ShunClassic Blonde 6" Utility Knife, Handcrafted Japanese Kitchen Knife, VG-MAX Core with Damascus Stainless Steel Cladding, Pakkawood Handle, Precision and Sharpness for Professional and Home Chefs

The blade is very light, and very sharp, easy to use

Knife cuts like nothing I've ever had but I should have gone for the chef knife as this is a little small. Its also quite light and not well balanced but it looks great and sharpness has lasted over 6 months now.

I'm a fan of Japanese knives. I have knives by Global, Tojiro, Fujiwara and several others. So I've wanted to pick up a Shun for a long time. I decided to pull the trigger when I saw this utility knife at a good price ($70) and it was worth the wait! This is hands down the sharpest knife I have (I just sharpened all my other knives a few days ago), and it's also the most beautiful knife I have. The real damascus steel is quite beautiful and the blonde handle is very nice qaulity. It's edge is like a razor and it easily slides through paper, paper towels, tomatoes, whatever you want to test it on.That said, there are a couple of things you should consider before you order. First, this blade is longer than I expected and very thin. It's listed as a 6 inch utility knife but the blade is closer to 7 inches. That's not a problem, but compared to a 6 inch fujiwara I have, this is less maneuverabile and not as well suited to small jobs. It's also very thin and seems really well suited for slicing, but not for harder things or really for dicing. Second, the handle is pretty small. This is the reason I changed my rating from 5 starts to 4. The size and shape of the handle feels too small for the blade (imagine a razor blade strapped to a pencil), and the more I use it, the more this seems to limit it's functionality. That said, it may just take some getting used to, so I'll update again after a few more weeks of use.Even with that one issue, I'm glad I ordered this and I'm already eyeing more Shun knives with Christmas approaching...

Pricey but worth the money, these knives are excellent!

I purchased this recently as it had the promo price and it was a replacement for my existing Shun 6" utility knife which I have broken the tip off of and dinged up the blade after a few years of daily use so this is my second one and 4th Shun.I love this knife, it's light and thin so it works on delicate items like tomatoes easily but it's big enough that you can use it on tougher cuts like potatoes when needed too. It keeps it's edge forever and while I hit it with a steel fairly frequently I finally sharpened my original after about 3 years and that was mainly to try to get rid of a few of the dings I put in.The main things to remember is that this knife is a surgical instrument and isn't designed or intended for heavy work. If you're like my wife and uses a knife like a hammer this isn't the knife for you, get some heavy German blades. However, if you treat this knife properly you'll find this one will end up as you're go to knife for most jobs in the kitchen.