Why I buy this one ?
- 8-inch chef's knife from the elegant Shun Elite collection
- Handcrafted in Japan of incredibly sharp, strong SG-2 steel
- Beautiful black PakkaWood handle with inlaid design
- Decorative flourishes on handle and blade edge
- Wash by hand; lifetime warranty; gift-boxed

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What our customer's say!

"My choice for precision cuts", I work in a professional high class kitchen, and I also enjoy competing in cooking competitions where extreme accuracy and precision are essential with all of my knife cuts. I bought this knife about three months ago to replace my global 8-inch chefs knife that I had been using for the last five years. I have quite a collection of chef's knives to include Global, Wusthof, and F.Dick. Each has their own place in my arsenal, but this Shun is my top pick when perfect knife cuts are needed.

Now my global is a great knife and I still use it at home, but it has been worn down quite a bit from years of constant use and abuse at work, and as preparation for my last competition, I really wanted something new and unblemished so as not to interfere with my knife cuts. Here are a few things to note about this knife that may help you decide whether or not to spend the big bucks:

First, Unlike the Shun Classic series, the Shun Elite does NOT use the D shaped handle, and can therefore be used by left handed people like myself without having to find the left handed knife. News Flash - There isn't one.

Next, it's a beautiful knife and impeccably sharp just like all the other high end knives. I use this knife primarily for knife work that requires perfection, and break out another knife for more workhorse related tasks such as chopping through chicken bones, or making miropoix. I wouldn't use this as an everyday "beater" knife.

Honestly, if I did not work in a high class professional kitchen, and I were looking to buy a nice knife for occasional home use were extreme precision wasn't necessary, I probably wouldn't spend the extra dollar on this knife. The other knives of its class such as Wusthof and Global are absolutely great knives. And while I strongly feel that this is a step above the others, only the serious professional with immaculate knife skills would really see an extreme difference. But if the money isn't an issue, you will not be disappointed with this as your choice of purchase.

"Kinves are a personal thing- always test drive!", First and foremost, let me start this review with a few general notes...

I am NOT a professional chef- I work in finance. I am a cooking enthusiast who decided to get serious about my kitchen. I admit that my needs are vastly different from those of a culinary professional.

That said, I must mention that reviews are great but I highly recommend going to a local kitchen supply store that will allow you to test drive knives.

Just about every celebrity chef has his or her own preference- I first heard about Shun knives from Alton Brown, who uses Shun Classics. I happen to prefer the Elites and my brother swears by Wüsthof. The other reviewer of this item prefers Global.

The reason for the wide variety of opinion is that buying knives is a very personal thing- what's right for one might be very wrong for another! The only way to ensure you are happy with your investment is to take each for a spin and decide for yourself.

One more general word of wisdom- don't buy a set unless you would buy each and every component independently. Manufacturers have a bad habit of including one or two items that you really don't need, like a tomato knife or three different sizes of utility knife. Common sense says don't pay for the extra knife/accessory you don't need and therefore won't use.

Now, let's review this knife...

At $220 it should go without saying, but I'll say it for the sake of being thorough: this knife is sharp, *extremely* sharp. However, my personal feeling is that when you reach these high end price tags, you will find that all of the major brands will give you an adequately sharp blade. Beyond that, you need to concern yourself with edge durability and comfort.

As for durability, I'll say again that at this end of the price range you should naturally expect to get a knife that will last decades- no matter what brand you buy. The differentiator here has little to do with whether or not the knife will break, but rather how often you'll need to hone and sharpen your blades. (Honing and sharpening are NOT the same thing.)

While I haven't owned this knife long enough to make promises regarding the edge durability, the SG-2 alloy used in the Shun Elite will supposedly hold it's edge for quite a long time- even longer than the VG-10 used in the Shun Classics. If true, this would mean you could expect to get more cutting done between honings. Again, I can't vouch that this is true but that is the expectation Shun has set.

Finally, we come to comfort- you just have to feel comfort for yourself, but here are a few of my thoughts. Let me start with the comfort factors I *didn't* like about the competitors:

Global: Weight & handle length. For me, the Global was just too light. It is a proverbial feather. I fully understand that this would be a huge benefit were I chopping, dicing, and mincing for hours every day- but I don't. And since I'm a somewhat burly fellow, the lack of heft was disorienting for me. The handle is also a little on the short side for my big hands, which left the end of the handle bumping into the inside of my palm.

Wüsthof & Henckels: Weight & handle shape. Both of these German-made knives are like battle axes. Holding them, I felt that if raging barbarian hordes stormed my kitchen I would be able to defend myself by wielding a Wüsthof/Henckels as a broadsword and my dutch oven lid as a shield. They both seemed to be strong on power and brute force at the expense of agility and nimbleness. The handles felt quite boxy and lacked any elegance to their touch. (The Henckels was a little smoother than the Wüsthof but both were very boxy.)

Now for what I liked about the Shun...

The handle was curvaceous, contouring to the peaks and valleys of my fingers and palms. The length was just right so that the knife felt perfectly balanced in my hand. The weight was neither too heavy nor too light. I felt like I could muster enough force to chop through anything, yet maintain grace and control while doing so. I attribute this to the thin 16 degree edge of the Shun, as opposed to the "normal" 22 degree edge of most knives.

While the Classic and the Elite had different handles, both were quite comfy and ergonomic. The winning element of the Elite over the Classic was the ambidexterity of the handle. You must choose either right or left handed with the Classic, which is a problem for me since I'm a lefty and my wife is a righty.


In the end, settling on the Elite was a very easy decision for me but it could not have been made without holding and cutting with each knife myself. Even if everything I have just described resonates with your personal tastes please please please make sure you go out and try before you buy.

Admittedly, I did not purchase from Amazon but not because of price! There was actually no material price difference between Amazon and my local store. I simply felt honour-bound to buy from the folks who allowed me to test drive the knives.

"Knives are a personal thing- always test drive!", First and foremost, let me start this review with a few general notes...

I am NOT a professional chef- I work in finance. I am a cooking enthusiast who decided to get serious about my kitchen. I admit that my needs are vastly different from those of a culinary professional.

That said, I must mention that reviews are great but I highly recommend going to a local kitchen supply store that will allow you to test drive knives.

Just about every celebrity chef has his or her own preference- I first heard about Shun knives from Alton Brown, who uses Shun Classics. I happen to prefer the Elites and my brother swears by Wüsthof. The other reviewer of this item prefers Global.

The reason for the wide variety of opinion is that buying knives is a very personal thing- what's right for one might be very wrong for another! The only way to ensure you are happy with your investment is to take each for a spin and decide for yourself.

One more general word of wisdom- don't buy a set unless you would buy each and every component independently. Manufacturers have a bad habit of including one or two items that you really don't need, like a tomato knife or three different sizes of utility knife. Common sense says don't pay for the extra knife/accessory you don't need and therefore won't use.

Now, let's review this knife...

At $220 it should go without saying, but I'll say it for the sake of being thorough: this knife is sharp, *extremely* sharp. However, my personal feeling is that when you reach these high end price tags, you will find that all of the major brands will give you an adequately sharp blade. Beyond that, you need to concern yourself with edge durability and comfort.

As for durability, I'll say again that at this end of the price range you should naturally expect to get a knife that will last decades- no matter what brand you buy. The differentiator here has little to do with whether or not the knife will break, but rather how often you'll need to hone and sharpen your blades. (Honing and sharpening are NOT the same thing.)

While I haven't owned this knife long enough to make promises regarding the edge durability, the SG-2 alloy used in the Shun Elite will supposedly hold it's edge for quite a long time- even longer than the VG-10 used in the Shun Classics. If true, this would mean you could expect to get more cutting done between honings. Again, I can't vouch that this is true but that is the expectation Shun has set.

Finally, we come to comfort- you just have to feel comfort for yourself, but here are a few of my thoughts. Let me start with the comfort factors I *didn't* like about the competitors:

Global: Weight & handle length. For me, the Global was just too light. It is a proverbial feather. I fully understand that this would be a huge benefit were I chopping, dicing, and mincing for hours every day- but I don't. And since I'm a somewhat burly fellow, the lack of heft was disorienting for me. The handle is also a little on the short side for my big hands, which left the end of the handle bumping into the inside of my palm.

Wüsthof & Henckels: Weight & handle shape. Both of these German-made knives are like battle axes. Holding them, I felt that if raging barbarian hordes stormed my kitchen I would be able to defend myself by wielding a Wüsthof/Henckels as a broadsword and my dutch oven lid as a shield. They both seemed to be strong on power and brute force at the expense of agility and nimbleness. The handles felt quite boxy and lacked any elegance to their touch. (The Henckels was a little smoother than the Wüsthof but both were very boxy.)

Now for what I liked about the Shun...

The handle was curvaceous, contouring to the peaks and valleys of my fingers and palms. The length was just right so that the knife felt perfectly balanced in my hand. The weight was neither too heavy nor too light. I felt like I could muster enough force to chop through anything, yet maintain grace and control while doing so. I attribute this to the thin 16 degree edge of the Shun, as opposed to the "normal" 22 degree edge of most knives.

While the Classic and the Elite had different handles, both were quite comfy and ergonomic. The winning element of the Elite over the Classic was the ambidexterity of the handle. You must choose either right or left handed with the Classic, which is a problem for me since I'm a lefty and my wife is a righty.


In the end, settling on the Elite was a very easy decision for me but it could not have been made without holding and cutting with each knife myself. Even if everything I have just described resonates with your personal tastes please please please make sure you go out and try before you buy.

Admittedly, I did not purchase from Amazon but not because of price! There was actually no material price difference between Amazon and my local store. I simply felt honour-bound to buy from the folks who allowed me to test drive the knives.

"Finally A Wicked Sharp Hand Crafted Knife, But Honestly--Global is Better!", My 20 year old Henckels (that have served me well) needed sharpening recently, and while picking them up I had to inspect the Shun knives so many are talking about; I ended up buying two Shun Classic knives--an 8" Chefs Knife and the 3.5" paring knife. After getting home and using them wildly for two days, side by side with my freshly sharpened Henckels, I was less than impressed with these supposedly "wicked sharp" Japanese knives.

Yes, they were sharper than my freshly sharpened Henckels 4 Star's, but not in a great and dramatic way, and considering I had spent $180 for two knives, I wasn't exactly thrilled. The Shuns were, however, much more comfortable and much more sexy (for cutlery) than my classic Henckels, no doubt about that. Still, I wanted something ultra "Japanese" sharp with those insane 16 degree edges. I returned the two Classic knives and invested even more (almost double the original amount) in the same two knives from the Shun Elite line--an 8" Chefs knife and a 3.5" paring knife. I had done my homework and read about the new powder steel technology involved with these Elite knives (and how many see this as the future for finer cutlery), and how the blades started and stayed sharper because of this harder SG-2 powder steel (Rockwell rating of 64). All in all, it sounded good, but these were BIG bucks I was laying out, and I had been less than thrilled with the Shun Classic knives...

Well, happy to report that these are the Japanese knives I have been dreaming of--EXTREMELY sharp and sushi-knife like; they go through food as if they are powered, as if everything is butter. The Chef's knife is the sharper of the two and dicing a raw potato or cutting through a butternut squash is a marvelous experience with these knives. While examining the chef's knife's edge at a restaurant over lunch, right after purchasing them, I semi-cut myself on this incredibly sharp knife-it sliced the top layer of skin, though there was no blood. It delighted me actually, as this is how the sharp single edged Japanese sushi knives are--scary (as in you have to be careful) sharp.

I love the handle and grip on these knives--the Classics were comfortable enough with their D shaped handles, but the Elite's handle is more ergonomically designed for the hand, and very beautiful to look at it too with it's copper trim and tiny inlaid plaque midway in the PakkaWood handle. I must say however that the PakkaWood finish is much better on the paring knife--glossy black and shiny; on the Chef's knife the PakkaWood is much duller and you can literally see visible scratches from the polishing process; perhaps this is Shun's final touch for the ancient Samurai effect, but personally on a $200 knife I would like a perfect glossy finish. This is really nitpicking, I realize, but I did examine 4 brand new 8" Elite Chef's knives at the store and they were all like this, and one in fact was more severe than the others (the scratches were severe enough to mar over the inlaid plaque).

The relationship between knife and cook is a very personal thing--you really need to feel and handle a knife before buying when investing this much in cutlery. The Shun Elites fit my big hand wonderfully, creating second nature from the first moment, and the balance is perfect (for me). I adore how these Elites have turned daily chopping and cutting and mincing into a sensuous and delightful experience. I quarter and then filet fruits such as Kiwi for my parrot and I, and with the Elite paring knife it is like doing so with barely any effort at all--as if the knife is following my mental plotting through the fruit, all on its scary sharpness own.

Adoring these 2 Shun Elite knives, I honestly feel it was worth the almost $340 that they cost me. And I know from experience that are a definite and BIG dramatic step up from the Shun Classic line. The Elites are truly about performance and the cutting edge in knife sharpness, and not just a hype "fancier embellished" product for wealthy kitchen freaks looking to unload their disposable dollars.

My only caveat? BE CAREFUL, these are the sharpest knives I have ever experienced (short of single edged Japanese sushi knives) in 30 years of being in the kitchen and around knives, including graduating from CIA and working as a professional chef for a few years.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
***UPDATE:

A friend, inspired by my kitchen equipment renovation, went out and bought Global knives, preferring them for his high-tech shiny stainless kitchen. He asked me over for a cutlery show-down with my new Shun Elites. I was ready to rub his Globals into the dust!

After an entire afternoon of chopping and comparing, we both came to the same overwhelming conclusion--the Globals were sharper and easier to use. It's not that they are sharper per say, but if you examine them closely, the Global's edges are slightly concave, and are burred and rough, while the Shun Elites are polished to a gleaming and shiny, and taper to a much more straight point. My friend and I both felt that the Global's burred concave edges allowed the Globals to sorta gripe and slice/slid through everything from carrots to meat with more ease than the Shun's polished and acute edge. Because of this ease, we can also logically foresee the Global's staying sharper longer as well, despite the higher rockwell rating of the Shun's high tech SG-s powder steel. However, who knows...?

We even tried shaving hair off of our arms, and the Globals won this test with ease.

I loved my Shun Elites--they were sexy and beautiful. But the Globals were obviously designed by and for chefs--they are much easier and nicer to use, and as I said, they just effortlessly (read rip) through any food with no effort at all; I was very impressed--so much so that I returned my Shun Elites and exchanged them for a complete set of Globals, which are less than half the cost of the Elites--and I got twice as many knives (never have had a good bread or boning knife before!)

While everything I originally wrote above is still very true, I highly recommend that if you are searching for truly sharp (as in Hello, Mr. Winter Squash!), easy to use kitchen cutlery, that feels like an extension of your hand and arm, that you check out Globals as well as the Shun Elites. They are both wonderful knives, but I genuinely have to say I see why Globals are so popular with professional Chefs--they are awesome knives--maybe not as sexy and hand crafted as the Shun's, but they more than make up for that with an incredible ergonomic ease and free flowing sharpness that makes them a joy to use.

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