8 years I've owned 4 from the Classic line and send them away to sharpen every other year. Just got them back today as a matter of fact, love a sharp edge right after sharpening, these will last the rest of my life
I sharpen my own knives and have become the family professional and no one complains since any sharper edge is better than compared to 5 minutes before when they couldn't cut anything
Today there are a plethora of knife sharpening systems you can buy. I would recommend whet stones only. I have a set of Japanese whet stones that work very well on my Shuns. For those that fear they won't get the correct angle there are mechanical systems that hold the knife in place at the proper angle while you work the stone across them.
yeah true that! so many chefs i know talk so much smack about Shun, but they just dont know how to use it haha. First off, you arent supposed to CHOP at all with these knives, and once you sharpen it proper - the edge lasts a while. I do sushi full time 90 hrs a week with my Shuns, i love them so much because the VG Max steel core is all that matters! thats some high end Samurai materials right there. I use a 1000/3000 combo stone, then finish with my 6000 grit stone, and lastly I top it off on my 8000 grit Norton Whetstone which costs more than the knife haha. They get stupid sharp once you know what your doing. I can literally fillet salmon in two strokes, both sides with my Shun knifes. its impressive how effortless it is once you master whetstone sharpening! 16 degree bevel is very easy, I sharpen it 16 on the inside and 12 degrees on the outside (16/12 is roughly 70/30 bias) The real trick to sharpen these knives, and all other knives on a whetstone is to use your left hand for the backside, and dont push up against the grain if ya know what i mean! 10 years as a sushi chef has taught me a lot lol ambidextrious sharpening is a highly recommended skill to learn, and no one else in the world even knows how to do this it seems like! haha The straight parts are obviously easy to do, but for the curved parts - you have to develop some mad muscle memory to make it look easy, follow through with a round swing as you push it down to the stone, and that tip will be the sharpest part of the blade, 100 percent! i gotta upload a video tho
In more recent video Alton trashed Shun because of some business deal that went bad... That really sucks because I own Shun knives and they are fantastic.
Just became the owner of a Ken Onion edition Chef's knife by Shun. Very happy with this knife. The damascus steel is beautiful, and the edge is as amazing as you'd expect.
I love shun knives. I have a Wusthof chef's knife and a Shun chef's knife (nothing wrong with some extra firepower) my head chef recommended the shun, so I tried it. Been the 4th week and the edge is still very sharp. I'm impressed!
@Jorgelaine The knives are drop forged, and they have the classic Japanese tang design; plenty sturdy for any kitchen uses. And all damascus is created by forge welding and folding 2 or more steels together; it is impossible to 'smash metal with pressure' and get it to stay together. Shun's classic line are of san mai construction SUS410/SUS431 damascus forge welded to a core of VG-10.
its not impossible to fuse metals together, with enough pressure and force any metal would essentially 'weld' themselves together. kinda like friction stir welding using friction & heat. but these knives nowadays have VG MAX steel cores instead of VG10. either way its perfect for skilled handling, and when you sharpen them on a 1000/6000 grit whetstone and finish with a 8000 grit polish...these knives become stupid sharp for months at a time, (Im a sushi chef) and all you have to do is hone the edge a couple of times a day and it kicks ass!
At 3:24 he is holding a Nakiri knife, actually one of the ones I am most interested. He obviously knows what he is talking about, and he presents it in an inviting manner, but I think it is good to add that Shun knives get sharpened and honed at a 16 degree angle, for those using whetstones and ceramic rods :D
As a sushi chef myself, I have the whole Shun Classic series at my disposal. The Nakiri is definitely worth it since its stupid-cheap (130 dollars i paid) but if you are a professional chef working full time, you barely use it at all. I only use it for super sketchy transparent thin cuts with cucumbers for sushi (where you basically peel a 2-3 foot wrap sideways from the cukes) So after owning one for like 10 years now, my Nakiri is soley used for cutting cucumbers, and daikon really thin and long. It does the same thing as a western style chefs knife, but without the extra blade length getting in the way, which is why i bet that those knives are just repurposed Chef's knifes that were fcked up at the factory, lol But I feel like the Nakiri would benefit more if it were a single beveled edge, because its perfect for sushi style cucumbers, but you have to be careful as it slices through way too straight and it kind of sticks while your cutting cuz its flat on both sides, no scallops, no air gaps normally found on single edge sashimi knives (c-scallop) So its just more effort that what you should use-meaning you have to do tons of micro-adjustments constantly with the blade while still needing it to curve round the veggies so you can spiral towards the center. even when its stupid-sharp lol I use my 6" and 8" Shun Classic Chef's knife for like 80 percent of everything i do. lol I only know this after getting every single one haha but these knives are stupid-cheap and are really great for skilled chefs once you can sharpen it proper.= with a 1000/3000/6000/8000 grit whetstone!!!
VG-10 is one of my favorite kitchen use steels. I've found that it will take a sharper edge than just about everything else I've tried. But as far as "super" your right, it's more of a classic steel, akin to 154cm
I might call it a super steel for the kitchen. Nowadays a lot of companies are using incredibly hard steel like hap 40 or zdp 189, but I perfer vg 10 just because I can strop it back up very quickly
VG steel is what Samurai Swords are made out of if i recall correctly. that steel core is the only part that matters in a knife like that...and these knives aren't made for CHOPPING at all, you have to slice not bambam otherwise you will have to use a honing steel like everytime you need to cut something. people hate these knives because they dont know how to sharpen the steel like a seasoned sushi chef master! its a super steel for sure...but it aint no Wustoff german (which is made for blunt force chopping all day, not so much for slicing)
These are the knives I bought for culinary school and they are amazing. Yeah I spent a pretty penny but they are sharp and cut like the day I bought them and that was 4 yrs ago.
Almost all steels are forged in the mill, very few are used as-cast. If you want more information do a search on rolling and normalizing which are used by steel manufacturers to homogenize and refine steels and to get them to the proper shape in strips/sheets. This effects a cross section reduction (forging) far more than the minor amount which shapes the final knife.
There are a couple of (old) comments about Alton Brown "selling" these knives. No, he is endorsing them, which I take seriously because he doesn't endorse a lot of things - he isn't trying to make a fast buck, like some other *cough* Guy *cough* chefs are. Also, he DOES have his own brand of Shun knives, but these aren't it - they're called Alton's Angles, and the only difference is the angle of the handle is tilted upwards to make holding the knife easier. That's it. I have a Shun and I love it
@gm508088 Because people do not wipe them down or care for them. If you use them for slicing and only slicing carefully, making sure the wipe it every few slices, then they are great knives.
@BeeRich33 I think you can ship knives though, you might have to tell the post office or something but you can ship anything, you just cant ship explosives or drugs...i might be wrong though, but ive purchased a knife set on ebay and they sent it ups.
Okay, Uh, heh... Yeah. Funny story. I looked up the price for these knives, and a single 8" chef-style is $130 bucks. That is for the 'classic' version. If you want the premiere, then it goes up to $180. The 8 piece set is $600. I do not make enough food at home to even come close to spending an entire months rent on these knives--as amazing as they undoubtedly are.
It is definitely expensive and I have a cheaper knife right now as a beginner but if you do a lot of cooking it would be the main thing in use. Less than $200 for something that'll last 10+ years and you use every day isn't so bad. Most people only need a few knives and not a big set either (even Alton Brown in his books recommends buying knives individually for what you need and starting with around 3 kinds (chef, paring, etc). The rest just makes particular things easier and aren't really needed).
Thanks for the education on knife honing and sharpening. I'll try my wusthof again, and if I can't cut an onion or watermelon again, in the trash they go. You might have sold me on the Shun...
Well Catherine, what kind of steel is it at the core of this damascus that's so hard it takes an hour to sharpen? I'm currently carrying a knife with Carpenter Steel's CPM-20CP, which is likely harder and more wear resistant than ANY steel used in damascus kitchen knives. I have no problem sharpening this steel from so dull it won't cut your skin to so sharp it will literally split hair and I can do it in under 5 minutes. You folks just need to stop fearing sharpening and educate yourselves.
This is kinda funny to watch considering the massive changes in steel and the understanding them in the past 10-20 years. VG-10 used to honestly be a super steel but nowadays it's honestly a pretty mid tier steel. Still better than what most people are used to but miles off even entry level super steels.
Very nice explication, even Americans should understand it. :-) I've always learned that with my Kasumi Knives a honing steel is of no use, because it is softer than the knive itself. Looking at you movie makes me think that this is wrong, the honing effect will be ok. Cheers and many greetings from Alsace, the land where the Riesling flows. Christian.
I love my blades but i've noticed a small chip .. hate to think where that ended up.. sucks that there is no where in my country to have them sharpened
research japanese waterstones and learn how to sharpen them yourself. i consider it a small investment considering the cost of typical high-quality japanese knives.
@MrKnifeFanatic Definitely, the SUS 400 series stainless that Shuns are clad with are almost impervious to rust due to their super high free chromium content, and VG-10 itself is very rust resistant. A year or two back my mother left my dad's Shun classic Santoku in a full sink overnight (oh yes, bricks were shat) without the slightest bit of discoloration, much less overt rust buildup. Btw, I'm really enjoying your vids; good to know I'm not the only hooligan shaving w/ knives
Thank you Alton, you made me a believer! I went to Sur La Table (in Ann Arbor, MI), there they let you try out the knives before you purchase it. I took my son along with me, and he too plans to purchase a Shun knife. Do you recommend the block set of classic knives or should I buy them individually? What about the premier line of knives?
George Meads I would recommend buying individually, because the odds of needing every knife in the set is low. You really only need a chef knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife for bread. The serrated can be something less expensive. I love my victorinox and it was about 40 dollars. filet knives are needed if you will be working with alot of whole fish. boning knife are great for breaking down large cuts of meat and you guessed it boning. I would say an often over looked part of a knife set is a proper Whetstone and steel. no matter how nice the knife is it's no good if it isn't sharp. I'd prefer a sharp 40 dollar knife to a dull shun or anything else. hope this helps.
VG-10 does not have the fine carbides in some crucible and Bohler steels like N690, S30V and even CPM 154. Imagine a "german' Knife the steel looks like a matrix with larger particles say rocks the size of boulders. Then VG-10 looks finer say pebbles.....The other steels like S30V and Duratec 20C or CPM 154 look like fine grains of sand. These smaller carbides make the steel do what it's supposed to do a little bit better ;)
So, I don't get it... Did Shun approach Alton Brown and say "Hey! We really love Good Eats, and really dug your episode on knifes. Will you do an infomercial in that style?"
It is certainly cheaper and smarter to sharpen your own knives. However, Alton is not talking to us, he is talking to Mrs. housewife and to that end, again, he speaks truth. Imagine how many people he steered from the hell of cutco or Global to the bliss of Shun, for this, he earns a 1000% respect. AND, I doubt he sends them out, he is simply doing the people a favor, what he does, they do and sharpening a knife is a skill, not a Sunday activity for Mr. Brown.
I used to hang with a bunch of chefs and one professional sharpener too. once a year we'd all meet up and feed the hell out of that dude and get our knives sharpened. I love barter as a means of making life awesome.
VG-10 is one of my favorite steels, I'm no chef but just a knife enthusiast. But there are a lot better steels out there that can out perform it. But I it's plenty good for food prep.
For those who said shun made in China, I am not sure whether you got the Knifes. All my Shun knifes are made in Japan. and They never rust. They are so sharp.
Secondly, what's sharp to one person is dull to the next. There isn't a steel on Earth that can last an entire year without being sharpened that i'm going to be happy with. I routinely work with higher end steels than VG10 and I can tell you without a doubt that if you use a kitchen knife for an entire year it will need sharpened long before one year passes.
@gm508088 I am a professional Chef an sharpner as well and I have never had any rust or chips in ma Shuns. And ma Shuns have taken alot of beatin from high numbers of covers an the prep that comes with it.
Much more accurate than Gordon Ramsay's knife "sharpening" tutorial. Ramsay just gets it wrong from the start, as far as all other tutorials I've watched prove. Maybe everybody's wrong except the "ants in his pants" Gordon.
I assume you mean the candy.. which isn't really popular in Sweden But swedish fish (real fish) is awesome, especially on the Gothenburg side of Sweden
Glad to know I made the right choice in not spending the money on these. Makes sense that the middle layer of the sandwich would be more brittle... I hadn't thought of it.
The only thing I've ever seriously disagreed with Alton on is sharpening knives. If you know how to sharpen a pocket knife or a straight razor, you know how to sharpen a kitchen knife.
VG--10 is a decent steel and I like it. I would not call it a superior steel. S90V, Elmax, CV20 are superior. I know there are other factors. Cost, application the date of this video. I don't think this is opinion though. The consensus in the knife community would agree.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big AB fan, but it seems his research team fell down on one thing here. The "heat and chemicals" explanation is a common one for why good culinary knives should not go in the dishwasher, but if it were true, a lot of other kitchen items would be reduced to smoking goo, and long before hardened steel would be affected. I wondered about this, did some research, and was told by a blademaker that what is actually bad about the dishwasher is that the water action in them batters things around in there a bit, and the blade of your expensive knife might spend the entire ride banging repeatedly against a ceramic bowl, for example. Then, of course, there is the handle issue. A lot of handles will eventually dull and crack if they are washed in the dishwasher a few times. But blades aren't harmed a bit by the heat or chemicals in a dishwasher.
Remember that the heat and chemicals are only weathering the very thin cutting edge. It really does not take all that much to over heat that leading edge.
@jessthehorse Fine knives should not rust? ALL MARTENSITIC STEEL RUSTS! It is possible that you got a counterfeit Shun, but by the way you're talking, it's probably just incompetence. VG-10 is highly rust resistance, surviving many hours in a salt water immersion test before any visible signs of iron oxide formation.
What all facts am I missing? If you use a kitchen knife everyday, it's going to need sharpened well before a year goes by. That's just a fact. Maybe my perception of sharp differs from yours or Alton's, maybe you two are satisfied with a less than hair splitting edge but when I go to use a knife I expect it to cut like a light saber. Like I said, you spend big money for knives, spend $50 for a Spyderco Sharpmaker and in 15 minutes you can learn to maintain the edge daily on your own.
I loved my Shun knives before I knew Alton Brown made this video, but I love them even more now.
He doesn't love Shun so much anymore...
Alton and Shun had a disagreement, and now he won't even say their name.
I just bought my first Shun knife. Thanks for the professional, informative, and entertaining video.
8 years I've owned 4 from the Classic line and send them away to sharpen every other year. Just got them back today as a matter of fact, love a sharp edge right after sharpening, these will last the rest of my life
do you send them to Shun or your neighborhood sharpener guy!
I sharpen my own knives and have become the family professional and no one complains since any sharper edge is better than compared to 5 minutes before when they couldn't cut anything
Shun makes GREAT knives! I just bought my second, a classic 6" utility to go with my 8" Edo Series chef knife.
Today there are a plethora of knife sharpening systems you can buy. I would recommend whet stones only. I have a set of Japanese whet stones that work very well on my Shuns. For those that fear they won't get the correct angle there are mechanical systems that hold the knife in place at the proper angle while you work the stone across them.
yeah true that! so many chefs i know talk so much smack about Shun, but they just dont know how to use it haha. First off, you arent supposed to CHOP at all with these knives, and once you sharpen it proper - the edge lasts a while. I do sushi full time 90 hrs a week with my Shuns, i love them so much because the VG Max steel core is all that matters! thats some high end Samurai materials right there.
I use a 1000/3000 combo stone, then finish with my 6000 grit stone, and lastly I top it off on my 8000 grit Norton Whetstone which costs more than the knife haha. They get stupid sharp once you know what your doing.
I can literally fillet salmon in two strokes, both sides with my Shun knifes. its impressive how effortless it is once you master whetstone sharpening!
16 degree bevel is very easy, I sharpen it 16 on the inside and 12 degrees on the outside (16/12 is roughly 70/30 bias)
The real trick to sharpen these knives, and all other knives on a whetstone is to use your left hand for the backside, and dont push up against the grain if ya know what i mean!
10 years as a sushi chef has taught me a lot lol
ambidextrious sharpening is a highly recommended skill to learn, and no one else in the world even knows how to do this it seems like! haha
The straight parts are obviously easy to do, but for the curved parts - you have to develop some mad muscle memory to make it look easy,
follow through with a round swing as you push it down to the stone, and that tip will be the sharpest part of the blade, 100 percent!
i gotta upload a video tho
I like a little humor mixed in with my informative videos, thank you.
In more recent video Alton trashed Shun because of some business deal that went bad... That really sucks because I own Shun knives and they are fantastic.
You should remain fast friends with someone that would give you such a gift. It is a gift of friendship, love and COOKING.
Just became the owner of a Ken Onion edition Chef's knife by Shun. Very happy with this knife. The damascus steel is beautiful, and the edge is as amazing as you'd expect.
Thanks for confirming. Is all the crap sold at Ikea made in China or do they actually make anything over there ?
I love shun knives. I have a Wusthof chef's knife and a Shun chef's knife (nothing wrong with some extra firepower) my head chef recommended the shun, so I tried it. Been the 4th week and the edge is still very sharp. I'm impressed!
Great explanation of how I should be caring for my Shun. I feel guilty now. Thanks for teaching me how to hone my favorite culinary tool.
@Jorgelaine The knives are drop forged, and they have the classic Japanese tang design; plenty sturdy for any kitchen uses. And all damascus is created by forge welding and folding 2 or more steels together; it is impossible to 'smash metal with pressure' and get it to stay together. Shun's classic line are of san mai construction SUS410/SUS431 damascus forge welded to a core of VG-10.
its not impossible to fuse metals together, with enough pressure and force any metal would essentially 'weld' themselves together. kinda like friction stir welding using friction & heat.
but these knives nowadays have VG MAX steel cores instead of VG10. either way its perfect for skilled handling, and when you sharpen them on a 1000/6000 grit whetstone and finish with a 8000 grit polish...these knives become stupid sharp for months at a time, (Im a sushi chef) and all you have to do is hone the edge a couple of times a day and it kicks ass!
At 3:24 he is holding a Nakiri knife, actually one of the ones I am most interested.
He obviously knows what he is talking about, and he presents it in an inviting manner, but I think it is good to add that Shun knives get sharpened and honed at a 16 degree angle, for those using whetstones and ceramic rods :D
My Shun Nakiri is my favorite of my Shun set. Extremely versatile.
As a sushi chef myself, I have the whole Shun Classic series at my disposal. The Nakiri is definitely worth it since its stupid-cheap (130 dollars i paid)
but if you are a professional chef working full time, you barely use it at all.
I only use it for super sketchy transparent thin cuts with cucumbers for sushi (where you basically peel a 2-3 foot wrap sideways from the cukes)
So after owning one for like 10 years now, my Nakiri is soley used for cutting cucumbers, and daikon really thin and long. It does the same thing as a western style chefs knife, but without the extra blade length getting in the way, which is why i bet that those knives are just repurposed Chef's knifes that were fcked up at the factory, lol
But I feel like the Nakiri would benefit more if it were a single beveled edge, because its perfect for sushi style cucumbers, but you have to be careful as it slices through way too straight and it kind of sticks while your cutting cuz its flat on both sides, no scallops, no air gaps normally found on single edge sashimi knives (c-scallop)
So its just more effort that what you should use-meaning you have to do tons of micro-adjustments constantly with the blade while still needing it to curve round the veggies so you can spiral towards the center. even when its stupid-sharp lol
I use my 6" and 8" Shun Classic Chef's knife for like 80 percent of everything i do. lol
I only know this after getting every single one haha
but these knives are stupid-cheap and are really great for skilled chefs once you can sharpen it proper.= with a 1000/3000/6000/8000 grit whetstone!!!
He knows what he's talking about! Except that VG-10 in nowhere near a "super steel" It is a great steel though, especially in this application.
VG-10 is one of my favorite kitchen use steels. I've found that it will take a sharper edge than just about everything else I've tried. But as far as "super" your right, it's more of a classic steel, akin to 154cm
I might call it a super steel for the kitchen. Nowadays a lot of companies are using incredibly hard steel like hap 40 or zdp 189, but I perfer vg 10 just because I can strop it back up very quickly
This was likely filmed a long time ago, when VG10 was still relatively advanced
VG steel is what Samurai Swords are made out of if i recall correctly.
that steel core is the only part that matters in a knife like that...and these knives aren't made for CHOPPING at all, you have to slice not bambam otherwise you will have to use a honing steel like everytime you need to cut something.
people hate these knives because they dont know how to sharpen the steel like a seasoned sushi chef master!
its a super steel for sure...but it aint no Wustoff german (which is made for blunt force chopping all day, not so much for slicing)
These are the knives I bought for culinary school and they are amazing. Yeah I spent a pretty penny but they are sharp and cut like the day I bought them and that was 4 yrs ago.
9 years later, do you still have them?
@@RyanEugeneKelley I guess he is gone!
Almost all steels are forged in the mill, very few are used as-cast. If you want more information do a search on rolling and normalizing which are used by steel manufacturers to homogenize and refine steels and to get them to the proper shape in strips/sheets. This effects a cross section reduction (forging) far more than the minor amount which shapes the final knife.
I loved this guy, he always prevent me from making stupid desitions.
I had a honing steel and thought it was for sharpening. I'm glad i learned the difference today. Thank yOU!
Yes!
Saw the video's title and thought "meh".
Then I saw the video's thumbnail and immediately clicked on it.
he is treating the knifes like babies....that is awesome.
i second that! My Shun knives chipped out. It's all in the heat treat.
Is this an admercial ....
I didn't knew you can hone you shun knives.
Mostly I am honing Steels 58 hrc or less.
Any opinions? Should I get a hone for my shun?
Avoid honing rods. Just use a stropping setup
OH MA GAAAD HE CUT RIGHT THRU A TOMAATOO
There are a couple of (old) comments about Alton Brown "selling" these knives. No, he is endorsing them, which I take seriously because he doesn't endorse a lot of things - he isn't trying to make a fast buck, like some other *cough* Guy *cough* chefs are. Also, he DOES have his own brand of Shun knives, but these aren't it - they're called Alton's Angles, and the only difference is the angle of the handle is tilted upwards to make holding the knife easier. That's it. I have a Shun and I love it
yeah great knives if you can afford them. ill have to stick with my chicago cutlery for now. would like to try a shun sometime
Linda, that is a good synopsis, people often criticize what they do not know.
@gm508088 Because people do not wipe them down or care for them. If you use them for slicing and only slicing carefully, making sure the wipe it every few slices, then they are great knives.
@BeeRich33 I think you can ship knives though, you might have to tell the post office or something but you can ship anything, you just cant ship explosives or drugs...i might be wrong though, but ive purchased a knife set on ebay and they sent it ups.
A million likes for this information , very useful.
how much does it cost to yearly send out your knives for sharpening?
Is there a knife block set for the Shun Cutlerly Premier series?
"You run faster with a knife" ~ FPS Doug
Cutco has a 15 degree Cantle or edge so its sharper and it is sharpened free when ever you want forever!
I brought a Shun to learn how to sharpen header steel knifes. I'm getting there. :D
Okay, Uh, heh... Yeah. Funny story. I looked up the price for these knives, and a single 8" chef-style is $130 bucks. That is for the 'classic' version. If you want the premiere, then it goes up to $180. The 8 piece set is $600. I do not make enough food at home to even come close to spending an entire months rent on these knives--as amazing as they undoubtedly are.
It is definitely expensive and I have a cheaper knife right now as a beginner but if you do a lot of cooking it would be the main thing in use. Less than $200 for something that'll last 10+ years and you use every day isn't so bad. Most people only need a few knives and not a big set either (even Alton Brown in his books recommends buying knives individually for what you need and starting with around 3 kinds (chef, paring, etc). The rest just makes particular things easier and aren't really needed).
Thanks for the education on knife honing and sharpening. I'll try my wusthof again, and if I can't cut an onion or watermelon again, in the trash they go. You might have sold me on the Shun...
Just bought a set on Woot. I can't wait to use them.
and how exactly would it "lose its magnetic effect"?
Well Catherine, what kind of steel is it at the core of this damascus that's so hard it takes an hour to sharpen? I'm currently carrying a knife with Carpenter Steel's CPM-20CP, which is likely harder and more wear resistant than ANY steel used in damascus kitchen knives. I have no problem sharpening this steel from so dull it won't cut your skin to so sharp it will literally split hair and I can do it in under 5 minutes. You folks just need to stop fearing sharpening and educate yourselves.
This is kinda funny to watch considering the massive changes in steel and the understanding them in the past 10-20 years. VG-10 used to honestly be a super steel but nowadays it's honestly a pretty mid tier steel. Still better than what most people are used to but miles off even entry level super steels.
@ACLincorperated what about the gold powder laminated steel, on the fallkniven U2? that would be an awesome, but expensive kitchen knife
I just noticed that Alton gets excited @ 1;58 when he shakes the little balls :)
Very nice explication, even Americans should understand it. :-) I've always learned that with my Kasumi Knives a honing steel is of no use, because it is softer than the knive itself. Looking at you movie makes me think that this is wrong, the honing effect will be ok. Cheers and many greetings from Alsace, the land where the Riesling flows. Christian.
I love my blades but i've noticed a small chip .. hate to think where that ended up.. sucks that there is no where in my country to have them sharpened
research japanese waterstones and learn how to sharpen them yourself. i consider it a small investment considering the cost of typical high-quality japanese knives.
@MrKnifeFanatic Definitely, the SUS 400 series stainless that Shuns are clad with are almost impervious to rust due to their super high free chromium content, and VG-10 itself is very rust resistant. A year or two back my mother left my dad's Shun classic Santoku in a full sink overnight (oh yes, bricks were shat) without the slightest bit of discoloration, much less overt rust buildup. Btw, I'm really enjoying your vids; good to know I'm not the only hooligan shaving w/ knives
What you're missing is politeness and everything you don't know but assume instead. However, some can't be taught. So, yeah.
Thank you Alton, you made me a believer! I went to Sur La Table (in Ann Arbor, MI), there they let you try out the knives before you purchase it. I took my son along with me, and he too plans to purchase a Shun knife. Do you recommend the block set of classic knives or should I buy them individually? What about the premier line of knives?
George Meads I would recommend buying individually, because the odds of needing every knife in the set is low. You really only need a chef knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife for bread. The serrated can be something less expensive. I love my victorinox and it was about 40 dollars. filet knives are needed if you will be working with alot of whole fish. boning knife are great for breaking down large cuts of meat and you guessed it boning. I would say an often over looked part of a knife set is a proper Whetstone and steel. no matter how nice the knife is it's no good if it isn't sharp. I'd prefer a sharp 40 dollar knife to a dull shun or anything else. hope this helps.
Something tells me Mr. Alton not only uses these knives for cooking...
Ah.. you are from Sweden. This explains everything. You must know everything about knives and food!
Maynard Edge can sharpen all your knives, via there mail in system, it's fast, done right, and cheap too!
No magnetic strip?
VG-10 does not have the fine carbides in some crucible and Bohler steels like N690, S30V and even CPM 154. Imagine a "german' Knife the steel looks like a matrix with larger particles say rocks the size of boulders. Then VG-10 looks finer say pebbles.....The other steels like S30V and Duratec 20C or CPM 154 look like fine grains of sand. These smaller carbides make the steel do what it's supposed to do a little bit better ;)
So, I don't get it... Did Shun approach Alton Brown and say "Hey! We really love Good Eats, and really dug your episode on knifes. Will you do an infomercial in that style?"
If they did, he wouldn't have done it just for the money. The product had to have passed his muster first. Or however the saying goes.
Never run with knives except when being chased by giant lobsters, I always have crazy dreams after lobster night :)
It is certainly cheaper and smarter to sharpen your own knives. However, Alton is not talking to us, he is talking to Mrs. housewife and to that end, again, he speaks truth. Imagine how many people he steered from the hell of cutco or Global to the bliss of Shun, for this, he earns a 1000% respect. AND, I doubt he sends them out, he is simply doing the people a favor, what he does, they do and sharpening a knife is a skill, not a Sunday activity for Mr. Brown.
This didn't help teach me how to shun anyone :/
it is creepy but i find honing baldes so relaxing
I used to hang with a bunch of chefs and one professional sharpener too. once a year we'd all meet up and feed the hell out of that dude and get our knives sharpened. I love barter as a means of making life awesome.
I love my Shuns, I even picked up a ken onion
As instruction videos go this one is very good. Just wacky enough to keep attention, but focused on the points that matter. Good marketing.
VG-10 is one of my favorite steels, I'm no chef but just a knife enthusiast. But there are a lot better steels out there that can out perform it. But I it's plenty good for food prep.
Where do I buy this set?!!!!!
For those who said shun made in China, I am not sure whether you got the Knifes. All my Shun knifes are made in Japan. and They never rust. They are so sharp.
Secondly, what's sharp to one person is dull to the next. There isn't a steel on Earth that can last an entire year without being sharpened that i'm going to be happy with. I routinely work with higher end steels than VG10 and I can tell you without a doubt that if you use a kitchen knife for an entire year it will need sharpened long before one year passes.
vg10 is a good steal but i would much prefer zdp-189, or s30v over it as far as edge retention goes
What about titanium?
Excellent tutorial. Thank you.
@gm508088 I am a professional Chef an sharpner as well and I have never had any rust or chips in ma Shuns. And ma Shuns have taken alot of beatin from high numbers of covers an the prep that comes with it.
I can't believe he licked the cake, lmfao
Thanks, that was informative and amusing.
Dissapointed if he is doing a training video for Shun then he would know how to pronounce it right.
@fangmama63 - they work well but ours rusted after only a short soaking in water
Cutco has to offer the guarantee because it can't keep an edge even under home use.
Much more accurate than Gordon Ramsay's knife "sharpening" tutorial. Ramsay just gets it wrong from the start, as far as all other tutorials I've watched prove. Maybe everybody's wrong except the "ants in his pants" Gordon.
I assume you mean the candy.. which isn't really popular in Sweden
But swedish fish (real fish) is awesome, especially on the Gothenburg side of Sweden
Glad to know I made the right choice in not spending the money on these. Makes sense that the middle layer of the sandwich would be more brittle... I hadn't thought of it.
What is his name? I forgot it
+Seok un Jang Alton Brown.
What is wrong with Alton Brown?
wow, this is one tough crowd.
I agree. Best to learn on some cheap cutlery though.. well at least that's my method to the madness. XD
The only thing I've ever seriously disagreed with Alton on is sharpening knives. If you know how to sharpen a pocket knife or a straight razor, you know how to sharpen a kitchen knife.
Good marketing. Shun is too much for my wallet, but this makes a positive imprint with me.
Metall on Metall niiiiccccccce move
Are you 'Brown nosin'' Alton? I'm thinkin' that you just may be related, hmmm...not sure; nonetheless, I did enjoy your thoughts.
Can anyone recommend a good quality, AFFORDABLE set of knives for the average cooking family? These Shuns are terribly pricey.
I cut my finger badly the other night on my first Shun knife. Be aware!
VG--10 is a decent steel and I like it. I would not call it a superior steel. S90V, Elmax, CV20 are superior. I know there are other factors. Cost, application the date of this video. I don't think this is opinion though. The consensus in the knife community would agree.
Cake/steel analogies. I love Alton Brown
A1
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big AB fan, but it seems his research team fell down on one thing here. The "heat and chemicals" explanation is a common one for why good culinary knives should not go in the dishwasher, but if it were true, a lot of other kitchen items would be reduced to smoking goo, and long before hardened steel would be affected.
I wondered about this, did some research, and was told by a blademaker that what is actually bad about the dishwasher is that the water action in them batters things around in there a bit, and the blade of your expensive knife might spend the entire ride banging repeatedly against a ceramic bowl, for example. Then, of course, there is the handle issue. A lot of handles will eventually dull and crack if they are washed in the dishwasher a few times. But blades aren't harmed a bit by the heat or chemicals in a dishwasher.
Remember that the heat and chemicals are only weathering the very thin cutting edge. It really does not take all that much to over heat that leading edge.
Sorry, wrong. If it got hot enough in your dishwasher to do that, all your plastic stuff would be melted goo.
CorneliusSneedley Its not about melting it. Acids with heat added have an a profound effect on steel.
Scott McCullough What acids are you talking about that would be in a dishwasher?
CorneliusSneedley Well the soap is fairly basic and the rinse aid is fairly acidic. Combine that with the heat and you can damage the fine edge.
@jessthehorse Fine knives should not rust? ALL MARTENSITIC STEEL RUSTS! It is possible that you got a counterfeit Shun, but by the way you're talking, it's probably just incompetence. VG-10 is highly rust resistance, surviving many hours in a salt water immersion test before any visible signs of iron oxide formation.
Ok, sport. You seem like you really know your stuff.
Dexter?
I was "shunned" away by their "D-shaped" handles 😢
Only on the classic line
ich hab da bei mir jetzt auch ein tolles video drin von dem santoku :D
What all facts am I missing? If you use a kitchen knife everyday, it's going to need sharpened well before a year goes by. That's just a fact. Maybe my perception of sharp differs from yours or Alton's, maybe you two are satisfied with a less than hair splitting edge but when I go to use a knife I expect it to cut like a light saber. Like I said, you spend big money for knives, spend $50 for a Spyderco Sharpmaker and in 15 minutes you can learn to maintain the edge daily on your own.