Shun Ken Onion 10″ Chef’s Knife Review
Knife: Shun Ken Onion 10″ Chef’s Knife
Stars: 5.6
Overall Rating: Outstanding Quality Professional Knife
Brand: Shun
Bladesmith: Ken Onion
Blade Construction: Damascus – 16 layers on each side
Steel: VG-10 core; SUS410 high-carbon stainless steel Damascus layers
Rockwell: 61
Edge: 16° double-beveled blade
Handle: Pakkawood and resin
Full Tang? Partial Tang
NSF approved? Yes
Cleaning: Dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing is recommended
Cost: About $300
Availability: Out of production since 2012. But the 8″ version is still available (Feb 2016) for about $200.
This knife is a pleasure to use, it puts a smile on my face every time I pick it up. The Shun Ken Onion Knife has a very nice edge and great balance. The handle design scared me at first and I thought, “Holy crap! Is that thing going to work?” I’ve got to say that this is the most comfortable knife I have ever used. It WANTS to cut for you. The handle design and curve of the blade creats a natural roll which glides.
As far as sharpness goes, the Shun is the sharpest knife I have ever used. It significantly out performs the Henckel 4 Star 10″ and the Wusthof Classic 8″. The angle on the blade is very shallow. The only downside of this knife (besides the price) is the height of the blade which can make cutting fish difficult as the protein sticks to the blade since it is so tall.
Shun Ken Onion 10″ Chef Knife Review |
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| O | 7 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | very smooth, no resistance, nice! Smiling! |
| O | 7 | Carrot-Crosswise Test | very smooth, no resistance, nice! |
| O | 7 | Shallot Test | very smooth, no resistance, clean dice w/o smashing the shallot |
| O | 7 | Potato Test | very smooth, no resistance, like hot knife through butter, made me smile. |
| O | 6 | Green Onion Test | smooth cuts but left a small amount of uncut strands, no bruising |
| O | 7 | Red Bell Pepper Test | smoth, cut all the way thru the skin |
| E | 5 | Salmon Test | cuts cleanly but sticks slightly to the blade |
| E | 6 | Paper Test | cut 98% the way thru 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper the long way. Note: this knife was not new “out of the box”. |
| O | 7 | Comfort | Fantastic! It wants to cut for you. All my chef collegues smile when they pick it up and start slicing something. |
| O | 7 | Balance | Very nice |
| 5.6 | Total | ||
Purchase a Similar Shun on Amazon
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission for each knife purchased. With that said, I stand by the review presented here.
The Shun Ken Onion is no longer available. But the Shun Hiro is a fantastic alternative.
4 stars on Amazon
Shun Hiro SG2 8-inch Chef’s Knife
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