Shun Classic Review After 3+ Years: Razor-Sharp Knives With 1 Major Flaw

Merci

VG-10 is definitely not a "super steel". Super steels generally powdered steels like SG2, HAP40 and ZDP189.

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I’m left handed and have no issue using these knives. I’ve never had chipping issues, BUT, I never use them around bones and always wash them by hand. Hard steel is brittle steal and brittle steel chips easier.
Frankly, I think most people who complain about these knives do not understand what they’re buying.

Thanks for the heads up. I often drool over knives but am on a strict budget. I do well with keeping cheap stainless steel knives sharp and I sharpen mine beyond what it was at arrival.

My favorite knife was a cabon steel utility knife that was a cheap grocery store buy from the 70s. It didn't have a full bolster so it slid through the can opener sharpener. Some how it disappeared.

Love your channel m8

What do you think about granite cookware? Please i need an answer thank you

Couple of comments

Damascus finish just aesthetics, doesn’t add to reducing sticking

Shun really doesn’t know how to heat treat steels, plus they modified VG10 a bit and called it VGMAX just to sound cool in marketing that they use proprietary steel. With their lack of knowledge in metallurgy they made a really chippy steel. Just to add to the comment section as well. I have a VG10 knife from a different manufacturer, and it has a good heat treat, and it doesn’t chip. Not my best knife in my home, but if done right VG10 is quite nice

Balance of the knife doesn’t tell anything about its quality. It’s a personal preference and is related to the style you are cutting. Some prefer handle heavy, some blade heavy, some with balance point in the middle. My Yu Kurosaki is blade heavy, and few would say that is a bad or as you said cheap knife(those who make blade heavy knives)

Super steel is not a scientific term(for the comment section). It is used to tell that XY steel is currently among the best steels. 10 years ago VG10 was regarded super steel. Since then there are better steels, so today they don’t consider VG10 a super steel anymore.

To answer to should I buy Shun, the answer is no. They have really good marketing and yeah their knives look nice(and I think this also matters, because if you like the looks, it will be more incentive to use it more). But you could buy a same good looking knife, better quality (talking about chipping/heat treating) knife on a lower price point. Again Shun has really good marketing and they the first manufacturer that comes into mind of most people when thinking about Japanese knives, but they are making subpar quality knives( and I’m not comparing it to artisan knives, but to general manufacturers)

What about clay pot cookware is it safe?

All knives will need to be sharpened eventually. There is a huge problem here in that most people have no idea how to sharpen correctly. Even then, they have no idea where to get their knives sharpened. You said that the knives have a 16 degree angle. This means that whoever sharpens the knife needs equipment that is precise enough to sharpen at a 16 degree angle. The customer therefore needs to let the sharpener know that particular aspect of the assignment. Almost everyone is going to miss that they have to know all of this just to own a knife.

Another way to prevent chipping is to use Japanese cutting boards made with natural rubber. Hasegawa cutting boards for example. Using those style cutting boards also keeps your blades sharper for longer.

Very good explanation.
Thank you very much.

These are really almost pro-level knives in terms of performance, but they require pro-level care as well. I would love to own a set, but I've come into the kitchen on more than one occasion to find my "fine" knives being used to pry the lid off of a jar or worse. I came home from work one day to find my Henckels chef knife with a third of the blade broken off in the garbage bin. I'm sure it had been used to try and pry something open. (and yes, there was a drawer full of actual tools right next to the knife block). Some people just can't be bothered to really care for their fine tools, or care about someone else's.

Japanese chisels and plane blades chip too. In fact, you can't grind the bevel on these with a Western bench grinder--because of the micro cracks that occur along the edge. And you need special stones. This is why--while Japanese saws are completely accepted as superior world wide--the chisels are considered by most professional craftsmen to be not worth the extra sharpening hastle.
Now, working with hardwoods--a hard, wear resistant, steel is a definite plus--but you can get that with Western sreels that are easily maintained with Western grinders and bench stones.

But why the hell would you want a fancy steel for a chefs knife? I don't get it! You don't even need the razor sharp edge that you need on woodworking tools. Soft materials cut beautifuly with the slighty coarse edge. A coarser stone, and a steel-- used regularly, work just fine, and have done for generations!

Let's face it. The kitchen knife market is driven by people who buy knifes and replace them when they get blunt. Sometimes, granddad stops by and sharpens them--but many people don't have such a person. In

I have an old American made Old Hickory knife for abusive tasks. And since I found it on a sidewalk, the price of breaking it isn't a problem. And I've used it for 30 years already. Needless to say, my expensive knives are in excellent condition.

Kai knives have poor quality.
Their steel is very brittle and this is exacerbated by an extremely narrow recommended sharpening angle of 16 deg. Most kitchen knives have a more durable 20 degree edge.
My Kai knives have several chips from sharpening. Not from my cutting of vegetables or bread.
Kai took my money to 'warrantee or sharpen' then sent back my knife because it was serated.
"sharpening serrations isn’t a service that we provide so we were unable to repair the damage."
"Lifetime sharpening' is claimed with their knives.
Low quality, expensive knives and dishonest service.

Kai knives have poor quality.
Their steel is very brittle and this is exacerbated by an extremely narrow recommended sharpening angle of 16 deg. Most kitchen knives have a more durable 20 degree edge.
My Kai knives have several chips from sharpening. Not from my cutting of vegetables or bread.
Kai took my money to 'warrantee or sharpen' then sent back my knife because it was serated.
"sharpening serrations isn’t a service that we provide so we were unable to repair the damage."
"Lifetime sharpening' is claimed with their knives.
Low quality, expensive knives and dishonest service.

I would probably cut myself

The Damascus patterns have ZERO effect on reducing food sticking on the blade

My GF owns a set of Miyabi Kaisen with the same D shaped handles. She's left handed but has never noticed any issue or discomfort with the D shaped handle profile. Great review as always

Honing saves the edge without eating the blade. Don’t use those knife killing carbide cutters to sharpen!

I can confirm that stuff still sticks to the knife very badly...

I just bought the 7 piece set of the shun classic… one of my best purchases ever!

I bought the Shun Classic on sale about four months ago and am very happy with it, no chipping! This knife is unbelievably sharp, the sharpest knife I have ever had. My previous knife was a Victorinox chef’s knife that came sharp and was a good buy but nowhere near as sharp as the Shun. I still use the Victorinox for heavy duty jobs and use the Shun for more delicate work. The Victorinox got a little dull and I just seem to make a knife duller when I try to sharpen them. When the Shun gets dull, as any knife does eventually, I will have to find a good knife sharpener in my town which is Sacramento, there must be some around here.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that Shun is a little over hyped. Don't get me wrong, they're great knives, I just think you can find knives just as good at cheaper prices.

I love my Shun knives, I have 9 of them. I treat them with respect and never force or aggressively chop. Not a single chip.

Have one for about 15 years, quite happy with it.

If you understand the steel composite, and that these blades are brittle, you will treat them accordingly, and take special care of them. If you do that, you will have no problems.

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I have a few of the Shun Classic blades. I love mine. A little thoughtfulness about cutting with them goes a long way. I keep a couple of workhorse blades on hand for when I'm going to do something where force outrules finesse, but for 90% of what I do while prepping and cooking, my Shun blades are the ones I reach for first.

I have one of these maybe 15 years ago. Still in the package gathering dust in my parents garage. But, the handle is all steel. Is that normal?

Thinking about replacing my somewhat okay-ish Zayiko Kasshoku chefs knife with this.
I dislike the Zayikos weird pentagonal handle, its ambidextrous, though it doesnt feel as well in my right hand.
Its a VG10 core, 60+2 HRC at a 15° grind, quite sharp enough, though not enough to slice thin tomato without pressure.
Dont know if its worth replacing it, it cost me only 70€ and I am unsure if the 200+ investment in the Kai is worth it. Might get the kai 15cm all purpose first to see what they are like (need a smaller knife anyways)

Awww where does the chip metal go? I hope we don’t swallow them

For about the same money, Miyabi, Yaxell, and Enso are better entry level Japanese knives. But for not too much more (and in some cases less), you can step up to better quality blades like a Takamura blade in Chromax or a Tsunehisa blade in SRS13 or Ginsan 3.

I purchased six Shun knives of various sizes and purposes two years ago. Prices ranged from $130-$165 dollars.. Only one was sharp and "sharp" was relative. The other five were butter knives. I lived in Tokyo for 20 years working for NHK and Tonjo. The knives there I bought there all came from shops in Kappabashi. i also purchased two cheap knives from a discount shop in Kichijoji. Shun knives in my experience are fancy junk. The two cheapie knives? Brought them back to California when I returned in 2008. Cost 1500 yen each -- about 10 bucks. They are far superior to the Shun garbage...

Shun knives are really thin behind the edge, that alone will cause a steel to chip more. It’s also why they cut so well.

I only use Shun Classic knives. I absolutely love them. I've never had a Shun Classic knife blade chip, but also I treat my knives with care. I only hand wash my knives and Whetstone sharpen them once a year. I highly recommend Shun Classic, but I am just Joe Schmoe above-average chef from the Midwest.

I've owned a set of Shun Classic knives for well over a decade. Some tips have broken due to misuse. These knives sit out in the open and many people have grabbed them and used them without any understanding of proper use. Other than the broken tips, they have held up well. Many well many people have also thrown them in the dishwasher and they have held up from that fairly well. At this point, I consider them the regular knives and have my "good" knives hidden away for personal use. I have been very happy with the Shun set. Take care of them and they will last a lifetime

Shun knives are (in)famous for chipping.

Bought a 10inch classic chef knife at the annual kershaw overstock and seconds sale in tigard oregon in 2009, paid 88bux for one with a smeared logo, so sharp it was scary! been using it ever since, but be careful of chips and keep the edge up,if it gets dull-hard to restore back to its ridiculous and supernatural like ease of slicing through food, alot of damascus steel knives around these days but carbon steel is easier and cheaper in my opinion.

Damascus cladding has no other purpose, but aesthetics! On the contrary, food DOES drag on all damascus blades, alot more than many other types of blade construction. And if you are impressed with VG10 and VGMax steel, then i suggest testing Sg2, Chromax, Srs13, Aogami Super, Shirogami, Ats-34 steels.

I love using my Shun knives. My roommate knows they are the one kitchen tool they aren't to use. That's not only to keep the knives in good shape. His knife handling skills are atrocious. A nick with one of the less than sharp drawer knives is no big deal. Do that with a Shun and it would go right to the bone. If he wants to tell me something while I'm using one, I put it down before answering. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Buy Victorinox for 40 euro chef knife or utility knife or KAI Shoso 15 cm for 50 euro