New Knife

[brentjharris]

My first foray into what some might consider a 'real' knife. Prior to this I was using primarily Shuns which, to the uninitiated like me, always seemed like the best knife. Then I fell down the rabbit hole of Kitchen Knife Forums, read a lot, learned a lot and eventually came out with this Tanaka 165mm Santoku with custom handle from Sharp Knives in Hamilton, ON. To me it's beautiful. Very comfortable, feels nice in the hand, seems to be well balanced, and just nice to look at. I'm waiting for my new cutting board before putting it to use.

 

[ModRQC]

They’re all real knives... it’s not that Shun is crap, it’s their mid tier price that doesn’t do them so good around here. Would a Premier cost 50$ less - as dozens of VG-10s of about Shun’s quality tend to - and perhaps a lot of folks would grab them over many other alternatives at the price range. Of course Shun banks on name, ads, looks and the J knives vibe. You pay for that and then some more. Same for Global, and then big western brands that scream Solingen on all fronts they can. A 25$ knife can be awesome if you like it and if it can be sharpened to a keen edge. I like my Victorinox for that.

Your knife is a looker all right. What’s the steel?

 

[brentjharris]

They’re all real knives... it’s not that Shun is crap, it’s their mid tier price that doesn’t do them so good around here. Would a Premier cost 50$ less - as dozens of VG-10s of about Shun’s quality tend to - and perhaps a lot of folks would grab them over many other alternatives at the price range. Of course Shun banks on name, ads, looks and the J knives vibe. You pay for that and then some more. Same for Global, and then big western brands that scream Solingen on all fronts they can. A 25$ knife can be awesome if you like it and if it can be sharpened to a keen edge. I like my Victorinox for that.

Your knife is a looker all right. What’s the steel?

Thank you and very well said. It's Aogami #2 steel.

 

[M1k3]

Shun has a big advantage for the person to scared or unwilling to sharpen knives.

 

[brentjharris]

I still have a Shun utility and a Shun Bird's beak paring that I'll use.

 

[AFKitchenknivesguy]

I have some amazing knives, but i use a Shun paring knife often.

 

[ian]

I have some amazing knives, but i use a Shun paring knife often.

Same here

 

[Matt Zilliox]

I have some amazing knives, but i use a Shun paring knife often.

mine has a d handle and is really comfy to use, so theres 3...

 

[brentjharris]

For sure. I am still using my 2 Shuns and intend to keep doing so. My wife really likes the Ken Onion chef's so she's kinda taken over that one but... My next one on the wish list is a nice Nakiri so if anyone has any thoughts on that subject I'm all ears.