Shun Cooking Knives

Posted by Scott Dresen Sunday, December 14, 2014 9:03 PM

Cindee's birthday present this year was our start into high end Japanese cooking knives.  We've long talked about buying a set and I finally decided to pull the trigger.

After a bit of research which left me with more questions than answers, I settled on knives from Shun.

Calling to mind the handcrafting techniques of ancient Japan, Shun Premier knives possess the grace and beauty of hand-forged knives of old. Every blade is made of VG10 steel, clad with 16 layers on either side of stainless Damascus, then beveled for lateral stability and incredible precision. Where the steels meet, a wavy line called a hamon is formed -- similar to the line formed when samurai swords are tempered using a clay-baking technique. The striking hammered finish ("Tsuchime" in Japanese) acts as a series of hollow-ground cavities, reducing drag and quickly releasing food from the blade. The walnut PakkaWood handles nestle comfortably in the hand, and the Shun logo embossed on the bottom adds balance and beauty to the knife, whether in the hand or at rest in the block.

The first time Cindee used these knives, it was not the experience either of us expected.  She started cutting vegetables with the largest knife.  After briefly slicing through some onion, she encouraged me to give it a try.  I was simply amazed.  Using the knife was like cutting through butter.  I couldn't believe how good the knife felt in my hand and effortlessly sliced through the onion.

All in all, I was duly impressed and scared in the same moment thinking about how easy this knife could slice through my 9 3/4 fingers if I wasn't careful.  To the point, Cindee has nicked herself several times already using these knives.

We have a very good set of Wusthof knives we use for most of our cooking.  But, these Shun knives will quickly supplant the Wusthof collection when we're cooking up a storm.

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