ShunKanso 8" Chef's Knife

The media could not be loaded. Right out of the box i was a bit skeptical about the shape of the handle but in hand it is very balanced and comfortable. Comes pretty sharp out of the box hopefully holds its edge as well as my other Japanese knives. Love the look of the blade and just the knife over all. Very easy to use and rocks very well i would recommend especially for the price! Haven’t had a problem with a shun yet. (Still love my global to death)

This Shun Chef's Knife is my first "real" knife, purchased to replace a chef's knife that came in a $20 set from Costco that I had to use an electric sharpener on every 3 days. So if you are a knife connoisseur, this may not be useful information. But for me, this knife is great. I tried holding a similar Shun, from their Classic line, in a Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago, and I thought it was pretty solid and comfortable, so I ordered this Kanso on Amazon, which I think is much better stylistically than the Classic (Shun DM0706 Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife) because the Classic's handle looked a little plasticy to me in person. Upon getting it from Amazon, I was not disappointed.The knife is balanced to the middle, so it doesn't kick backwards when you hold it like a Wusthof will. It has a little heft to it, but not so much that you get tired using it. The rocking motion is stellar - I'm honestly shocked how easy it is to cut through basically anything, and how much faster I can chop with it than I could with my old cheap (lighter) set. And even freshly sharpened, my old set did not come anywhere close to this. The only thing I was surprised about was that the handle looks more "rustic" than I'd expected. I like the wood grain look, but I think the wood is a little lighter colored in real life (or at least mine was).In any case, it puts the remainder of my cheap set on the knife magnet (paring, bread, fillet, etc) to shame. I'm thinking about expanding my line to include the other Kansos, and I will review them too if I get them, but they are a bit pricey. Maybe one day...

This review is actually by my son, as the knife was bought for him: I would have given 4.5 stars if that were possible. Overall I am very impressed with the product. I think it is certainly worth the price paid. The blade is great! This knife was razor sharp upon arrival, and is holding an edge well. I have not yet needed to sharpen it so I cannot say whether it will be easy to sharpen. The stone-washed finish is very attractive. Just a word of caution - it arrives with the blade inside a cardboard sheath, and since I did not have a knife block into which this knife fit, I left the cardboard cover on it for protection when storing in a drawer. This was a mistake; it received scratches from the cover. (It was only later that I noticed that the cover states that it is for shipping purposes only.) The reason for deducting a star is the handle; it has both good and bad aspects. It has a great, rustic look, and once sanded it was nice to hold. I had to sand the handle down as it was extremely uncomfortable to the touch, and even bad enough that I was concerned about splinters. Sanding it down was quick and easy, so really no big deal. A second issue is that it doesn't match up; more of the spine is exposed on one side than the other. I would like to believe that the handle issues were a fluke - that quality control had a slip up with regard to the knife I received. I doubt that these issues are common, as overall this is a very high quality product. I am happy with it and I would definitely recommend this product.

Very light and maneuverable blade. I have a Nakiri from the same product line and I'm very pleased with both. I use them daily as I am a kitchen professional and I need workhorse knives I can rotate in my inventory, that aren't super expensive, when I need to sharpen my knives. Also, I got tired of spending 2 or 300 dollars on nice blades only to have tips break or handles damaged due to the negligence others in the workplace.

I can't think of anything else I would want in a chef's knife. I'm a chef and restaurateur and have owned/used a lot of knives (including other Shun's). This is by far the best handling knife I've ever used. I have larger hands and typically use a pinch group. Finding a knife that comfortably fits my hand can be a challenge. This knife feels like an extension of my hand, and the balance is perfect. The bolsterless design works great for me and the typical irritation one gets alongside the edge of the index finger has not occurred with this knife, despite hours of daily use. It arrived with an excellent edge and after a quick wash, I went right to work with it. Extremely sharp. I've now used this knife several hours a day for a variety of prep tasks and the blade has held its edge perfectly (using end-grain wood cutting blocks and hand washing the blade after use). Aesthetics are important to me as well and I love the rustic look of this knife. I'd buy this knife again without hesitation, even at a higher price point.

I've been buying Shun knives, usually out of the classic line, for family members for years. I bought a home last year and decided to start upgrading my knives. I decided to go with the Kanso line. Out of the box the knife is unbelievably sharp. It looks great and feels good with its balance and heft. I was a little disappointed with the handle as there are rough spots at the index point. It doesn't affect the performance, but for the cost I was hoping for a smoother surface. Other than that, I have no complaints and will be upgrading the rest of my knives to the Kanso line as money permits.

This is a great knife. The look is very minimalistic. There isn’t any fancy etching, mosaic pins, fancy handle, or other distractions. This is a perfectly balanced knife for someone who is more interested in cooking than showing off. At first I felt the handle was a little uncomfortable (exposed metal). But the more I have used this the more I love it. Very light nimble, and responsive.