I prefer knives with shorter blades for most tasks. I use a Japanese petty knife for almost all tasks including those that would have most chefs reaching for an 8" or longer blade. I was excited to try this shorter santoku from Shun. The knife is beautiful, the blonde wood is a nice change from darker handled knifes, and the balance is just perfect. However, it arrived new EXTREMELY DULL. I have a few other Shun products and I'm just amazed that they would ship a knife that is this incredibly dull. I will remedy this, of course, but it just surprised me that it came out of the box 100% unusable. I couldn't even get through a cherry tomato; the knife just slid around on the tomato's skin.

Amazing design and very sharp. Sharper than my recent shun knife from sharpenters

I’m a pinch cutter which works well with this knife. By far my favorite knife in our kitchen. It makes precise cutting of vegetables and meats effortless. No fatigue. It is holding its edge well. I hon it once a week. The premier line is the sweet spot for me. Very good feel in my large hands. Reasonable balance. I will be buying this knife for family members. It is simply a wonderful piece.

Just started using this knife, but it feels good and seems to work well.

The feel and balance of this knife is perfection. I own a Classic Chef knife by Shun and I love it, but this knife makes me feel like a Samurai in the kitchen.