Make The Knife Switch! Five Of The Best Shun Knives Review

Kitchen knives are a staple of every household. We can’t live without knives! From slicing a chunk of frozen meat to dicing potatoes, knowing how to work with various knives is a determinant of your success in the kitchen.

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If you’re here to look for the best Shun knives for your first kitchen, as a wedding gift or a holiday present, or you simply want to switch to the best knives there are, you’ve come to the right place.

The word “shun” means “at the peak of perfection” in Japanese. They’re well known for their state of the art cutlery, highest quality blades, and handcrafting process.

Their best-selling knives are a frequent sight in cooking shows and high-end restaurants. Ask a chef for a recommendation of the best knives and he’ll surely include the Shun brand in it.

In fact, the beautiful Shun Hikari won the 2016 Kitchen Knife of the Year award. Indeed, this company lives up to their name which is perfection at its finest.

From chef knives, santoku knives, paring knives, boning knives, brisket knives, and all kinds of kitchen knives you can think of, look no further when buying than the Shun store. The best part is you can shop for Shun knives online too!

Since you cannot try every single Shun knife, we’re here to provide you with a comprehensive review of the best-selling Shun knives that we’ve all tried and tested.

*Below, you'll find our more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

Things You Need To Know About Shun Cutlery

Shun is pronounced as “shoon”. Shun is the Japanese concept of eating fresh, local, and in-season—when food is at the peak of perfection.

The incredibly sharp edges and stunning aesthetic of every Shun cutlery are handcrafted in Japan where highly skilled artisans produce blades of unparalleled quality. In the tradition of sword smiths, every knife is handmade and requires at least 100 handcrafted steps to complete.

All Shun cutlery is made from VG-10 stainless steel containing vanadium and cobalt. These blades have superior edge retention and hardness.

The high-density blades can match a significantly higher Rockwell hardness. Thus, to prevent corrosion and maintain razor-sharpness of the blades, minimal care is required.

Their blades are wedged between superb handles. The handles are resin-impregnated and are made from natural hardwood.They have a good grip, are comfortable to use, waterproof, don’t smell, are extremely durable, and won’t harbor bacteria.

Shun cutlery carries Japanese blades too. For instance, they have the komachi knife which features slightly wider blades than paring knives. They also have the honesuki, kiretsuki, menkiri, and other Asian knives.

Generally, Shun knives shouldn’t be used on bones and joints because they’re designed for precision slicing rather than crushing against hard objects.

Make sure to use specialized Shun knives for hard objects such as the Western Cook’s Knife which are tougher and can be sharpened on angles for easy cutting.

The key to maintaining your Shun Knife throughout a lifetime is to prevent pushing your blade straight down. This will result in arm fatigue and edge chipping. Moving the blade in either a forward or backward direction is recommended.

How Can You Sharpen Your Shun Knife?

As we all know, the sharpening of blades should be left to the experts. It’s scary stuff to manually sharpen your blades using a machine or a whetstone because the blades might chip or break in half.

Fortunately, the Shun Company offers free sharpening. Just pay for shipping and processing, and it’s done. If you live in an area near a Shun shop, simply bring your Shun knives in for free sharpening.

The store can sharpen up to two knives while you wait; If you plan to sharpen more than two Shun knives, you can leave it at the shop and return the next day to pick-up your handsome, razor-sharp blades.

But if you wish to sharpen your precious Shun knife at home, do refer to the video below.

The Best Shun Knives and Sets

*Below, you'll find our more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

1. Shun Classic 6-Piece Slim Knife Block Set

The sleek-looking Shun 6-Piece Slim Set features one of each kind: Paring knife, santoku knife, chef's knife, combination honing steel, multi-purpose kitchen shears, and a dark wood knife block.

The Damascus-clad blades have a Rockwell Hardness of 60-61 which is quite hard already. We once tested a table knife, and Rockwell indicated a value of 38. It’s safe to say that the individual blades of this set are designed to withstand daily use for a lifetime.

The gorgeous Damascus patterning on the edges is known as “suminagashi” or ink pattern. To produce this style, a VG10 cutting core is clad on both sides of the blade with 16 layers of Damascus steel. The blades are then bead-blasted to create a wavy pattern.

Moreover, the hand-sharpened Japanese double-bevel blades have an angle of 16° (each side) which is ideal for precision cutting. We also love the D-shaped ebony Pakkawood handles of each cutlery because they’re strong, durable and moisture-resistant.

In fact, the D-shape classic handle was designed to tuck into the palm of the user, providing more control by lessening the space between the handle and the hand, which is great even for left-handed people.

Overall, we can attest that this is an outstanding knife set. The blades are incredibly sharp and durable. Slicing and dicing is a great experience, as the sharpness of the blades leaves very little resistance as you cut.

We highly recommend this set for aspiring chefs planning to take their kitchen to the next level.

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2. Shun Classic 10-Piece Knife Block Set

The Shun Classic 10-Piece Set includes a paring knife, a honesuki knife, a hollow edge nakiri knife, a utility knife, a santoku knife, a chef's knife, a hollow edge carving knife, a honing steel, multi-purpose kitchen shears, and a 13-slot bamboo knife block.

The only difference between this set and the first one is the inclusion of the nakiri, honesuki, utility and carving knives. This set is more of a chef’s set than a regular kitchen set.

Apparently, we love the honesuki and nakiri knives in this lovely set. The long blade of a nakiri knife makes it possible to cut vegetables in one slash without any back and forth motion.

Honesuki knives, on the other hand, have a triangular shape and a stiff blade with very little flex, ideal for boning meats.

The Damascus-clad blades are also processed through a VG-MAX cutting core, distributing 34 stainless steel layers (each side).

Moreover, the blades have a Rockwell Hardness of 60-61 and are hand-sharpened at 16° angle both sides.

Similar to the first product, the handles of the individual knives in this set have D-shaped ebony PakkaWood handle that is durable and moisture-resistant.

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3. Shun Premier Chef’s Knife

The stunning marbled grayish appearance of the Premier Chef’s Knife will surely make heads turn in the kitchen. It’s a must-have for people who love to cook.

This 8-Inch chef's knife is ideal for multi-purpose cutting, chopping and slicing meats, vegetables, and fruits. It features a layered Damascus steel with a “Tsuchime” finish - a striking, hand-hammered finish.

So what exactly is this Tsuchime finish? Does it make the blade better? According to our little research, Haruyuki Tsuchime blades look like “waves striking the beach at moonlight”.

The rugged-looking blade gives an excellent performance too. This blade features hand-hammered dimples which allow the blade to slide through food without sticking.

Moreover, the blade features a slight curve that facilitates smooth back and forth motion while cutting. Its large surface area also allows for convenient scooping and moving ingredients from the cutting board to the pan or bowl.

This particular knife also has Premium Pakkawood handle that nestles comfortably into the curves of the palm, allowing for various secure and comfortable grips.

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4. Shun Classic Chef’s Knife

The Shun Classic Chef’s Knife is a favorite of chefs and home cooks.

This knife features an 8” blade that is suitable for a wide variety of culinary uses - cutting, slicing, dicing, chopping, etc. Crafted with precision, this Shun 20 cm Chef's Knife is forged from folding 32 layers of the highest quality Damascus steel.

Uniquely, this knife is made of high carbon Damascus steel, making it more robust and corrosion-resistant compared to stainless steel.

On the other hand, the steel folding process creates beautiful wave marks on the blade, making this knife as aesthetically pleasing as it is effective.

The effectivity of this knife lies on its razor-sharp and durable cutting edge.

Like other Shun knives, this terrific knife also utilizes an ergonomic and weighted handle made from black Pakka wood for utmost comfort and slippage-free handling.

The black Pakka wood handle is also resin-coated to look sophisticated and refined – a perfect addition to your 5-star kitchen knives.

We chose this as one of the best Shun knives because its handles are suitable even for people with smaller hands. Similar to many Asian-style knives, the knife's handle is especially suited to smaller users.

Also, the grip of this knife differs from most kitchen knives. It’s not round, rather, it has a slight protrusion stretching lengthwise along the grip to fit the contours of the hand better. It tends to stop the knife from rolling too.

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5. Shun Sora Chef’s Knife

The Shun Sora 8-Inch Chef's Knife is an excellent go-to knife in your kitchen. In Japanese, Sora means “sky” – go past your cooking limits with this ultra-versatile knife.

This knife is made by using a composite blade technology that brings together a VG10 cutting edge, clad with one layer of stainless steel on each side to create a “san mai” edge with a mirror-polished Japanese 420J stainless steel upper.

The blade also boasts of a razor-sharp 16-degree cutting angle on opposite sides of the blade for a superior cutting edge. To produce this kind of edge, two laser cut sections are fit together and braze-welded to wedge them permanently.

Similar to our previous Shun knives, this knife also possesses the characteristic wavy pattern on each blade which is a reminiscent of Japanese sword hamon lines.

The handle of this chef’s knife is also unparalleled when it comes to balance and maintenance. The textured handle made of TPE Polymer provides a tacky surface when wet, making them easy and slip-free to use around meats, vegetables, and juicy fruits.

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The Verdict

All five products in our list are the best of the best. They are extremely popular and all of them garnered positive reviews.

But the most outstanding of them all is the Shun Classic 6-Piece Slim Knife Block Set. Perhaps, it’s your bet already from the start because it’s a great kitchen starter set.

The sleek-looking Shun 6-Piece Slim Set features one of each kind: Paring knife, santoku knife, chef's knife, combination honing steel, multi-purpose kitchen shears, and a dark wood knife block.

This in, our opinion, is the best Shun knife set that everyone should try because they’re extremely versatile. There’s a specific knife available for certain cuttings that require precise blades.

Each Damascus-clad blade of this set has a Rockwell Hardness of 60-61, durable, aesthetically pleasing, and has moisture-resistant ergonomic handles.

Overall, we can attest that this is an outstanding knife set. The blades are incredibly sharp and durable. Slicing and dicing is a great experience, as the sharpness of the blades leaves very little resistance as you cut.

We highly recommend this set for aspiring chefs planning to take their kitchen to the next level.

Hey there! What’s up with your kitchen? Have you tried or owned a Shun knife? What can you say about it? Do you have other recommendations? Comment your thoughts below!

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