Shun TDM0742 Premier Nakiri Knife, 5.5-Inch

BOTTOM LINE

Shun Premier Knives are made with the same technique as traditional samurai swords. After months of moderate use on the toughest items, my Shun Premier knife hasn't dulled, chipped, scratched, or otherwise marred its initial perfect finish. I know what I want daily in the kitchen and by my side in the Zombie apocalypse. However, consider looking for a better price elsewhere.

USES

Nakiri knifves are vegetable knives used by professionals, with a straight blade edge suitable for cutting all the way to the cutting board without the need for a horizontal pull or push. This knife allows you to control the width of your slices more accurately, if you know how to use it. However, this isn't a general use knife, with no sharpened tip, and isn't recommended for cutting through bone, etc.

SHARPNESS AND STRENGTH

I use this knife for cutting through the toughest things, like pineapple. Cutting through the outside of a pineapple is like cutting through wood, and this does it with only gentle application of force no sawing required. After months of use on only the tough stuff (I use different knives for pairing, poultry etc), this knife still hasn't dulled noticeably.

BEAUTY

This knife is a thing of beauty it has a beautiful wooden finish on the handle, and the knife has this pretty blotted ink look, referred to in the description as Damascus. I love to show off my $160 knife to all of my friends.

SHARPENING

Shun allows you to sharpen their knives easily by sending it into a discounted, professional service center for professional sharpening and restoration. The price is cheap (25% off of $3 per inch of sharpening). Just google "Shun Sharpening."

I won't risk sharpening my knife at home because I don't know how to properly use a whetstone. I have a Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Sharp Duo Knife Sharpener for use on my cheaper knives, but the instructions on the Shun recommend you don't use that kind of sharpener, since this knife is sharpened to a different degree than European knives.

PRICE

Surprisingly, the price on Amazon is not the best price I've seen for the blade. You may want to check your local high-end home-goods or kitchen-goods store like Crate and Barrel. Still, I would consider ordering from Amazon, simply because shipping to my door is so convenient.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

I'm so impressed with my Shun Premier Line's ability to cut through poultry, ligaments and all, that I'm already planning on how to adapt my knife for the zombie apocalypse. Considering these things are made like samurai swords, I'm confident I'll be more well-equipped than my regular knife wielding buddies when we're out of bullets and the zombies are inevitably bearing down upon us.

I have been on the hunt for a new knife for a while, having got hooked on the Global GS5 years ago and wanting a second similar knife for the kitchen for busy days.

Recently I have been reading a lot about various knife makes, European and Japanese, ceramic and steel, and got pointed in the direction of Wusthofa mid-range German knife with good reviews that compare it favourably with much more expensive Japanese knives like Global, Shun, etc. however I wasn't at all happy with the Wusthof santoku knife I tried so I continued looking and finally took the plunge and bought the Shun Nakiri. I live in the UK and Amazon.com had the best price, even after delivery and import costs, for this knifethe equivalent of around $150. It arrived this afternoon and I got it out and gave it a go. Immediately it is a huge improvement over the Wusthof and maybe slightly better than the Global it was bought to offer an alternative to. Needless to say I am over the moon. I don't mind paying this much for a good knife that I will use on a daily basis at all, even if others in my family think I'm crazy! The cost of other knives in the set is a set-back, however, as I would be reluctant to spend the same amount on the 4-inch paring knife I have my eye on, or over $200 after duty, etc for the 6-inch santoku which I could easily find room for in my kitchen. If the santoku was the same price as this I would buy it in a second, and if the paring knife was around $70 I'd have that to. At the moment though this beauty will have to do, until it's time for another treat at which point I will definitely look to Shun again.

You really get what you pay for with knives in my experience. So if you have the money and are going to get the use out of this to justify it, you will not be disappointed.

Buy Shun TDM0742 Premier Nakiri Knife, 5.5-Inch Now

I own the Shun chinese cleaver and this is an awesome addition. The finish of the Premier knives is beautiful and functional (prevents things from sticking to the side after cutting).

I still can't get over how sharp this knife is. It makes prep work effortless and fine details easy. I have been using it for over two months almost exclusively.

Read Best Reviews of Shun TDM0742 Premier Nakiri Knife, 5.5-Inch Here

I have a number of Shun knives as well as several Wustoff. I got this on a "deal of the day" and vilolated the number one rule in knife buying..... never buy without physically testing the knife first. This is a great knife and like other Shun knives is scary sharp. In this model however, the handle is too small for my hands. I don't have the control with this knife that I do with the Classic and Kaji models. Probably a good ladies knife.

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Group gifted this using VenTribe.com with a friend, and everytime I visit the couple I gave it to (wedding gift) thay cant stop flaunting the damn thing! (in a good way). They love it, I've had a couple of slices with it, so on their recommendation, I'd recommend it! Its sharp as hell, and the Pakkawood handle is something to be amazed by. How can that handle be on a knife! It should be on your front door, on your car, on your coffee mugs, on pretty much everything that requires a handle to use...

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