Shun Premier 8" Kiritsuke Knife, Handcrafted Japanese Kitchen Knife for Professional and Home Chefs, VG-MAX Core with Damascus Stainless Steel Cladding, Pakkawood Handle

This is a weird knife, it's basically a gyuto meets santoku, and somehow made a perfect offspring. I really can't call it a Kiritsuke with the double edge, but everything about this knife is right in the way it comes. It's basically like the finally correct mashup between asian and european knives.I know shun gets a bad rap for making good but overly priced knives. I have no regrets on purchasing this at all, it literally is worth it in every way and I would say so at full price. And this is coming from someone who will use this at a minimum of 700 meals per year, as I have for the past 22 years. The only thing I can't comment on at this point is longevity.The blade curve is perfect, it's not like some of the shun chef knives that look like some miniature scimitar in how curved they are, nor is it like a flat vegetable cleaver which have their uses but are not as great as your youtube videos would like to make you think they are.It is light as hell, literally, blows me away how light this is. I weighed this compared to the most similar knives I have and it's like a feather even compared to a victorinox santoku of a close length, which I prefer to all Wustof and Henkels and other heavy german knives. And more importantly, if you use a proper pinch grip, the balance is absolutely perfect, but it's so light I don't know if it matters. They created a hybrid knife that is better than the original components.Out of the box, it's acceptably sharp, not quite a razor blade, but I doubt most people who don't hone their own knives have used something this sharp, that's pretty rare for a production knife.I don't like the polished finish at all, I'm not deducting for it though but it feels totally unnecessary, the hammered top is really cool, still for show I assume, but I'd still prefer to leave the finish alone, otherwise everything else in function makes that irrelevant. I do know many people like the mirror finish and it is fairly unique among most knives you will find, so to each their own on that, but this thing could be pink and it wouldn't change my opinion of it.

good

First off, it's beautiful. The knife I received is flawless. Perfect fit and finish. The edge is one of the sharpest I've ever experienced and I collect knives. From Spyderco, Benchmade, Cold Steel, Custom pieces etc. It's really lightweight and feels great in the hand and cuts extremely well. Always hone before and after every use, and you'll hardly ever have to sharpen it, and if you're bad at it just send it in for a free sharpening. From one knife person to another you won't be disappointed.

I have to completely revoke my initial review. I gave this a one star review, saying it did not live up to the hype. I eat my thinly sliced words. Every problem I had I now realize was do to pilot error and was no fault of the knife.Let me say two words: Ceramic Honing. A knife like this with very hard steel needs to be honed with something more than that old steel rolling around in your knife drawer. Once I started properly honing my knife it was like new again. On the other hand, if you do not, you will face the same impression I did. Which was that it goes dull quickly and doesn’t live up to the hype. This knife must be honed regularly with the proper material.All things considered, it is beautifully sharp and a pleasure to use.A word of advice too, don’t bother buying a ceramic honing rod. The unglazed bottom of a porcelain cup or plate is all you need.I searched for a long time and read a lot of reviews before finally purchasing a Shun knife. I’m glad I did.

I have 6 different Shun knives and they are my go-to knives for almost all kitchen tasks. This style of knife has a thinner blade than you might be used to if you’re accustomed to European or American knives but they take and hold an edge extremely well and cut through meat and veggies like butter. These are real damascus steel, not fake etched DS like most of the knives that claim to be damascus on Amazon.

This knife arrived faster than I thought it would (3 days, free standard shipping) and is a very beautiful, well made knife. I really like the brightness of the hand hammered blade finish and the dark wood grain of the handle. The weight and balance of this knife is excellent for me and I really like the way the belly of the handle makes this knife feel like an extension of your hand. This is my new favorite kitchen knife.This knife has got to be the sharpest knife I have ever had the pleasure of using. It is unreal how easily it glides thru just about everything I have used it on so far. It does not crush anything when you use a back and forth locomotive style of cutting (as recommended by Shun). I even cut a watermelon with it and it just glided along as I turned the melon, just as easy as you please. You can shave raw chicken for fajitas paper thin with ease (the meat sticks to the knife some when cutting this thin, but what did you expect?) also, it has cut my veggie prep time down considerably and is an absolute joy to use. I use this knife for just about everything now and I find it's no bother at all to hand wash this knife.Cooking is much easier and so much more enjoyable when you have high quality tools.You need this knife, as you can tell I am very happy with mine.

Got it as a gift for the wife who likes to cook. We pamper these, and keep them on display. Hand wash immedicaly after use, dry, and put back in block. We treat them with extra care. They are great looking and razor sharp. Definatley a step up from henkles and cuisinearts we have at home tossed in a drawer.