Shun Ken Onion 6-Inch Chef's Knife

This review is revised after looking at some of the over 150 reviews of the ken Onion style of Shun knives so some of it is repetitious. Some of them explain in great detail the difference between the regular Asian style Shun knives which are light, have thinner blades and very sharp blades (15 degree angle of sharpness) and the Ken Onion models (also with 15 degree blades) which are not like Asian knives at all but more like American and European knives with thicker strong blades (and a 20 degree angle)--think Wusthof or Henckels. The 5 degree difference is not much. Only a professional can probably tell the difference but I do think the Shun knives are sharper. The Ken Onion compared to Wusthof or Henckels has some advantages. The blade is curved making it easier to slice and chop. The handle is the most comfortable I have ever held.I think the Ken Shun is sharper. But if you like the regular Shun knives for their light quick maneuverability typical of Asian knives you may not like the more Western style Ken Onion.I have several of both type and like them all but I prefer the Ken Onion. I wish I had not spent so much on large sets of Henckels, Wusthof and Global (a high quality Asian knife but I don't like the metal handles of the all metal knives). For me I like the weight, handle and curved blade of the Ken Onion because it does a lot of the slicing and chopping for me without me having to move it around a lot. It is probably slower for a lot of food prep but it's so comfortable for my extra large hands.I have a number of Shun knives and noticed a while ago that the blade on the regular Shun 8" chefs knife is actually 7". The blade on the Ken Shun is a full 8". The knife is much more solid, thick and heavy than the regular Shun 8" chefs knife. It is incredibly sharp and needs sharpening less than the regular model. The handle is fantastic while the regular model is OK but nothing special.Both styles sharpen easily to like new sharpness with the Chefs Choice 315s made for Asian knives with their 15 degree blade.I think it is well worth the extra money if this is to be your main chef's knife and you do get the extra inch and super handle of this superior knife. I have Henckels, Wusthof,Global and other chefs knives but only use them if the Shuns are dirty and I don't want to stop prep to wash them off. There is certainly nothing wrong with any of these brands but prep work just seems boring with them, perhaps it is because it's what I have always used. I have spent many hundreds (well over a thousand) of dollars before discovering the Ken Onion models. I would trade a $600 12 knife set in a block for 3 Ken Onion knives. This one, the rounded cleaver model which I use as a shorter, heavier chef's knife although it may be too big or heavy for some and a small one. OK,I am exaggerating some but what more can you say about a knife that makes prep work almost fun. But be aware there are comments from actual chefs that prefer Asian knives and like the Shun models in general but hate the Ken Shun versions. /ASIN:B0007IR2MO Ken Onion by Shun DM0500 8-Inch Chef's Knife]]

I bought this as a Christmas gift for a very particular chef. She has extremely picky tastes in knives. I've had the opportunity to use it a few times since Christmas and Wow. I've never bought a good knife or even a nice knife. I grew up learning to cook with cheap entry level knives that were never sharpened. Imagine my surprise when I went to chop mushrooms. Cutting with this knife is like cutting with a laser. The blade is beyond sharp. This knife gets used nearly daily and is still laser sharp after several months. The finish is still brand new and there's no movement in the handle.The blade itself is a work of art. I don't have large hands for a guy, and the handle fits my hand very well. I do hand wash this knife (the first time I massacred a sponge) whereas other knives tend to end up in the dishwasher.For anyone who does serious cooking (recreational or professional) this is an outstanding knife. It's literally the sharpest thing I've ever used.

We are not professional chefs, however we love to cook and have a Henckel's Twin Cuisine 10 piece knife set which includes the Chef's knife, paring knife, bread knife, and others. The Henckel's chef knife is a 7" knife and is considerably heavier than the Shun. The Henckel's weight is distributed more evenly when holding in the hand. It feels like a 50/50 weight distribution between the handle and the blade when holding. The shun knife has more weight in the blade end while holding, it feels like more of a 60/40 weight distribution. I like the ergonomics of the shun knife better and I also like the slightly heavier feel on the blade end as it allows the weight of the blade to assist in the cutting motion. We have also used Wusthof knives and find them comparable to the Henckel's, the major difference being handle design and ergonomics. Of course, I am only talking about the Henckel's and Wusthof knives that are actually made in Solingen, Germany and not their international versions that are made outside Germany. I like the Damascus steel design on the blade of the Shun; however the design isn't as prominent as is shown in the photo. In the photos it looks as if the Damascus design contrasts significantly with other parts of the blade, but when I first took the knife out of the box, I thought that I had been sent the wrong knife. I had to twist the knife in the light to actually see the Damascus steel design in the blade.We haven't used the knife long term yet, but the sharpness is on par or better than the Henckel's and is retaining the edge nicely. We have to sharpen the Henckel's routinely to keep a sharp edge. In addition, the bevel of the edge of the Shun is more pronounced than the Henckel, this could contribute to the knife retaining the edge longer and maintaining it's sharpness.We got this as an Amazon Lightning deal and our very satisfied with the $100 that we paid. We would highly recommend this knife at this price point. We have seen it cheaper, but not very often and not for very much less. They sell out fast when on sale!*** EDIT - Downgraded to 1 star. On 20 July 2013 while cutting corn on the cob for a Colombian Independence Day celebration, the knife chipped and the metal piece went into the food. This was a new knife and is supposed to be one of the best knifes on the market. We have only had this knife for a couple of months and are highly disappointed. If we had not noticed that the knife had chipped while performing NORMAL kitchen duties, we could have killed one of our guests. The knife chip is not small and I will try and upload a photo of the knife. Very, very, very disappointed in how this could happen!

I bought an 8" Ken Onion Shun chef's knife from a high end store and it was a bit disappointing. Within 3 montsh it started getting these tiny little pits in the blade, almost like corrosion, especially at the edge of the blade. I took it to a pro sharpener and he said it was faulty craftsmanship. That being said it is was and is a sharp knife. Considering the price near 200 bucks I expected a lot more. I would be careful with this particular set maybe that's why it's a gold box? Who knows. Store went out of biz so I'm stuck with it. Not a horrible knife just not the quality I expected.

It's a nice, well handling, extraordinary and very sharp knife. Good and easy sense it take to hand and working with this nice knife.Thank you, Ken Onion!

Wegen einer Arthrose im Daumensattelgelenk waren einige meiner super-tollen Messer - leider - nicht mehr gut zu handhaben. Mit diesem Messer wurden diese Probleme - nach guten Erfahrungen mit dem 10cm Kochmesser aus der Ken-Onion-Serie - gelöst.