Shun's

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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I've had a premier never used, it was handle heavy but pretty to look at. Been using an 8 inch classic and western classic for a while now and still chippy but not as bad as the ootb edge. I liked how it felt in my hand but hate it when cutting certain things like shallots because of the curve and accordion cuts. I got it initially cause I could go to the store touch hold it and it was the best ones there. Plus the 20% industry discount... Both have no tips, they were the first to go. But I did have to cut an onion blindfolded once and no tip is a great thing. Lemonade outta lemons I guess.
 
Green or gold shallots? Different country's call em different things I guess either way what's your cutting technique?
The shuns would work better from rocking if you did that it shouldn't accordion.

How chipped are the tips exactly?
Not too hard to fix a tip, unless it's extremely chipped and you don't want to remove all that metal to fix it?
 
Ahh from the spine, that makes a lot a sense. Thanks.

I'm talking about purple shallots. And well i think fine brunoise of anything while rocking sucks. The tip moves in a way it leaves knuckles in harms way.
 
I've gone back and forth with Shun over the years. First one I ever had extensive experience using and sharpening was an old 210mm gyuto which belonged to a previous boss. I hated that thing. Maybe it was from his sharpening over the course of 10 years or so but that thing sucked. No knuckle clearance, sharpened like wet rubber, cut like a wedge. ******* terrible! No matter what I tried with that thing it still just cut like **** and sharpening it was not enjoyable either. After having used/sharpened other Shuns I realized it was most likely due to his knife's age/wear. Eventually I ended up putting an 80/20 right hand edge on that thing and called it a day. Really it was the only thing I could do other than major steel removal from the face which he wasn't into the idea so much. With the knuckle clearance issue still being present and all I just decided to buy him a proper gyuto as a going away gift. Seen here. http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/9458-Kagayaki-Etched?highlight=kagayaki

Anyway, having used, sharpened and repaired many Shun since then I'll say this.. They aren't terrible knives as some would have you believe. Do I like them? No. They're just simply not for me. And the majority of you as well for that matter. Why is this? Perceived value I believe. We all know of many a knife that can stand at or above Shuns for equal or lesser cash. So they just don't hold any value for us. Their successful commercial marketing hurts them here as well. Backlash if you will. They are marketed as and commercially accepted as the end all be all of Japanese knives. Average Joe and Jane believe this and go on and on about their "best knives in the world" while the rest of us know better and I believe we are just tired of listening to these know nothings spew this regurgitated garbage.

Are they terrible cutters? No. Are they fantastic cutters? No. Are they easy to sharpen? Yes. Can you get them ridiculously sharp? Yes. Do they retain their edge? Not particularly. How's the profile? Sucks. Geometry/Grind? I've seen much better. Are they worth the money? No. Does Suzy Homemaker know or care about any of the above? No. If someone who has only ever used Wusthof/Henckels etc. picks up a Shun and uses it will they be blown away? Most likely. And that's what Shun is counting on.

When people first hear that I use Japanese knives, if they have any interest they will ask me, "What about Shun? I hear those are the best Japanese knives, they sell a lot right?" Most likely because that's the only name they've ever heard. I respond with a McDonald's analogy. McDonalds sells the most hamburgers and everyone recognizes the name but it's certainly not the best hamburger you can buy. Not even close.
 
ThEoRy said:
When people first hear that I use Japanese knives, if they have any interest they will ask me, "What about Shun? I hear those are the best Japanese knives, they sell a lot right?" Most likely because that's the only name they've ever heard. I respond with a McDonald's analogy. McDonalds sells the most hamburgers and everyone recognizes the name but it's certainly not the best hamburger you can buy. Not even close.
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I'd probably say Shun is closer to Five Guys than McDonalds. Knives that came free with the purchase of $200 of bad non-stick pans seems to be about the average acceptable knife in most homes, which seems like a good McDonalds analogy, to me. Even with Shun being a good seller at stores like SLT and WS, they are still expensive, and most people aren't buying them. My MIL loves to cook, and is a good cook (though not necessarily to my taste), and she uses Rada paring knives for almost everything. Rada is McDonalds.
 
EdipisReks said:
I'd probably say Shun is closer to Five Guys than McDonalds. Knives that came free with the purchase of $200 of bad non-stick pans seems to be about the average acceptable knife in most homes, which seems like a good McDonalds analogy, to me. Even with Shun being a good seller at stores like SLT and WS, they are still expensive, and most people aren't buying them. My MIL loves to cook, and is a good cook (though not necessarily to my taste), and she uses Rada paring knives for almost everything. Rada is McDonalds.
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Yet no one can tell you the brand name of said free knife. My point is the marketing behind Shun makes then well known to non nuts. Not everyone has heard of a Five Guys. Yet. Everyone has however heard of a MickyDees.
 
Rick thats the thread that got me into etching,After I took all the chips out I etched one of the Shuns,looks much better.This is my first experience using Shuns.Push cuts, chops, rocks.I find them a little handle heavy.Don't know why all the endcaps which seem to take a beating with the elements.

They are OK cutters nothing special so far my edges are holding up only been using a few days with home cooking.
 
Shun has certainly done a good job of marketing their knives to the "foodie" homemaker through WS, SLT and other culinary stores. Rocker profiles on even the Santoku work well for their target market. 10 years ago they were the new kids on the block. Now they compete well with the Wusties and Henckels. And to their credit they are the only Japanese brand to establish a (largely unused) sharpening infrastructure so that the knives can be somewhat maintained.

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But most of their target market does nothing to sharpen. Some will use a steel occasionally, some may use a pull thru device. A very few savvy customers will use an in-house sharpening service that gets them a few pulls thru grinding wheels set for 20 degree bevels. I've used "sharp" Shuns that are duller than an Al Gore speech.​

They are not bad knives, most people can't or won't maintain them as good knives.

:my2cents:
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"They are not bad knives, most people can't or won't maintain them as good knives."
Completely agree.
 
We have a guy at the club who has a bag full of Shuns. He takes very good care of them. They are always whistling sharp. I would happily use any of his knives in a pinch...

Since I've come along, he's picked up a few new toys, though.
 
Given that Shun is part of Kershaw knives, and Kershaw being an US company I do not see that surprising that they have a great success in the marketing department. US always have been a top notch when marketing is involved.
 
I always thought Kershaw hunting knives were supposed to be pretty good, am I wrong? Honestly, I have no idea. Gary
 
I understand that they look cool and everything the appeal they have looking wise but if you don't take care of it it won't be that great as I have seen before a nice Shun Premier looking like the Rocky Mountains
 
CoqaVin said:
I understand that they look cool and everything the appeal they have looking wise but if you don't take care of it it won't be that great as I have seen before a nice Shun Premier looking like the Rocky Mountains
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:rofl2:True they lose some of their bling with use even if look like rocky Mts. guess main thing is can still take an edge & cut decent.
 
actually, most pros i know are either shun or miyabi people. personally if i had to choose id go with miyabi just because the profile is better. whats even weirder is that ive overheard many cooks loyal to shun insist that the profile is too curvy. but they usually enjoy everything else about the knife so they just deal with it. wonder who out there really enjoys that crazy high tip profile?
 
some people think shun, miyabi, etc are the only thing little do they know the Miyabi is really not that bad though but the Shun I am definitely not a fan of the profile on that thing
 
When I went looking for my first real knife, after a set of whustoff from my mother for christmas, all I knew existed was shun along side masahiro and misono bc of my newest chef at the time. After "simple" reasearch I found the miyabi and got a 240 kaizen. I can't really complain about it for 150 $. And at the time the same size misono was still 200+. . I bought a shun nakiri shortly after, took a tidiculous edge, but not my style and sold to my saute guy.
 
Ill add. That shun nakiri was an upgrade from his porche chroma santoku. One of the ugliest knives I've seen..
 
Im not mad at a Miyabi Kaizen. Profile is eons ahead of a shun, nice weight and fit in the hand too.
 
keithsaltydog said:
I find them a little handle heavy..
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I think it's the wood ... Here's a pic of one without the handle.
This is a friends shun he is letting me convert to wa & thin....
Why? Why not :)

image.jpg
 
Woops...should have said converting to octagon instead of D shape .
 
Weird has wondering what was in there. I've always liked their bolsters
 
I have been wondering about the apparent (if not explicit) disdain for Shun, but I haven't been exposed to them much, so I went to the website to look at the lineup.

My impression is that the tips are really high and there's a lot of curve/belly to the knives and that doesn't mesh well with the cutting styles of folks here.

Some pieces, like the nakiri and some utility and the blue kiritsuke, actually don't look too bad...and at least one parer looks nice. I guess in those cases, it's just a matter of comparing to other available knives and finding them not worth the price or hype.

I can't find anything in the Shun line that really appeals to me other than maybe the nakiri, but I have a few of those already. Plenty of other options that I like more, but I don't think I'd ridicule anyone for owning/liking or wanting one.
 
I don't mind the shun premier series, I think that ken onion series was vomit inducing though, maintain the edge on shuns and they can be great
 
Well I have been using the Shuns over 3 weeks now.It takes some desipline as I have some fine cutters on my magblock.Been doing alot of chopping to give the Gyuto a workout.I like the small slicer the best,it was the knife wt. some major chips.

I have not experienced any chipping at all.Which leads me to conclude that the chipping in Shuns is because of their widespread use and outright knife abuse
 
Ouch a little rough there. Maybe shun should have a new slogan. Buy our knives cause they can be abused in professional kitchens for years and the chips sharpen right out ! Where's the shamwow guy with a cinder block and a wet stone ?
 
My first Japanese knife was an 8" Shun classic that I bought about 5 years ago. It's a nicely made knife, was stupid sharp out of the box, and I got it for substantially cheaper than retail. My only complaint with it is the high tip/big belly. Last year I got a screamin' deal on some Shun Fuji,, and they are truly excellent. Nice profiles, fairly thin (could be a touch thinner, but one would need to have good handling skills), flawless F&F. I use the 6-1/2 gyuto almost daily, no chipping at all and edge maintenance is a breeze with a wood-backed leather strop. I have yet to put it to the stones.

For someone who wants a nicely made VG-10 knife with a better profile, similar quality, and for less $ than Shun classic, here is what I would recommend. http://www.hocho-knife.com/yaxell-mon-3-layers-vg-10-micarta-handle-chef-knife-gyuto-200mm/
Or look at the Zen line for about 10% more $. Still much less than Shun Classic, and I can say from personal experience that they are quite good.
 
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