They will be great if you need these kind of knifes and have the money.

Shun and its parent company Kai will be around after you are long gone.

Though, I still stand by and advocate my Mighty Mac Santoku. $90 wont buy you a better knife. Hell, $200 wont buy you a better knife.

And seriously, anybody who says some "chefs" buy cheap knifes and throw them away are neither smart, safe, nor "chefs". I did work in a high end restaurant with a (then) local, well known chef and you would never see him use a cheap knife. There are several reasons for that already stated above.

edit: And by 'above', seeing as how I am at the top of the page here, I mean 'previous posts'.

storing knives is a constant battle and argument for me.

magnetic can mess up the blade edge if you ever hit it wrong and it's easy to do so with that powerful a magnet.

The knife blocks are foul... water dripping down them and growing mold, bacteria. Disgusting. Even if you clean it right.... it's got issues.

In the end, I opted for a drawer with a flat knife holder, and I keep them in the cardboard covers.

I can't imagine a better way? discuss?

I think you can buy plastic covers directly from shun?

PeterN wrote:Something for the people:

A big long knife sharpening post

Decent article. They even mention forming a burr. Good on them.


Fishbits, I've used magnets, too, and you're right...it only takes one misstep and you've horked up the edge. If the magnet is strong enough to hold up a decent-sized knife, it's strong enough to damage it.

I do use a knife block, but with two caveats: it's open on the bottom, allowing air flow, and I NEVER place a wet knife in it.

RE: serrated blades hard to sharpen.

it's true that they are harder to sharpen and should probably sharpened by a pro. But the benefit is that they also take much much longer to lose their edge. The blade typically dulls by coming into contact with a material that is harder than the steel. Ceramics are a good example. In the case of a serrated blade, the leading tips of the blade are the only parts that come into contact with the hard material and the actual cutting is performed in the deeper parts of the serration. The leading edge will dull quickly, but the interior will not. So the need for being able to hone the blade at home is not really an issue. And in reality, the blade should only need to be actually sharpened at about the same rate as a tradional straight edge. I probably got some of the details wrong but that is my basic understanding.

shortymcsmalls wrote:...My Wusthof set had to be disposed of (long story)...

Oh that's terrible! What HAPPENED?? My sister (chef) would probably go into eternal mourning if anything happened to her Wusthof knives...

Greshmahg wrote:Woot, I promise you - the day you put one of those giant knife sets with the butcher block from Shun up (preferrably the Onions), you've got a guaranteed sale.

This? I can't justify this. I'll give you the 600 bucks you want for the big set, but 150 for 2 just won't cut it. Har har.

I think Woot had a pretty large set in a Woot off awhile ago - maybe $499? Can't remember. They were snapped up (only three available as I recall). I will be smarter next time - what a BARGAIN!

It says curved to fit...so is it for right handed only?

No, it's righty or left on the Ken Onion line. The curve is more of a camel hump than a curve.

The clasics have D shaped handel and come in a Right and a Left.

I just joined woot. Looks interesting, not interest in this product, but will check back for other products.

preciousbusterbird wrote:Oh that's terrible! What HAPPENED?? My sister (chef) would probably go into eternal mourning if anything happened to her Wusthof knives...

They became part of a police investigation. I'm living with my wife's parents right now, and her brother tried to attack the police with them. No more knifes for me.....

There's an 8 piece Grand Prix set nearby for 150 if I can just get a couple bucks together soon. However, I have other things I truly need (like car repair) and as such haven't been able to invest in a new knife set.

EVERYONE!!! Shun has a lifetime warranty and free lifetime sharpening for all their knives.

If you haven't held/used a Shun, then go to your local high end kitchen store and hold one. These are worth there list price. This is a great deal!!!

Woot.com is the best!

beanerkc wrote:[...] A stamped knife can usually be identified by the absence of a bolster.

And you can see the bolster in the photos of the knives, thus they are forged. [...]

Pay more attention to that "usually." A bolster doesn't automatically mean a knife was forged; stamped knives can have them added with the handle. And actually, while these knives are indeed forged, if you look at the picture, you'll see how these bolsters seem to be more part of the handle than part of the blade -- that's how stamped knives' bolsters are added. Just an FYI... a trivia answer no one asked the question to.

I own the stainless steel version of the classic.

I can say without reserve- these are fantastic knives, however I can only speak directly to the quality of the larger of these two.

I love wonderful french bread, warm and crusty right out of the oven... Yum! The problem with great french bread is the difference in cutting characteristics between the chewy delicious bread inside and the hard crust.. Many, many knives are not up to the task. As a matter of a fact, the only knife I've ever seen do a good job of this is the Shun serrated bread knife. The serrations are rounded, leading to a knife that will saw through the hard exterior, but will not catch and tear the inside of the bread.

Maybe this is a snob thing, ok fine. But damn I love my perfect slices of warm french bread. Wouldn't trade these for anything (except the Kai Shun Kaji Fusion line... Damn those are nice!)..

PeterN wrote:This isn't correct, either. The waves here are decoration (a pattern weld) and can be added to any quality knife.

That said, these are probably high-quality knives.

Mostly decorative, but they are also more stain-resistant than the steel the main blade (and edge) is made from, so it's also protective.

Stamped knives are cheap when they are made of cheap rolled steel. When the steel is high quality made for making excellent knives, this is not an issue.

These are not forged, but they aren't cheaply stamped, either; they are cut from sheets of high quality knife steel.

The people who tell you that you need full-tang forged steel knives are either selling them or got their information from someone selling them. Yes, there are cheap stamped knives, but that has nothing to do with these.

That said, while I love my Shun chef's knife, I don't feel I need a bread knife that nice, and I like the Classic handle better than the Onion one.

If you want to check out other really cool Japanese knives, some hand made, go to Japanese Chef's Knife. It's not the prettiest of sites, but the knives are gorgeous.

Fishbits wrote:storing knives is a constant battle and argument for me.

magnetic can mess up the blade edge if you ever hit it wrong and it's easy to do so with that powerful a magnet.

It requires care, but I haven't had any problem. It's counterintuitive and requires more force to roll the knife so the blade comes up and the spine stays on the magnet, but once the habit is developed it's simple. I just have to keep my eye on other people around the knife rack.

These knives are hard enough that it problem isn't going to hurt them if someone pulled them off spine first a few times.

It's much easier to always put the spine on the magnet first when putting a knife away.

HardwareLust wrote:The truly frugal will scorn these. Victorinox are equal or better in function, and way less than 1/2 the price of these.

Have you used both? I don't think so. I bought my mother a Forschner chef's knife because she likes America's Test Kitchen (as I'm sure do you), and so I'd have something decent to use when I visited them.

It's a fine knife, but it is not as good as my Shun Steel knife. It's a better value, and it provides more bang for the buck, but it's not as good or better.

It may be good enough for you, and the increase in performance may not be worth the large increase in price to you, but that doesn't make the Forschner a better knife; it makes it a better value.

Like Consumer Reports, America's Test Kitchen (and Cooks Illustrated) place a lot of emphasis on value, which is certainly a consideration for most people. They don't tell you which product they review is the best, they tell you which is the best value.

If you watch the show, though, you'll catch some of them using a MAC santuko instead of the Forschner.

I have no problem using my mother's Forschner. It is a perfectly adequate knife, and it is better than any member of my family has purchased on their own (I have since given Forschners to both my brothers, too, in case I want to cook at their houses).

I'd still rather be using my Shun. Shuns are not the best knives in the world, but, as noted, there's diminished returns as one moves up the scale.

If you don't want to spend more than $40, then, yes, the Forschner (Victorinox) is the one to get. That doesn't make it better than more expensive knives.

Shun does provide a free sharpening service for their knives. I think you just have to ship them to Portland, OR and you're set.

ETA: http://www.kershawknives.com/sharpening.php?brand=shun

Couldnt agree more, I have a nakiri that I use in a professional kitchen every day, it is a razor blade and was worth every penny I paid for it.

Talesin wrote:Ouch. If I was going to pay this much for a set of knives, they sure as **** wouldn't have a serrated edge.

Shun's a great name, but with no ability to use a knife steel for truing or re-sharpen these with any measure of ease at all when they /eventually/ dull, they'll end up as throwaways, no matter how long it takes them to finally degrade to the same level as any bargain-bin set.

Serrated knifes can be sharpened with the the right tools. You can have them sharpened for $5.

Nother Sucker. Love me the Shun. Everyone needs a great bread/meat slicer, this is it. as stated B4, this is a redunckulous price....

How do these compare to commercial bread-cutting machines? Could I slice bread without the crumbs and choppy edges with this as well as I can with the commercial machine? I work at a bakery, and we have a bunch of under-18 y. olds who aren't legally allowed to use the bread-cutter, and we've never found a blade that can do the same kind of wrinkle-free, smooth, "professional" cutting...

While the knife is certainly up to the task, why would you do something so tragic as cut a loaf of bread while still warm? This is the same crime as slicing a roast unrested.. Friends don't let friends cut open warm bread loaves, not even with amazing Shun knives. =(

coryb123 wrote:I own the stainless steel version of the classic.

I can say without reserve- these are fantastic knives, however I can only speak directly to the quality of the larger of these two.

I love wonderful french bread, warm and crusty right out of the oven... Yum! The problem with great french bread is the difference in cutting characteristics between the chewy delicious bread inside and the hard crust.. Many, many knives are not up to the task. As a matter of a fact, the only knife I've ever seen do a good job of this is the Shun serrated bread knife. The serrations are rounded, leading to a knife that will saw through the hard exterior, but will not catch and tear the inside of the bread.

Maybe this is a snob thing, ok fine. But damn I love my perfect slices of warm french bread. Wouldn't trade these for anything (except the Kai Shun Kaji Fusion line... Damn those are nice!)..

Are these any good for home defense???

sorry but,F that. my $10 knives will cut just as good as this. i'm not cutting titanium or anything.

iGGz wrote:sorry but,F that. my $10 knives will cut just as good as this. i'm not cutting titanium or anything.

No, they won't, either.

.

kcarsonwoot wrote:.

??? hours earlier you said the items have been shipped, now your thread is blank. what is up?

PS, my FedEx reference shows nothing so far...not a big deal, just curious.

Edit: 5/20/2010 It has now shipped!

escalante wrote:??? now your thread is blank. what is up?
Edit: 5/20/2010 It has now shipped!

Jumped the gun on the items COMPLETELY shipping out by about 6 hours. Apologies.

**Shipping Update**
Shun Ken Onion Serrated Knife Set has completely shipped via FedEx Ground. All tracking has been emailed to members who purchased this item. If you would like to find your tracking information sooner, please click the following link and use your ORDER NUMBER as the reference number.

FEDEX TRACKING

craigthom wrote:Have you used both? I don't think so. I bought my mother a Forschner chef's knife because she likes America's Test Kitchen (as I'm sure do you), and so I'd have something decent to use when I visited them.

It's a fine knife, but it is not as good as my Shun Steel knife. It's a better value, and it provides more bang for the buck, but it's not as good or better.

It may be good enough for you, and the increase in performance may not be worth the large increase in price to you, but that doesn't make the Forschner a better knife; it makes it a better value.

Like Consumer Reports, America's Test Kitchen (and Cooks Illustrated) place a lot of emphasis on value, which is certainly a consideration for most people. They don't tell you which product they review is the best, they tell you which is the best value.

If you watch the show, though, you'll catch some of them using a MAC santuko instead of the Forschner.

I have no problem using my mother's Forschner. It is a perfectly adequate knife, and it is better than any member of my family has purchased on their own (I have since given Forschners to both my brothers, too, in case I want to cook at their houses).

I'd still rather be using my Shun. Shuns are not the best knives in the world, but, as noted, there's diminished returns as one moves up the scale.

If you don't want to spend more than $40, then, yes, the Forschner (Victorinox) is the one to get. That doesn't make it better than more expensive knives.

Exactly. I have numerous victorinix's. There paring knife is an excellent value (about $5). Kershaw makes an excellent santoku for about $30, The Victorinox chief 's knifes are wonderful at about $25-30. However I bought my wife a Shun paring sized knife for about $70 from Grand Prarie knives and she really likes it a lot.