• Shun

    • Length: 203mm
    • Material: VG-MAX Steel
    • Edge Angle: 20° measured (16° advertised)
    • Hardness: 60-61 HRC
    • MSRP: $225.00 USD
    • Overview:
      The Shun Classic Hollow-Edge Chef’s Knife, 8" weighs 178.97 grams. The knife features 68 layers of stainless Damascus steel with hollow edges on the blade, a bolster, and a Japanese (Wa) style ebony-colored Pakkawood handle with a non-serrated hollow-edge.

  • Classic Hollow-Edge 8" Chef’s Knife

The Shun Classic Hollow-Edge chef's knife was the strongest performer in food cutting tests. However, this knife had middle-of-the-pack score for factory edge sharpness on the BESS test and in CATRA edge retention.

Food Cutting Tests

    • Rank5/21
    • Peak Force1145 grams
    • Rank5/21
    • Average Force903 grams
    • Rank4/21
    • Max Force1059 grams
    • Rank1/21
    • Total Force46665 grams
    • Rank2/21
    • Max Force1110 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 Depth35.5mm
    • Total Cardstock Cut334.3mm
    • 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 Score192
    • 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