Shun DM0702 Classic 7-Inch Santoku Knife
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List Price: Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Shun DM0702 Classic 7-Inch Santoku Knife
Customer Review: Shun Knives are Beautiful, Elegant, and the Sharpest around
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a whole set of these blades, so I'm breaking down my review to two parts: Review of the Shun Classic Blades, and the portion as it pertains to this knife in particular.
I actually have this knife in the scalloped version. Although it looks kind of cool, I don't know if it really offers any additional advantage. I would have bought this straight version instead, except, I bought my knives as a set and the scalloped version came in my set.
The 6-1/2 inch knife is a utilitarian knife with many uses. It's definitely one of the steady work horse knives that you'll be reaching for all the time. It's a little on the small side, but perfectly in the middle between the real work horse (an 8" blade) and the smaller utility or paring knife.
Shun knives are beautiful creations period. Since I'm Asian, I love the tradition look and feel of this Japanese knife. I love the beauty of the blade and the dark, polished, Pakkawood handle. The unique "D"-shaped, Wood handles are preferable. The shape fits my hand perfectly, and the wood does not get slippery when wet - providing a very secure hold. The steel is of utmost quality and sharpness. Do not put this blade into any old electric knife sharpener! Electric knife sharpeners are made to put one angle on any blade. These blades come with a 16 degree angle and you don't want to be changing that angle. There are electric knife sharpeners that can sharpen these knives, but you'll have to do some research and find out which ones can be a fit with these knives. I prefer to hone with a sharpening steel and manually sharpen with a stone if necessary (and I don't see it being necessary to touch it to a stone any time soon). The blade is sharp straight off the factory and as Alton Brown says - it's the sharpest straight out of the factory edge as he's ever seen.
These knives are more expensive than most, but I think it's definitely worth it. To have the sharpest, most beautiful knife around - it's no contest. If you are on a budget, build your collection slowly. It's been said that there are only 3 knives that are the absolute basics for any kitchen: A 8" Chef's Knife, a Paring Knife, and a Long Serrated blade for cutting bread and larger items. I would add a thin utility knife and a boning knife to that list next. Then I would add those "in-between" sizes as I get more money flow in. =)
If you plan on spending any time in the kitchen, good kitchen knives are a definite must. Preparation is the bulk of cooking and when you have good knives, it cuts down on the danger of cutting yourself, it adds pleasure to the work, and it cuts down on prep time. Knives are also a very personal choice and it's best to at least go to a store and try it out for yourself first. Shun Knives are designed by the Japanese, so remember - it's designed for small hands. This makes it fit most women's hands perfectly, but I've heard of guys with larger hands not like it so much and going back to the German knives. So definitely try it out. It's a personal thing, it needs to fit you.
Why spend so much money on a knife? Well, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and you almost always have to bust out a knife to prep a meal from scratch - why not use the best? Why spend that time with items that you love and brings you pleasure to use? Many times, it's the small things that brings us the most pleasure in life, and I consider my Shun knives as one of those things. Having something so beautiful and yet so sharp and perfect - it makes my time cooking just that much more enjoyable.
Another good thing to know is that although the Shun Knives are usually offered for right-handers, you can get these knives for left-handers. You just need to find the guys who stock and sell those ones as they are less known, and less common.
Customer Review: Treat it well and it will likely be the best knife you ever own
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll preface this with the fact that you should at least hold and try out any knife of this caliber/price to determine if it's right for you. Comfortability and balance are important, and different people have different preferences and different styles.
I own a NICE 8"-9" Chef's knife, a nice bread knife, nice paring knife, and this knife as well as some less nice but still excellent slicing and utility knives (and have owned/used other santoku/nikiri/chef's of varying sizes). I love the handle of the Shun Classics, the most comfortable knives I've ever used by far. In my perfect world, every slicing/chopping/paring knife would have the shun classic style handle -but that's me.
My wife and I cook alot, and 4 years ago when we got married, we registered for a few *nice* knives. This was one of them and was to be *her* all purpose knife while the chef's knife was for me. Let me say that onion, carrot, celery, and garlic make up probably 90% of the volume of items I use a knife on over the years so a santoku/nakiri/chef's is the knife style I make the most use of.
For many reasons, THIS has become my go-to knife over my big chefs knife most evenings:
1) When I grab a cutting board, we don't always have the counter space open to pull out the nice end-grain cutting board that is the only one large enough to use the big chef's knife on. But we have some smaller thin wood or plastic boards that take up alot less counter space, and the shorter knife is better for a smaller board.
2) The balance on this knife is superb. The balance point is closer to the bolster than my long chef's, which makes slicing feel more natural and it's lighter overall which helps me to be a little faster while chopping. This is one of the best things about this knife when I compare it to my large chef's knife and other knives of the same size that have lighter handles - in almost every other case the balance point for the knife is far out from the bolster. *This is not necessarily an advantage - when I'm acting as a salad shooter for several pounds of veggies, the forward weight of my larger chef's helps keep the knife on the board while providing a long edge -but in general the balance of the santoku provides for more control at the expense of cutting edge length which is perfectly acceptable for the majority of my knife tasks.*
Along with the basics, it is of course a Shun classic blade - relatively hard steel allowing for a more aggressive bevel than is typical and still providing excellent edge retention that is scary sharp (meaning safer).
Care and handling are very important for keeping this knife in top shape. A honing steel is a must, but don't buy just any honing steel, buy the Shun one to go with this knife. Not only is the Shun honing steel better for dealing with the harder VG10 steel of the Shuns, it also has a guide on the 'guard' that guides the angle (more aggressive than typical) with which to hone the Shun knifes at. As always: hand wash, don't leave it wet (this steel will get spots, the trade-off made to get such a hard yet durable edge comes at some expense).
If you ship it back to the manufacturer (Kershaw here in the states I think) they will put the scary edge right back on the knife for you -the cost of this is just shipping. I regret that I was not initially as dutiful in honing this knife and it does have a very small chip on the blade (very small) and I will be sending it back in soon. It was recommended to do this once a year, and we're at 4 years so I'm sending mine in very soon.
Customer Review: I'd recommend the Shun 7" Santoku instead.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd recommend spending a bit more to buy the 7" Santoku, which will be a more effective replacement of the German 8" chef's knife.
I'm an electronics fanatic, and never thought that I'll get excited about a kitchen knife. I've been using the top-of-the-line Hinckels chef's knives for a long time, but never felt truly comfortable using them, which I suspect were originally designed for the beefy German hands. For those who have smaller hands and weaker wrists, the 8" chef's knife is often a wrestling partner rather than a surgical tool.
I recently received this Shun 7" knife from Amazon, and the entire package is the epitome of the Japanese design - the perfect union of elegance and function. As soon as you see it, you'll be struck that it looks like a work of art. The entire knife is so subtly and beautifully scuplted, that it almost seems a shame to soil it with something so unromantic as chopping onions. You fantasize about going to Alaska to catch a wild salmon and using this knife to immediately prepare the freshest sushi possible...
But I digress. You already know that this knife is unlike any other you've seen. It's more than legitimate to liken it to Rolex. Picking up the knife in your hand, the handle fits in your hand so naturally and smoothly that this miracle may not even register until you go back throttling the handle of a German chef's knife. The balance is perfect. The knife is narrow, and it's light. You twist the knife by rotating your wrist, and marvel at how the knife acts like an extension of your hand. You're beginning to understand the mythical power associated with exquisitely crafted knives like the Japanese sword Katana. You muse that only the privileged few can afford to buy such an expensive knife as this Shun, but now that you're holding it, you know it's worth every penny.
Now, go to your refrigerator and find some vegetables, be it celery, tomato, or potato. Clean the knife and the vegetable and very slowly make the first cut. You watch in awe as the knife makes a perfectly straight cut (there is no 'skew' that the previous reviewer mentioned) with barely any effort. It's almost a shame to call it a chef's knife. You feel like a surgeon making a precise incision with this high tech surgical tool.
Be warned that once you buy this knife, you likely will NOT be able to go back to the German chef's knives, which would begin to seem crude and unrefined. This is the eternal dilemma of a practical consumer who dares to upgrade to the top-of-line prosumer equipment. As you lovingly put this knife away, your mind begins to wander which Shun knives to buy next, and how many you can afford...
Customer Review: Truly an oustanding knife!
Summary: 5 Stars
What a beautiful knife. The damascus layering and the highly polished edge gives it a cool and different look. But what is form without function - especially in kitchen tools? Well, for over two years, the knife has peformed fantastically! The edge is still quite sharp, the finish is still a beauty and have not sent it off to be sharpened. Grant it, it is not in a commercial kitchen setting, just a home where my wife and I like to cook. Also, it is well maintained: I hand wash and steel the knife after every use and it is stored properly in its own cell so that the general population of utensils don't come into contact with it. I have looked at the edge lately with a lupe and it still looks true, no nicks or missing pieces or rusting. It still cuts through vegies, meat, (cooked and raw), pineapples, ginger, etc effortlessly without the resistance and slippage like in a dull knife.
It will require getting use to if your experience is with a French style knife. I own a wusthoff classic 8" cooks knife and started with the french style but it is rarely used now. Also, my wife prefers the 4" wusthof for her work so you need to put your hands on it say at a Williams-Sonoma and see if you like the feel.
Lastly, the experience of using these high end knives is like getting a breath of fresh air after being in a stuffy room (or in an airplane delayed on the runway) for hours and hours. You ask your self why and where have you been? Get good tools for the tasks you use everyday.
Customer Review: God DAMN!!
Summary: 5 Stars
over the years, i've moved up the knife ladder one rung at a time -- from the cheapest of all cheapies (the 'forever sharp' serrated knife), to the decent chef's knife (i believe it was a $30 calphalon), to the damn nice 8" chef's knife ($90 -henkels). they all had their moments in the spotlight, even the cheap serrated knife was a step above the paring knife i was using for all my chopping needs prior to it. for our 1st wedding anniversary, my parents gave us a gift certificate to williams-sonoma. we already have EVERYTHING we could possibly need or fit into our kitchen (grain mill, blenders, food processor, mandolin, spice/coffee grinders, ... you name it), and we had just gotten the henkels knife, so i didn't know what to do with the money. and then i saw it: the santoku. a salesman happened to walk by as i was staring/drooling at it in it's display case. it is beautiful -- a piece of art. the finest craftsmanship i've ever seen in a knife.
anyway: long story short, we bought it. i had no idea a knife could be so sharp. the edge is so fine, it's almost invisible to see when you hold it up. it has changed the way i cut my veggies. i feel as though i am a master chef on iron chef with a knife forged in the great fires of some himalyan mountain monastery by Hatori Hanzo ("Kill Bill" reference). do i like it? hells yes! do i recommend it? only if you want the finest knife money can buy (until i find something better).