Give me the skinny on Shun knives.

big fan of shun

among the "middle priced knives" i would rate the shuns "the best" of the bunch. this is based on the fact that i have A LOT of knives (over 150!)
and have used them all and lived with them (as opposed to someone who has "used" one at a friend's house or something), often using three or more
in one cutting session to compare side by side the different brands of knives
under the same conditions. for example, i will hand slice potatoes for chips. (yeah, i could use a mandoline, but where's the challenge??)
the shuns and the globals do a great job, the wusthof and the henckels did not ... too thick of the blades and too abrupt an edge. the beautiful polished sides of the german knives make wet veggies (like potatoes and cucumbers) stick to the blades, slowing down the slicing. try slicing ten pounds of potatoes for handmade chips with german steel and you will soon reach for the mandoline. not so with the japanese steel (well ... mebbe ... mandolines are still easier))
the japanese blades stayed sharper longer and sharpened easier with just a few strokes on a ceramic stick. of the four, the wusthof was the hardest to get up to sharp (i can't believe people think the wusthof is wickedly sharp compared to something like a shun!)
the handles of the wusthof classic and henckels pro-s were comfortable to me, but the culinar and 5 star feel weird. the globals drove me nuts by being too thin (except for the forged models which feel more "normal") but the shuns, with their fairly straight handles, offered the most varieties of grips.

so .... with their thinner blades, extra sharp edges, non-sticking sides, and comfortable versatile handles, i would rate the shuns higher than the brands you mentioned. (not to mention that alton brown liked them before they sponsored him!) don't overlook the MAC line of knives as i rate them over the ones you mentioned as well, and if you HAD to buy german, the messermeister brand does everything better than the wusthof or henckels.
just my two cents.

Except for knocking knuckles off chicken legs.

With Shun knives, the handles are designed specifically for use in one particular hand (ie. right vs. left), right?

can I ask about Chroma knives? I haven't seen a mention of it in other knife-related posts. I haven't spent a lot of time with one - I only tried it out in a store - but I liked what I saw/felt. The handle is a little unusual, but I felt it was comfortable. It was heavier than the Global I looked at which at least felt more reassuring.


thanks,
dan

I absolutely love my Shun's...and they are known as being one of, if not the sharpest knives on the market. They're beautiful, hardy, sharp, and come in a huge variety to choose from.

They are made for small right hands. I've heard of big guys with big hands not liking the handle that much.

They are also available for left handers, so that's a definite added bonus.

danimalarkey,
I use a 10" Chroma chef's knife as my everyday knife and I LOVE it. You are correct in that the handle initially felt different than what I was used to, but now, I fly through almost everything! The blade is remarkably sharp and holds an edge like noboby's business. I have very large hands and found the Global and the Shuns to be a bit small for me.

I just bought the 8" chefs knife, in slices threw everything ive cut so far like butter(including my finger) and it is probably the best knife i have ever used. But then again im only 17 and i havent used a wide variety f knives, a few henkles and a wustof or 2.

I have a 10 inch chef made by shun and I use it alot, probably to much, the only thing i had a hard time with was sharpening it correctly, but I've figured it out know and it is is so sharp it will shave air molecules, i think they are great