Order Shun Elite 4-1/2-Inch Wide Cook's Knife

I received this knife as a Christmas gift and it is my very first taste of Shun. As an avid cook, I can't begin to say how excited I was to get my hands on such a highly regarded knife as a Shun. Now THIS is a knife for a true cook. I have several knives of varying quality, ranging from the German steel of a Wusthoff to the less expensive (but very respectable) Forschner, and nothing, and I mean NOTHING cuts like a Shun. Sharp does not even begin to describe the steel of a Shun knife. This blade sails through an onion almost as easily as butter and it is an absolute joy to use. The handle feels comfortable in my hand, it's incredibly well balanced, it has ample knuckle clearance, and it is of the perfect weight in my opinion...not too heavy, not too light. It feels so natural in my hand. And let's face it, it's a gorgeous knife, as well. The swirly pattern in the steel remniscent of a samurai sword...it's kitchen art!

So why not a 5 star rating? Unfortunately, the short blade of this knife is just not long enough to be truly useful to me. I almost always use my 8 inch chef's knife or my 7 inch santoku, but the long blade of those is just too long when I only want to do small tasks like chopping garlic or mincing up a handful of herbs. I hate lugging out my large cutting boards for those little tasks, but my large knives are too big on my smaller cutting boards. I thought this 4 and a half inch Shun would be perfect for those little jobs when I only wanted to use my small boards. Unfortunately, however, the stubby blade is much too short to get a true continuous rocking motion, which is how I chop, and therefore I am finding this beautiful Shun collecting dust in my knife block. For those who don't mind using sharp up and down chopping movements, then this will not be an issue, but for me, it's just not serving the purpose I intended it to have. But I don't think this Shun will be lonely for too long. After a taste of this amazing Japanese steel, you can bet it will have company in my kitchen very soon! I can't wait to acquire more of these beauties!Get more detail about Shun Elite 4-1/2-Inch Wide Cook's Knife.