Shun. Japanese 'vanilla' knives.

Shun is a Japanese knife brand producing handcrafted knives in Japan. Perhaps best known for its Damascus-style blades, the popular Shun Classic range uses a VG-MAX cutting core surrounded by 68 layers of stainless Damascus cladding.

In our experience, Shun use good-quality steel and their knives sharpen exceptionally well. Compared with some Japanese knives, however, they tend to feel slightly more Western in weight, with thicker spines and less wafer-thin geometry behind the cutting edge.

Overall, we would rate Shun a solid 7/10 amongst Japanese knives: well made, attractive and capable of taking an excellent edge. The Volvo of the knife world.