• Shun

    • Length: 203mm
    • Material: VG-MAX Steel
    • Edge Angle: 18° measured (16° advertised)
    • Hardness: 60-61 HRC
    • MSRP: $213.00 USD
    • Overview:
      The Shun Classic Chef’s Knife weighs 208.07 grams. The knife features 68 layers of stainless Damascus steel, a bolster, and a Japanese (Wa) styled ebony colored Pakkawood handle with a non-serrated blade edge.

  • Classic 8" Chef’s Knife

The Shun Classic chef's knife was a strong performer in food cutting tests with a top-five score in carrot and the top scores in bread and potato. However, it had middle-of-the-pack performance for cheese and tomato. This blade also had a top score for factory edge sharpness on the BESS test but an average score in CATRA edge retention.

Food Cutting Tests

    • Rank16/21
    • Peak Force1825 grams
    • Rank1/21
    • Average Force491 grams
    • Rank3/21
    • Max Force1005 grams
    • Rank15/21
    • Total Force77874 grams
    • Rank1/21
    • Max Force1058 grams
1 5

What does it mean?

These charts show the forces required to cut through each of these foods. Each chart contains five trials for this knife, overlaid on one another. The five trials are summarized with a dotted, colored average line, and are compared against the best performing knife in the collection, shown as a dotted white line. Learn more

High-Mag Blade Edge Images

1 4

What does it mean?

Each knife was photographed before use at high-magnification. These reveal features that indicate the quality of the blade’s construction, like the sharpness of the tip, the straightness of the choil, the evenness of the apex, and the smoothness of the sharpened edge. Learn more

    • First Cut Depth35.9mm
    • Total Cardstock Cut380.2mm
    • What does it mean?

      The CATRA test is a standardized measure of a blade’s sharpness and durability. The knife is placed in an automated machine and a stack of abrasive cardstock is pressed against the blade. As the blade moves in back-and-forth strokes, the machine measures the depth of the cut as the cutting edge wears away. The higher the total cardstock cut, the better the performance. Learn more

    • BESS Score150
    • What does it mean?

      The BESS scale is a quantifiable method of measuring edge sharpness. This scale is based on the force required to cut through a calibrated piece of filament and is a common way knife enthusiasts can compare the relative sharpness of their edges. The chart above shows the performance of each blade, including the best blade in the collection. The smaller the BESS score, the sharper the cutting edge. Learn more