The only thing this set is missing is a Serrated Blade. I have the Shun Serrated 9" Bread Knife and although it's not used as often as my Chef's Knife and Paring Knife, it's still essential to have a good serrated blade for cutting bread and the like.
Shun knives are beautiful creations period. Since I'm Asian, I love the tradition look and feel of this Japanese knife. I love the beauty of the blade and the dark, polished, Pakkawood handle. The unique "D"-shaped, Wood handles are preferable. The shape fits my hand perfectly, and the wood does not get slippery when wet providing a very secure hold. The steel is of utmost quality and sharpness. Do not put this blade into any old electric knife sharpener! Electric knife sharpeners are made to put one angle on any blade. These blades come with a 16 degree angle and you don't want to be changing that angle. There are electric knife sharpeners that can sharpen these knives, but you'll have to do some research and find out which ones can be a fit with these knives. I prefer to hone with a sharpening steel and manually sharpen with a stone if necessary (and I don't see it being necessary to touch it to a stone any time soon). The blade is sharp straight off the factory and as Alton Brown says it's the sharpest straight out of the factory edge as he's ever seen.
These knives are more expensive than most, but I think it's definitely worth it. To have the sharpest, most beautiful knife around it's no contest. If you are on a budget, build your collection slowly. It's been said that there are only 3 knives that are the absolute basics for any kitchen: A 8" Chef's Knife (or some kind of similar, large-ish chef's knife), a Paring Knife, and a Long Serrated blade for cutting bread and larger items. I would add a thin utility knife and a boning knife to that list next. Then I would add those "in-between" sizes as I get more money flow in. Now if you're buying a whole set like this, you'll get it all in one shot and it becomes a better deal than pieceing your collection together, one-by-one.
If you plan on spending any time in the kitchen, good kitchen knives are a definite must. Preparation is the bulk of cooking and when you have good knives, it cuts down on the danger of cutting yourself, it adds pleasure to the work, and it cuts down on prep time. Knives are also a very personal choice and it's best to at least go to a store and try it out for yourself first. Shun Knives are designed by the Japanese, so remember it's designed for small hands. This makes it fit most women's hands perfectly, but I've heard of guys with larger hands not like it so much and going back to the German knives. So definitely try it out. It's a personal thing, it needs to fit you.
Why spend so much money on a knife? Well, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and you almost always have to bust out a knife to prep a meal from scratch why not use the best? Why spend that time with items that you love and brings you pleasure to use? Many times, it's the small things that brings us the most pleasure in life, and I consider my Shun knives as one of those things. Having something so beautiful and yet so sharp and perfect it makes my time cooking just that much more enjoyable.
Another good thing to know is that although the Shun Knives are usually offered for right-handers, you can get these knives for left-handers. You just need to find the guys who stock and sell those ones as they are less known, and less common.
I bought this set for my significant other at Christmas. I looked around at Wusthof, Global, and a few others but liked the unique look and feel of these better. I also figured these would be more comfortable and easier to wield for a female. The end result is that she really enjoys them. Although she has fairly large hands for a woman, the handles fit her nicely.
The knives come very sharp and hold their edge for a long time. It will be interesting to see how well they take to a professional sharpening. Overall, I am happy that I purchased this set.
There is one caveat. I also do quite a bit of cooking and have large hands. After using the Shuns for a couple of months, I have come to the conclusion that the Wusthof Grand Prixs fit me better and feel sturdier. I cannot really justify having two sets of expensive knives around the house, so we will be keeping the Shuns. My advice: Go to Sur La Table or Williams-Sonoma and handle the knives yourself. Feel the weight, notice the handle shape, and decide what fits you best. There are so many quality manufacturers of cutlery now that it is hard to go wrong with any of the selections.
Buy Shun Classic 6-Piece Knife Set with Bamboo Block Now
The knives are excellent, as is usual for Shun knives. However, the bamboo block does NOT have the Shun logo (it is a plain bamboo block), and the shears are NOT the Shun Taskmaster Shears -no nutcracker, no bottle opener, no bone cutting indentations. In fact, I got the Shun Herb Shears DM7100 instead. My advice: get the knives, shears, and block separately so you get exactly what you want. The few dollars you "save" by ordering the combo are definitely not worth it.
Read Best Reviews of Shun Classic 6-Piece Knife Set with Bamboo Block Here
I'll be honest. I lusted for these knives. I just didn't want to pay $350.00 for this set. However one day I found a timed Gold Box deal on the knives for $199.99 and I snapped them up without the normal spouse check before spending that much money. The spouse has since approved of the purchase.
These knives are incredibly sharp. They use a different steel, VG-10, and are sharpened to a 16-degree angle, much sharper than the normal 22-25 degree angle of most knives. If it matters to you these are also the knives that are used and endorsed by Alton Brown.
One final point. Shun provides lifetime free sharpening for these knives, including return postage. Just ship them to Shun and they will be sharpened. The knife set comes with a honing steel that has a 16 degree guide built into the honing steel. Be sure not to sharpen or hone the knives using normal sharpeners or honing systems. They are set to a different angle.
Want Shun Classic 6-Piece Knife Set with Bamboo Block Discount?
I loved my Shun Classic 6.5" Santoku knife, so I purchased a 6-piece set (except my set came with a 9" serrated bread knife instead of the utility knife). Shun is the best! For the most control and best grip, I was told to hold the knife close to the blade with my index finger on the metal ridge. It seemed a little awkward at first, but it's very comfortable once you get used to it! I love the weight of the knives, the wooden handles, and the sharpness of the blades. They do, however, need to be sharpened occasionally (I judge this by how well they cut through a tomato). I was told that you should use the boning steel every time you use a knife, but I have never used it. Instead I've been using the MinoSharp Plus sharpener, which sharpens the knives extremely well. If I could only have one knife I'd get the 6.5" Santoku (not in this set) because I use it far more often than any other knife. However, the large chef's knife is much better for cutting large, hard foods like squashes and melons. I love the multi-functional scissors (they come apart so you can sharpen them and clean them well), and I like being able to protect my knives and keep them together in the wooden block.
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We bought a set of these knives and are very happy with the purchase. The build is high quality, the wooden handles are beautiful, and the quality of the steel is high for the price. The blades are decent at holding an edge. When we need to sharpen them, the Chef's Choice 440 2-Stage Manual Sharpener gets the edge back in about a minute. Great value for the money.
