Customer Rating: 
Summary: Buy this knife
Comment: Alright. First read all the other reviews and see what they think. Chances are, they're right.
I've been looking for a knife like this all my life.
I like the thinness of American knives like Chicago Cutlery (the original Walnut, not the cheap ones they sell now), but am envious of the heft of the German knives (I had a full set of Henckels Professionals).
The problem? The thin knives are too light, the heavy ones are too thick.
Now, we have the best of both worlds with Shun.
Wait, I know what you're saying. They're too expensive. No. Listen: if you pick and choose, you can get a lifetime of cutlery pleasure out of just a few samples.
First, buy the 7-inch Santoku. You can get the Granton edge (the scalloped thingies) if you want, but it will just mess up the beauty of the Damascus steel finish. This is your workhorse; a little hotrod that will lightly and competently saw through most of your daily chores.
Then, you need a little parer--the 3-1/2 inch or 4 inch will do nicely.
Big, small.
But, we need bigger still, so get a ten-inch chef's. You'll like this knife. Owing to it's fairly small profile (height), it does double duty as a slicer. Chop up heads of cabbage and slice a turkey or ham, your choice.
Get one of the six-inch slicers (utility or tomato) and you're done.
That's all the expensive cutlery you will ever need.
Anything else: serrated, bread slicers, or other novelty knives, just by cheap stuff.
Now, you need accessories. Get the Shun sharpening steel for sure. It's got a cool magnetic angle on the hilt that supposedly gives you the correct angle for sharpening. You can do it the wussy way--blade down--or pick it up like I do and steel toward yourself in a grand, flourishing manner.
We're not done yet.
You've got a lifetime investment here (You think I'm kidding? Any time you want, send your knife to warranty service and they'll either fix it or send you a brand new one, and they'll always sharpen it. Don't tell them I said so, but that's a pretty sweet way to keep your knives sharpened. I don't think I'd trust any local shop to touch these blades).
But, let's talk wood.
Don't even think about slamming these things down on just any crappy surface. Use a poly board for yucky meat, but you must have a good end grain board for chopping. One word: Boos. Their best (and trust me, I've researched this) is a 12X18 reversible hard maple. Don't be put off by the flatness of this. What I did was buy some little stick-on nylon bumpers and put them on the bottom to prevent sliding and water damage underneath. After, say, ten years, flip it over for a brand new board. If you've got a bigger kitchen, I'm envious, and I recommend the Totally Bamboo 22X16.5 board. It's got feet on it and, hey, it's like a renewable resource to boot.
You know what you'll get for your trouble? The most beautiful ringing sound you've ever heard each and every time you put edge to board. I'm not kidding...it's melodic. And, it protects your knives.
Whichever one you pick, get some Boos Mystery Oil. I don't know what's in it (hey, it's a mystery) but it will keep your rock maple or bamboo boards seasoned and like new for years. Hey, you can use regular olive oil or some other cooking-safe wood protectant, but that's like, I don't know, just too weird. Not to mention not product-specific.
Finally, one small caveat.
While these Pakkawood handles are truly an exquisite thing (and, despite what they say, NEVER put them in the dishwasher), they have one drawback: they're slippery. There's virtually no ergonomics evident from the hilt to the butt, and, while sleek and sexy-looking--and very comfortable in your hand--they don't provide much traction. On more than one occasion, I've found one of the larger knives sliding right out of my hand. It was frightening to think what devastation these sharp blades could have done to my bare foot as it hit the deck. Maybe I'm just clumsy (or drunk), but as any cook knows, food prep requires a lot of water, and your hands get dried and slick. Be careful. And, I don't know, maybe wear shoes.
But, if you can keep them in your hands (and really, I know you can), you will never for one minute in the rest of your life regret this purchase.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great Knife
Comment: So, I've been in food for my entire life, and at 15 i started full time work in a kitchen. At first I used the typical industrial knives i.e. Dexter Ruseel and Forschner, that we had in the restaurant. I loved these knoves but knew I wanted my own. So being a dishwasher and prep guy, I did not have much to sprend on knies but made a hodge-podge set of knives. MY first santoku was a Wusthof Gourmet 7-in. hollow ground, which was terrific for forty dollars. But that knife has been blown away by this Shun. So when I recieved the knife, i had also ordered two more and a new knife case and began to put my knives in. In the second minute of having the knife, my finger recieved a nice nick. The knife was so sharp that when my finger moved as I put another knife in the case that cut happened. i was so impressed I had to use the knife. I grabbed a tomato, some scallions and a onion. The knife glided through all the products, and just did a tremendous job. If you do by this knife, don't use a steel made by a Western knife company, it won't hurt the knife, but i recognized a slight difference after honing.
So if you are willing to spend a hundred + dollars get this knife. Also people have aid that this knife is bad for big hands, it's a lie. I have huge hands and have not had a problem with my grip, a pinch.
