From wiki:
“Honing steels do not sharpen blades, they hone blades: honing removes only thin, ragged fragments from the edge, and otherwise aligns the existing edge by moving the metal, not removing significant quantities of metal. Formally, honing plastically deforms and straightens the material of the blade’s edge which may have been rolled over irregularly in use. By contrast, sharpening removes significant metal, creating a new edge. Honing is primarily used to straighten out an edge that is still thin, but has rolled over on itself; if the edge has become blunt, honing has little effect, and the blade must instead be sharpened. However, this distinction is not always made, and honing steels are commonly if improperly referred to as sharpening steels.”
If you invest in a set of knives like these, you should have them professionally sharpened. There are sharpeners for home/ personal use, but there’s a pretty big range in terms of quality. I’d rather trust mine to people who know what they are doing, despite the inconvenience. I am also lucky enough to have a knife specialty store about 40 minutes away.
And others of us are on here to impulse-buy stuff that look cool. I appreciate the ethic of frugality, but it sort of sounds like you’re sort of implying that it’s wrong of Woot to sell a $150 knife. That doesn’t seem fair.
I am a bit skeptical of the lifetime sharpening and warranty…
I have a lifetime warranty from benchmade, a well known us knife maker. I have the same guarantee.They have had to repair the knife twice due to manufacturer defect. Thank my lucky stars they are still in business. Do you know these folks will still be in business??? Also, these knives appear to be stamped rather than forged. Do a simple web search and you will find a lot of information about how a forged knife is much better than stamped.
I am by no means a great chef, but I do work as a cook and love good kitchen gadgets. I personally would not spend that much on knives, especially serrated knives that have limited purposes. For $30-$40 you can buy a Forschner/Victorinox 10 or 12 inch chef’s knife that works just as good as most expensive knives out there.
WARNING: These are gateway knives. After you use one Shun you WILL become addicted and splurge on many others which you may or may not be able to afford.
I have the Kaji Fusion version of the larger knife. (Identical design with the shiny, higher quality blade) and it is absolutely spectacular for bread and meat carving among other things. If you can build a set including this large carving knife, a paring knife, an 8" Chef’s or Santoku knife and a midsize 4" or 6" chef’s there is little that you can’t do.
As mentioned in other posts, Shun will sharpen these for the life of the knife and they will cover return shipping. I have had the larger knife for over a year and haven’t even thought about getting it sharpened. Serrated knives simply don’t require honing as often as normal blades.
Just a reminder to all who purchase - hand wash. The info page says it’s “recommended,” but I’d say it’s pretty much essential. Putting a knife like this in the dishwasher isn’t a good idea.
Kai has been around for 90 years so a lifetime warranty is pretty solid. The forging process for these blades is much more intense than most companies, to suggest that they are stamped is ridiculous. Check out this video for insight into the production process: I Love Shun Knives - YouTube
Absolutely right. Serrated is not always a bad word – some knives, including certain types of slicing knives, should be serrated. For instance, the 9" slicer here is a good choice for bread. The 5" looks less useful to me, but it might make a good knife for tomatoes and other soft items with tougher skin.
Technically, these are called “reverse scalloped” edges. They can be sharpened using triangle hones or certain kinds of crock sticks, but it’s better to spend the $10 every 6 months and let a professional help you.
Shun sharpens them free for life, so sharpening isn’t an issue. I have 3 sets of these, for our house, cabin and motorhome. They may be expensive but once you use something like this, you can’t even think of going back to a wiltshire or walmart knife
Throwaways ?!?! LOOOOOL
These come with lifetime FREE sharpening from the manufacturer directly. All you have to do is pay for shipping and they will sharpen them for free.
Forschner Knives are great for me, you just need to know how to use a wet stone and a steel. my knives can cut paper mid air without a snag. I am a retired butcher however. Old School yes but my knives are sharper by far than any knife out on the market.
