a potato. ;-)
I have a 10" Shun Classic chef, bought used in good condition, at an irresistible price (35 bucks), but in this case I have to agree with the consensus on the long, sweeping tip, so I rarely reach for it, with 240 Kagayaki wa gyuto and Tojiro DP close at hand. It IS a top flight watermelon knife. <g>
Anyhow, I've been thinking about them ever since . Shuns have become outlandishly expensive on ebay these days, so thought I would give the Trading Posts a try. Ended up with the veggie knife, which seller says has been used about a dozen times, at a very fair price, so I'm quite pleased. The only negative is that I had to pass up a nifty little Misono 80mm moly, with a nifty little saya. Actually, I'm still thinking about it...everyone should have at least two parers, right? ;-)