Why all the Shun hate?

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A few years ago I gave a co-worker pretty much a full set of Shun knives that had been sent to our company for review/field testing. I told her at the time she could send them out to me anytime she needed them resharpened. About a year later she did. I couldn't believe what a chipped and nicked up bunch of edges! Seems her husband used them for what ever home repair project came up including cutting electrical wire etc. I didn't hear about the knives again until a few months ago when she asked my advice about buying a new set. I didn't dare ask what happened to the $$$$ worth of Shuns, just gave her some suggestion of sources we all know. So a month or two later I asked how she was coming on finding new knives. She said she had replaced them with more Shuns! They must have had something going for them she liked I guess.
 
A fine example of how Shun as a brand is still alive and very well !

Shall we call this "ignorance", perhaps not. I realize that there's just the usual duality of states here: being "aware" of the knife, or being only aware that it is supposed to cut... For a long time I was #2 and there wasn't anything or anyone to make me realize that I was ignorant.
 
Most Shuns chef's knives are not something I would buy, with exception to 2 Shuns: Shun Fuji 10" chef's knife and Shun Classic 7" Chinese Chef's knife. The Fuji has an okay profile and concave grind half way down to the edge. And it is decently thin behind the edge (actually thinner than Tad White 2 and Masamoto KS behind the edge), so it is not a bad cutter. The handle could be shorter and lighter though. I didn't find the SG2 steel it uses more chippy than the SG2 steel used by Takamura and Shibata. HOWEVER, it is too expensive for what it is offering. If you can get a Shun Fuji for under $200 (which I did), I think it is not a bad choice. The Classic chinese chef's knife was on sale for ~$120 last month in China. According to a couple of my Chinese chef/cook friends, it is a very solid choice for the price because it is very thin behind the edge and has a near flat grind which is a preferred grind as a Chinese slicing knife.

Besides, what I find interesting is Zkramers 52100/SG2 are worse cutters than Shun Fuji but I didn't see too much hate on those.
 
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Hz_zzzzzz said:
Most Shuns chef's knives are not something I would buy, with exception to 2 Shuns: Shun Fuji 10" chef's knife and Shun Classic 7" Chinese Chef's knife. The Fuji has an okay profile and concave grind half way down to the edge. And it is decently thin behind the edge (actually thinner than Tad White 2 and Masamoto KS behind the edge), so it is not a bad cutter. The handle could be shorter and lighter though. I didn't find the SG2 steel it uses more chippy than the SG2 steel used by Takamura and Shibata. HOWEVER, it is too expensive for what it is offering. If you can get a Shun Fuji for under $200 (which I did), I think it is not a bad choice. The Classic chinese chef's knife was on sale for ~$120 last month in China. According to a couple of my Chinese chef/cook friends, it is a very solid choice for the price because it is very thin behind the edge and has a near flat grind which is a preferred grind as a Chinese slicing knife.

Besides, what I find interesting is Zkramers 52100/SG2 are worse cutters than Shun Fuji but I didn't see too much hate on those.
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One of those cleavers was in the batch I sent my co-worker and it was the only one that didn't come back for resharpening. Maybe it survived! I kind wished I had been so generous with that one later. Nice little Chinese cleaver.
 
Hz_zzzzzz said:
Most Shuns chef's knives are not something I would buy, with exception to 2 Shuns: Shun Fuji 10" chef's knife and Shun Classic 7" Chinese Chef's knife. The Fuji has an okay profile and concave grind half way down to the edge. And it is decently thin behind the edge (actually thinner than Tad White 2 and Masamoto KS behind the edge), so it is not a bad cutter. The handle could be shorter and lighter though. I didn't find the SG2 steel it uses more chippy than the SG2 steel used by Takamura and Shibata. HOWEVER, it is too expensive for what it is offering. If you can get a Shun Fuji for under $200 (which I did), I think it is not a bad choice. The Classic chinese chef's knife was on sale for ~$120 last month in China. According to a couple of my Chinese chef/cook friends, it is a very solid choice for the price because it is very thin behind the edge and has a near flat grind which is a preferred grind as a Chinese slicing knife.

Besides, what I find interesting is Zkramers 52100/SG2 are worse cutters than Shun Fuji but I didn't see too much hate on those.
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You'll find plenty of mentions of them being fat behind the edge with handles that can sometimes be Wabi Sabi.
 
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My gateway drug was a shun 8” chefs knife and then tried to upgrade for a long time before finding something that would obliterate the shun classic. It’s a good blade with amazing geometry, but the weight and awkwardness of the handle and the fat belly turned me off. Then the kanso line came out and godddd... that was the worst knife I’ve ever used.
 
Ceriano said:
I tried the 8" Shun classic chef knife at the store the other day and I really liked the fit and the finish. If Shun is overpriced at $120 what other better options are out there? Do knife people just hate them because they are generic?
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Even if they were worth the money, I just don't like their business methods. Their plan is market, market, market. They advertise and sponsor more than any other brand. They are the Beats by Dre of chef knives. That's why people looking to buy their first nice knife always buy a Shun. They see Alton Brown hyping them up and don't bother researching alternatives. Also their "lifetime warranty" is very misleading.
 
My first non-German knife was a Shun 10 inch classic (I fell for the marketing just like Hamso mentioned), I followed that up with the 4 inch paring. The F&F was just pretty to look at but non-rounded spine became uncomfortable. I gave the knife to my dad several years back and last I saw it, the thing was chipped to hell (I fixed it for him but he'll stick with his Wusthof)

The paring is actually not bad, it's nice and nimble but still not a pleasant feeling to sharpen.

But the worst of the worst was the Kanso Brisket Slicer my wife bought me one year. The handle is uncomfortable, and the edge needed a ton of work. However, people think it looks pretty. My wife refuses to buy anymore knives for me, which makes sense if I bought her a purse it would probably have kevlar lining with carbon fiber buckles, racing stripes, a machine gun pouch, and "Honk if you're horny" in contrast stitching on the side .
 
Kanso line is the worst! their AUS-10A steel is one of the worst heat treated piece of garbage I've ever encountered.
 
My knife addiction started with a 6” shun chef knife. I still have it in my rotation for the iffy items - (not hard enough for my beater, but don’t want to risk a high end knife).

When you think what most of us grew up with, they are totally awesome. If you compare to hand forged Japanese knives, well it’s easy to talk smack...
 
So, "we having" the campaign or what?
Ok, not exactly my initial idea, but "Everyone should own a classic paring Shun knife" is as good as it gets. Still counts :D
 
Midsummer said:
There has been quite a bit of praise here at KKF for the shun classic paring knife.
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I too have noticed that. Even though I posted earlier in this thread my dislike for my one and only Shun, I may be willing to try one of their paring knives. In regard to the one I already own, I am strongly considering offering my Shun Classic 6" Gokujo Boning knife next month in BST as trade for a great metal spatula or a shrimp deveiner. Really haven't decided yet.
 
I have the paring knife, and i love it. Handle shape and size are very comfortable, and the heel to handle placement allows for choking up on the knife when using in hand.
 
Think the main thing is that you can get better cutting performance with the same price with a handmade knife...Though I think people often forget that you do get benefits such as warranty with Shun knives.
 
I started with Shuns, about 15 years ago. Never had an issue with chipping. I sharpened all my own on stones and they took a great edge. When I got into handmade carbon steel Japanese knives I sold all but the bread knife, 6" utility and 3½" parer, as my wife likes using them, and I prefer her use those instead of my carbon steel knives. I have nothing bad to say about Shuns. They served me well for so many years.
 
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