Shun Sora 7" Hollow Ground Santoku Knife, Handcrafted Japanese All Purpose Knife, VG10 Steel Edge and 420J Stainless Steel Blade, Balanced Handle, Versatile Japanese Cutting Tool

I love Shun knives! This Santoku knife is the mid-range Shun with an attractive Japanese tang and a shaped polymer handle rather than wood. More on that later. Shun knives feel great in the hands, hold a very sharp, provide an easy to keep sharp Asian angle edge, and have been very durable in use. Attractively packaged, Shun knives are not only safe during opening (easy) but good for gift giving.The Santoku knife is a general purpose blade that would be the one knife you would want in your drawer. It is well suited to general cutting, chopping, and slicing tasks. The near perfect length and width for so many activities -- it will be your first choice out of the drawer. For anyone considering their first knife or for gift giving, this is “the knife”.For my own use, I like a knife that allows you to clutch the upper portion of the blade between your thumb and index fingers during cutting activities. I have preferences for the type and shape of handle based on the same. For this Shun, I prefer this particular handle configuration, and have purchased a couple of Shun knives with the exact same handle. The polymer-plastic is strong and comfortable. The shape is fine for general holding and use, and perfect for the finger-thumb clutch.These knives are literally razor sharp out of the box, and slicing through a tomato, onion, or hard squash can be a revelatory experience. With the exception of the harder squash, requiring more force, the (suspected) robotic demons armed with rotating surgical cutters on the cutting edge of these Shun knives cut cleanly, quickly and like the proverbial hot knife through butter!As I tell family members who seem to keep perennially dull knives in their own kitchens --"a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife". Less than sharp knives are quite irritating and a safety hazard when I do not have my Shuns available in alternate kitchens! Keeping Shun knives sharp is easy, but be sure to select the proper "santoku/asian" angle. I prefer this Chef's Choice 463 Pronto Santoku/Asian Manual Knife Sharpener for regular use.For the price, Shun knives provide a super value in Japanese blades with great construction, excellent feeling during use, attractive appearance, and high durability. I have not hesitated to purchase a number of similar Shun knives and still have a couple to go. Compare and buy one of the best!

I absolutely love these knives. The profile of the blade is great and they are really sharp right out of the box. I purchased the Santoku, 8" chef, 6" Chef, Utility, Ultimate Utility, bread knife, and pairing knife. Not only are they a great looking set of knives to display in your kitchen, but they truly do take your cooking to another level. Some people complain that the polymer handle feels cheep, but these knives are perfectly priced for what they are. The polymer grip is comfortable and its profiled it such a way that it looks great. These knives truly show the mastery knife making at work at Sora. I also have a some Wusthoff Classics, Messermeister Elites, and a set of the Calphalon Katana. The Classics and Elites I love. The Katanas not so much. These Soras are the best knives in this price range and I love them. My favorite out of all of them has to be the 7" Santoku, but all of the others are great to.Some people say they got rust spots on these knives. Well more expensive knives have a good side and a bad side. They are great because you get better blade profiles, with a blade that holds an edge a lot longer and is much easier to sharpen, but the down side is they are prone to rust. You shouldn't just leave these knives laying in a wet sink for days like you can do with cheaper knives. You should do that with any higher end knife because they will all get rust spots. Also I can not stress this enough. Do not put these knives in the dishwasher. When you finish using them. Hand wash them in soap and water. Hand dry them really good and put them back on your knife rack. Also make sure you knife isn't wet from placing wet knives on it. Putting your good knives on a wet knife rack is a good way to get rust spots. These really are great knives that are very easy to take care of with a little respect and a few steps, and these are possibly the best knives in the price range. These or the Messermeister Elites. Though the elites are a little more expensive than these. You will not regret buying these Soras'. Also if you purchase these. Get yourself a nice knife rack to display them. The beautifully crafted knives look way to go to be thrown in a knife block or drawer.

Got this for ~$50 on deal and couldn’t be happier. I like the handle, I wear 2X gloves and this fits my hand great. Blade is thin and very light. San mai is beautiful.Out of box this is scary sharp. Handle has notch where it meets blade that isn’t smooth transition to chef chop position, but that’s a minor quip. My son has already claimed it.

This is my first premium knife and I was hesitant to spend this much money. After the first half dozen uses I am hugely impressed! I spend less time prepping ingredients and more time enjoying cooking. Cutting requires less pressure and I feel I have more control with this blade making it much more comfortable to use. This is an entry level Shun but there are still finishing details in the blade that make it very attractive and functional. Value for money is a tough judgement for any premium product but I plan to buy more Shun knives regardless of the price.