Dual Core Santoku, 7 Inch

Beautiful knife. Well made and as sharp as my other "very sharp" knives. I have quite a collection of knives as I started cooking when I was five years old. I cooked professionally for ~ 20 years. I am now into my seventh decade. Not a stranger to good blades. Most of mine are in a roll pack with only about ten left out in my kitchen for daily use. My main suggestions for improving this knife are related perhaps. The profile of the blade is too high at the handle end for my liking, the blade is a bit thin and the balance is heavy on the handle end. If the design decision were made to lower the entire height profile of the knifge, and thicken the entire length of the blade with that displaced material then I think we would have a more ergonomic and balanced knife. The handle-end needs the most attention. Lower that height by about 6. 25 mm and take that material to I am not a blade-smith but realize my suggestion would require some rethinking about the entire blade design. Get to work, change the profile and balance. This blade would benefit greatly.

VERY high-performance knife. I like it so much I bought a second one to use on the road. I even like the octagonal handle (and didn’t expect to, after years of using other Shun (and other manuf.) blades) - great hand feel and balance, helps the knife feel like an extension of my hand. The saya is a nice addition but a bit fragile: just inserting the retention pin into the first one cracked one side of the wood, now the pin doesn’t hold in place well. No issues yet with the saya on the second knife. Overall, my favorite of the six Shun knives I’ve owned and use.