So you guys talked me into a Kershaw Shun...

Q

qqfob

Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Messages
660
but i still cant decide on which one! i'm only getting one for now, a Santoku. i have a few questions if you guys dont mine.

is it worth double for a Kaji? they look NICEEE and has SG2 steel.

whats the difference between hollow ground blade and a regular one?

i'm kind of afraid to get a 7" blade for cooking... is 5.5 okay?

i am ambidextrous, and i cut with either hands just as well... is the knife offset enough where i would be annoyed?

just to add, i dont do much cooking. more like, i'm learning to cook just to get a knife like this. i love steak, not too much into veggies... which Shun would suit me? thanks in advance.
 
A 7" blade is perfect. 5.5, may be a tad small. Look at the Wilkin's Ryback, before you buy a Santoku. The Ryback is a Santoku with a point. Google Moore Cutlery. Good luck.
 
qqfob said:
but i still cant decide on which one! i'm only getting one for now, a Santoku. i have a few questions if you guys dont mine.

is it worth double for a Kaji? they look NICEEE and has SG2 steel.

whats the difference between hollow ground blade and a regular one?

i'm kind of afraid to get a 7" blade for cooking... is 5.5 okay?

i am ambidextrous, and i cut with either hands just as well... is the knife offset enough where i would be annoyed?

just to add, i dont do much cooking. more like, i'm learning to cook just to get a knife like this. i love steak, not too much into veggies... which Shun would suit me? thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Yessss. I own the 7" shun flat ground santoku. This is my only kitchen knife it does everything! The santoku blade shape is great, I love the blunted tip (it is still sharp) and the blade is great for 2 hand chopping.

It wouldn't be TOO annoying to switch grips but just to be sure get the one for your strong side so you can get the most use out of the awesome tear shape.

As for the meat and stuff, yeah. I'm the same way, I eat mostly meat and it works for me. Once you sink that baby into some veggies and start chopping however, you might start eating them a little more! :D

Make sure you get a good hardwood cutting board too.
 
Shun Elite for the win! Get the 10" Chef Knife and never look back! I have the Shun Elite 8" Chef Knife (and keep looking back) and ended up resharpening it before it dulled because I couldn't wait. The 10" model is geared for use for both Japanese-style chef knife use and French-style chef knive use (push cuts and shear cuts). I usually use knives that excel at one and suck at the other, but the Shun Elite handles both.

The Kaji is no slouch either and its damascus works like grantons without looking garrish and without the risk of washing away the etching. While I will whine its spine could be less angular, my Shun Kaji has better fit and finish than the Nenox S1 gyuto I used to own.
 
Go to an upscale cooking store and check them out. In my experience, a lot of nice cooking stores have Shuns. I went in there planning on getting the 8" chef knife, looked at the 10" thought it was wayyy too large, and just from curiosity asked to see the goofy looking 7" santoku. Well, long story short after lots of handling both the chef and santoku, I figured that the santoku balanced in my hand a little bit better and would be more useful for chopping and the work I like to do.

Moral is, check your local cooking stores.
 
oh man... okay stop for a second.

what is the Elite? theres Classic, Ken Onion, Elite, Steel, and Kaji? am i missing any? i cant decide!! yes, i have to see it in person. will take a trip to the mall tomorrow after work.
i really thought i wanted a Santoku, but the Ken Onion Chef's knife looks killer. i do know that i do not want anything bigger than a 7"...

if you guys haven't noticed, i'm more into the knife aspect than the cooking...
 
The right handle wont bother you if used in the left hand, but do fit most excellently in the right. I use an 8 inch chef's knife mod. DM-0706 and it is great. You really will be pleased.
 
I have some of the Classics and am very happy with them.
Santoku being my "go-to" blade most of the time.

Classics are just that. Available everywhere. Can be ordered for Left-Handed. VG-10
Elite are the higher end of the Classics. SG2 Steel
Kaji's are an exclusive with William and Sonoma. SG2 and Nickel Steel
The brand new Shun-Bob Kramer series is exclusive to Sur La Table. Pattern welded SG2 and Nickel

When they say standard blade and hollow on the Santoku, they mean
that the "Hollow" has a scalloped blade instead of a smooth blade.
The blade has scallops cut from the blade right behind the edge.

Here is an early review I wrote on the Shun Classic Santoku.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505262

mike
 
Hi qqfob,
I have the 7" Kaji Santuko, the 8" Shun Elite and the 3.5" Shun Elite paring knife. They are all exceptional in my opinion. The 7" Kaji and the 8" Chefs knife is somewhat redundant. I would pick one of thoose patterns only to start with at least.

I have no experience at all with the VG10 ones.

//Jerker
 
Check out the Ken Onion Shun chef's knife. I picked one up for my gf a month ago (she's a chef) and she steels it maybe once a day instead of every hour or less as it was with the Forschner she had before. It slices like a lightsabre and she says that she has never held a more comfortable kitchen knife.
 
I meant the Ryback fixed blade, not the folder.
But I see you are on a shun kick. What ever knife you buy, try to hold it first. Good luck!
 
Once I started using 10" blade I can only use 8" for fruit & veggie. Now I have one Classic 10" and one Kaji 10" chef's knives.
 
qqfob said:
oh man... okay stop for a second.

what is the Elite?
Click to expand...

It's this:

85491_1_n.jpg

Image from http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=85491

qqfob said:
i do know that i do not want anything bigger than a 7"...
Click to expand...

That'll change. Don't you worry. Get used to good French-style cutting skills (may I recommend Norman Weinstein's book on the subject?) and you'll find that you get more done quickly with a 10" blade than with a 7" blade. You can also learn Japanese knife skills, but the French style works very great and tends to be quieter (so you can keep breaking down food without comments from the gallery). Learn both when you can; lots of fun.

qqfob said:
if you guys haven't noticed, i'm more into the knife aspect than the cooking...
Click to expand...

Guilty, too! From the time my Shun Elite guillotined its first vegetable, I became hooked on cooking knives. My wife is the chef in our family and makes better tasting meals using pots, pans, and a 6" serrated utility (Mundial and Spyderco for that task), but she's slowing becoming a kitchen knife addict, too (only she has the common sense to not want a gajillion chef knives).
 
okay, i think i'm gonna go for a Ken Onion 7" Santoku. its sooo sexy. i'm gonna try to find it available locally, but i'm also bidding on it on ebay. can you guys not bid against me?
 
Make sure you actually handle it before you drop all that cash! I personally handled the KO and felt it was too heavy and not as comfortable and versatile as the classics.
Some people love the onions some people don't.
 
oh my, thanks Razor just realized that you mentioned the Elite is SG2 also. i really have to think this through now.

you're all right, i really need to handle the knife first, problem is it is not easy finding them, esp when i have no experience with kitchen supplies at all. anybody has a clue around NYC/LI?
 
Any way to find a Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table? They'll have the higher end Shuns (including the new Kramers!). Otherwise, most every high end cooking store carries the Shun Classic line.
 
shunkramer.jpg

so those are the Kramers... looks very nice, very unique. not my style tho, at least not as a chef knife

i found the location of a William Sonoma around here. will go tomorrow.
i think i want SG2
 
SG-2 in and of itself is just some other piece of steel.

Ground as thin as it is found in a Kai Shun knife and dressed up the way they do, well, then it's just a whole new level.

Please tell what you think of the knives. And if you ran to the store to get a ton of food to prepare with your new Shun.
 
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