Shun Premier 8" Chef's Knife, Handcrafted Japanese Kitchen Knife for Professional and Home Chefs, VG-MAX Core with Damascus Stainless Steel Cladding, Pakkawood Handle

Beautiful knife that fits great in the hand, has just the right weight and cuts amazing. I cook daily and have used the knife at least 5 days a week for about a month now and it’s still sharp as ever.

I really appreciate this Shun. It was my first high end Japanese knife and introduced me to that style of knife which I am now in love with. It has a stunning mirrored finish, damascus pattern and handle. The knife itself is super sharp and holds an edge really well. It is true VG10 steel and holds its edge as such. Large blade makes short work of veggies and meats, however knife is nimble enough for delicate tasks as well. Shun includes lifetime knife sharpening for only like $5 for the first knife and $2 per additional knife which is just shipping costs which I view as a great value, not that you will need to sharpen these a ton. As for some of the negative reviews about chipping... honestly ignore them. As I have gotten into cooking and moved into the world of high end products I have seen a myriad of negative reviews on products like Le Creuset, John Boos Blocks, KitchenAid stand mixers, etc. In my pretty substantial experience these all seem to be from people who enjoy cooking so they buy a high end item and have absolutely no idea how to use or care for the item. They think because its expensive its invincible which is just not the case. I have use this knife a lot, accidentally nicked bones, cut on harder surfaces, etc. and nothing has damaged this knife with reasonable care. Yes, if you are going to take it and whack it on a chicken bone or cut on a marble countertop you may chip it. These are all things it says not to do. There is no way in hell you are going to cut veggies or meat on a wood block or plastic board and chip this thing, especially using the correct cutting motion. All that being said, I have a Miyabi Birchwood SG2 8" chefs knife that I mostly use instead of this. Its just got an even sharper angled edge and is made of an even harder material making cutting even easier. But it should be, this knife goes for $180 that one goes for $250-300 depending on sales. If you have the money I would consider looking towards a Shun or Miyabi with SG2 level steel.

So I was cutting some carrots, but I'm not used to a knife this long (usually I use a 6" knife for cooking). I accidentally skimmed my finger with this knife. At first I didn't realize I'd broken the skin, because it didn't really hurt at first and I couldn't see a cut. After a few seconds of searching, I realized there was actually a significant cut; it was just so fine and clean that it stayed sealed shut and invisible for a solid 20 seconds before it finally started to bleed. It reminded me of the end of the Underworld movie. So yeah. This is a sharp knife. Goes through carrots and other things with minimal resistance. The knife seems very well built. I will be more careful in the future.

So I waited and cooked with this knife for a few weeks before writing this review. At this point I will say that the 8in. Chef's knife is incredible. It is by far the sharpest knife that I have ever owned. I had been using a decent set of Henckel knives (not knocking them because they have been great) but the thinness of the Shun blade allows for an effortless and really amazing feel when slicing. If you have never used a really sharp and thin knife the feel when cutting with them is such a different experience. When slicing through say an onion you just lightly push forward and down and it glides all of the way through, without effort. You can easily make those really super thin green onion slices quickly cutting all the way through and not making slinky's. One of the things I make a lot is Tabbouleh and cutting the parsley off of the stems at an angle is a glorious experience. It is actually fun now. If you are new to Japanese knives as I was you should probably watch a few vids on them. They are brittle steel so you get a firm, sharp, and long lasting edge, but you don't cut through bone with them you trim around the bone, you don't rapid chop, you seesaw, you don't open tuna cans with them you use the can opener. Otherwise it is possible to chip the blade. And I can tell you from experience that if you know how to sharpen you can get and keep a hair shaving razor edge on these knives. Even though mine didn't need it I sharpened both the Shun 8in and the Shun paring knife on Cerax stones last night just to see what I could get them to do and I assure you they are both scary sharp. I highly recommend this knife and look forward to years of cooking with it.

Wow! These are the best knives I have ever used.

I saw this knife used on a TV show named the Secret Meat Business on AWE network and was impressed with the appearance and the apparent sharpness of the knives he used. At the end of the show, they said that "Shun Knives" was one of their sponsors so I did an online search and sure enough, they sell them right here on Amazon! The knife is just as beautiful as it was on the TV show and I can now personally say that it is RAZOR sharp and it holds an edge fiercely. The first thing I cut with it was a dead-ripe garden-fresh tomato -- the knife never even pressed the skin down, it just slid through it with almost zero resistance. I've used it on beef and veggies so far but know for sure it would handle ANY kitchen item needing sliced/diced/chopped/slivered/whatever. The knife feels good in my hand (male who wears size X-large gloves) but it also feels good to my wife (female with slender fingers). It is SCARY sharp so unless you have good knife form (fingertips curled under and thumbs tucked in as an automatic reflex rather than a conscious thought) you should use a cut resistant, Kevlar glove on your non-knife hand. This knife is an investment worth making if you are a serious cook. The Damascus steel will hold an edge extremely well but you DO need to be careful with it or the edge can chip. It's like anything in life, there are trade-offs -- the Damascus steel is SUPER hard so the edge lasts for ages but in exchange, the harder the metal, the more brittle so it can chip more easily if dropped or abused. Don't use this knife to whack through bones, use a cleaver if you want to do that. With a little common sense care, this knife will easily last the rest of your life and you can pass it on to your heirs along with your cast iron cookware and such!

Highest quality, very sharp with the greatest handle.

Extremely beautiful design, perfect edge angle, and an incredible cutting feel! However, be careful not to cut hard ingredients . the blade is very thin and the steel is quite hard, so it can chip easily if used on hard ！