Recommend a knife better than Shun

[jnbrown]

I have this Shun knife:



It is very attractive and works well.
My wife wants to buy another one to take to her moms house.
I keep reading that Shun knives are "overpriced".
This knife has VG10 steel, I am not an expert on the various steel types.
I have some good stones and have been learning to sharpen my knives.
If Shun is overpriced, what should I consider instead of this knife?
I also found this Miyabi knife:

https://www.cutleryandmore.com/miyabi-k ... fe-p121863

Thanks for any advise.

[KnightKnightForever]

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/

Pick one.

But seriously...

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojirodamascus1.html

Just as good, half the price. I wouldn't go with a granton edge, you're paying more for less steel and no benefit. Especially in a style like that one where the scallops don't go all the way to the edge

[Jeff B]

Are you interested in just stainless or are you open to carbon too? Western or Japanese handle? We can be more helpful if you answer some of these questions. viewtopic.php?p=5887#p5887

[jnbrown]

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/

Pick one.

But seriously...

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojirodamascus1.html

Just as good, half the price. I wouldn't go with a granton edge, you're paying more for less steel and no benefit. Especially in a style like that one where the scallops don't go all the way to the edge

Both my wife and I both use the knives. Her perception is that the granton edge makes slicing easier. I am not going to debate that with her.
The Miyabi knife I posted has the scallops closer to the edge, would that be better?

Thanks

[KnightKnightForever]

Yes, those seem like they would be more effective.

[jnbrown]

Are you interested in just stainless or are you open to carbon too? Western or Japanese handle? We can be more helpful if you answer some of these questions. viewtopic.php?p=5887#p5887

1)Pro or home cook? Home, but we cook a lot.

2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santoku, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.) Santoku

3) What size knife do you want? approx 7"

4)How much do you want to spend? less than $200

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction? Not sure, but don't want to fight rust.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle? Japanese

7)What are your main knife/knives now? Shun

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair? good

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter? rocker

10)Do you know how to sharpen? Yes, I have good waterstones and some practice but still learning

[taz575]

Tons of choices! I don't care for VG-10 steel. It is harder to sharpen, micro chips easily and there are other steels that outperform it. AEB-L (very close to PS60) is a good steel as is SG2/R2 and G3 Ginsan steel. These are around the same price point and much better steel quality. SG2 and R2 are the same steel and will hold an edge for a very long time.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kapssa181.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ogsg2kasa18.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/masasg2sa16.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/hag3sa16.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohetsu1.html

[Bob Z]

I too have been looking at getting a Santoku lately and of the list above from Taz, I would pick the Kohetsu SLD at the low end price, but if you want to get something a bit nicer then I would pick this one:
Kato Ginsan Santoku

But If i read your initial post right, this will be left at your mother in laws? Then I might go for a western handled knife.
Takamura SG2

If you decide to do the Miyabi, get the better SG2 steel one:
https://www.cutleryandmore.com/miyabi-a ... fe-p135191
I got one of these for my wife in the classifieds few years ago and its nice.

[Robstreperous]

Steel type can be important but the thing that makes a knife feel good when you use it is how well it cuts. The two most important things that help determine that are how the edge is shaped: Grind. And the second thing is how sharp it is.

The grind is how the smith takes the rough steel and turns it into something that cuts. How sharp it is is a combination of what's in the steel, how the steel is formed, but more than anything else how well you maintain it.

Since you mentioned slicing is important to you drag from a particular finish or scallops can play a factor -- especially with very long cuts on a large knife -- which this is not. But, the bigger factor on a smaller knife is going to be how the edge and the steel just above the edge are formed: The grind.

If you're looking to spend about the same amount of money I like this knife for you: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/santoku170.html

I own two Takayuki knives and they're among the finest grinds I own and all of the comments from others I recall say pretty much the same.

It's VG10 and I'll tell you right now I'm not concerned about that.

One of my oldest and most used knives is VG10 and I love it (Kikuichi). How the steel performs is to a large degree dependent on how the smith forged it. VG10 got a bad rap several years ago when Shuns started becoming popular. Some of that was probably people swinging them around and trying to use them like the softer German steels they were used to. My experience seemed to be they were indeed more brittle than I've come to learn VG10 should be. Given the Takayuki's rated about a 60 on the hardness scale (mid to low for a japanese knife) I wouldn't expect this knife to be brittle.

If you feel you can hone the knife regularly, won't go trying to cut on glass or hard plastic, will sharpen on the stones when you feel you need it which shouldn't be too often for a home cook, based on what I'd expect the grinds to be on this knife I'd expect it to cut great and feel just fine for you and your wife.