Shun Cutlery 2020 Contents 6 Sora 6 10 10 Kanso 14 Classic 14 22 22 Classic Blonde 26 Premier Handcrafted tradition 32 Dual Core In Japan, the blade is more than a and beauty. Shun is dedicated to Our brand name comes from the 26 32 tool; it’s a tradition. From legendary maintaining this ancient tradition by Japanese culinary tradition of “shun.” samurai swords to the handcrafted continuing to handcraft each knife in Shun is a time—the exact moment culinary cutlery of today, the exquisite our Seki City facilities. Each piece of when a fruit is perfectly ripe, a craftsmanship of Japanese blades is this fi ne kitchen cutlery takes at least vegetable is at its best, or meat is at New Products Accessories Honing vs Sharpening admired worldwide. 100 individual steps to complete. its most flavorful. Home cooks and 2 42 51 professional chefs alike celebrate Since the 13th century, Seki City While we maintain these ancient shun in their kitchens, awaiting each Blade Shapes Steak Knives Quality & Technology has been the heart of the Japanese traditions of handcrafted quality, we season’s bounty and serving every 4 47 52 cutlery industry. For more than also take advantage of thoroughly ingredient in its proper time. The 111years, it has also been the home modern, premium materials and Shun name honors this tradition of Block Sets Beauty & Performance Use & Care of Kai Corporation, the makers of state-of-the-art technology to seasonal, mindful eating and is a 36 48 55 Shun fi ne cutlery. Inspired by the provide Shun quality to millions of mark of our dedication to making traditions of ancient Japan, today’s professional chefs and avid home kitchen cutlery that is always at the Specialty Sets Free Sharpening Series Comparison highly skilled Shun artisans produce cooks throughout the world. peak of its perfection, too. 40 50 56 blades of unparalleled quality 1 Kai is over 111 years old, yet we continue to innovate. What’s new? Here are some new items for 2020 Classic More knife storage Shima Natural 4 pc set Master Utility Sheath smaller knives in our natural Our handsome Shima 4-Piece Steak wood Universal Saya in two new, Introducing the Shun Classic Master Knife Set now comes with tagayasan Classic Blonde Series smaller sizes—perfect for utility Utility. This ultra-versatile knife (or wenge) wood handles. Known and paring knives. For on-counter combines the nimbleness of a utility as “iron sword wood,” tagayasan The beauty and performance of Shun Classic now comes to your kitchen in block storage, choose the Shun knife with the do-it-all capabilities is durable and uniquely beautiful. a lighter, brighter look. Classic Blonde marries the 69-layer Damascus-clad 22-Slot Block with a new, attractive of a chef’s knife. Slice, dice, shred, Shima’s full-tang construction blades of our most popular series with PakkaWood handles in a light and dark fi nish. This solid wood block is or portion; you can take on a full makes it an exceptionally well- beautiful natural wood tone. It’s available in some of the most-wanted styles as big enough to display a large Shun range of kitchen tasks with a single, balanced steak knife that is a true well as our 5-Piece Starter Set. collection beautifully. beautiful and easy-to-use knife. pleasure to use. 2 3 blade The must-have basics Specialty shapes Chef’s knife Utility knife Paring knife If there is one knife that no In size, it’s between a A paring knife gets its name cook can be without, it’s a chef’s knife and a paring from its main function: removing chef’s knife. This all-purpose knife, making it the perfect or “paring” away things, such blade is ideal for a wide variety size for all those in- as peels, from fruits and of cutting tasks. between tasks. vegetables. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NEW! Master Utility 1 Asian Multi-Prep 5 Ultimate Utility The Master In Japan, this nimble, triangular blade “Low-frequency” serrations make the Utility combines is called a honesuki. The narrow tip is knife perfect for slicing delicate thin- The great-to-have collection the nimbleness ideal for maneuvering around bones and skinned fruits and vegetables. The wide of a utility between joints. The wider end makes blade and rounded tip also makes it a knife with the slicing vegetables easy, too. great knife for spreading condiments. multifunction capabilities of 2 Boning/Fillet 6 Nakiri a chef’s knife. The narrow, sharp, curved blade gets in With its straight blade, edge, and spine, Accomplish a close, making it easy to separate meat the nakiri is used with a simple push cut; Bread knife Slicing knife full range of from bone. it is ideal for processing quantities of Shun bread knives feature razor-sharp, A slicing knife is long and narrow, enabling Flexible Fillet kitchen tasks vegetables. wide, “low frequency” serrations. The you to make even slices without sawing. Just the right amount of flex in this serrations let you gently cut through the This kind of clean cut keeps more of the blade’s AUS8A steel makes fi lleting fi sh with a single, 3 Kiritsuke bread without crushing and with fewer flavorful juices inside the meat. easier. extremely The kiritsuke is known as the Japanese 7 Yanagiba crumbs. useful knife. master’s knife. Similar to a chef’s knife, it The yanagiba is most often used for works extremely well with vegetables and slicing raw fi sh for sashimi and for slicing slices proteins with grace and ease. sushi rolls, and preparing a variety of proteins. 4 Asian Utility Steak knife Santoku The Asian Utility Knife, developed by Shun, 8 Brisket knife A razor-sharp, fi ne-edged knife glides 6-inch Chef’s knife A knife of many talents, a santoku easily is adept at processing everything from Ideal for trimming and slicing larger cuts through your steak, cutting fewer of the Sometimes you handles all the basic cutting tasks. vegetables for stir fry to thinly slicing of meat, including brisket, ham, and turkey. capillaries in the meat and keeping more want a chef’s knife that’s particularly Slightly shorter than the standard chef’s meats. Every part of this knife can be put The brisket knife is long and narrow with of the juices inside. lightweight and highly maneuverable. A knife, the santoku is light, agile, and very to use. hollow-grounds, enabling you to cut elegant 6-inch chef’s knife is a perfect choice. easy to maneuver. slices in a single pass. 4 5 Sora In Japanese, Sora means “sky.” With Sora’s proprietary Composite Blade Technology, this beautiful series offers Sora’s graceful style and top cutting capabilities are due sky-high value by bringing together a VG10 three-layer to Shun’s Composite Blade san mai cutting edge with a polished Japanese 420J Technology. We join two steels stainless steel upper. in one blade, putting VG10 “super steel” on the cutting This technology puts high-performance material exactly edge. State-of-the-art blade where it’s needed most—on the cutting edge. technology combines with traditional Japanese styling for knives with a contemporary look, striking performance, and an amazing price. 6 7 Proprietary Composite Blade Technology Permanently joins san mai edge to stainless steel upper. Paring 3.5" Hollow Ground Santoku 7" [VB0700] VG10 stainless steel edge This “super steel” provides the [VB0718] edge-holding ability of carbon steel with the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. It is an excellent cutlery steel. Razor-sharp 16° san mai edge VG10 is clad with a layer of stainless steel on each side to support and protect, then hand-sharpened to 16° Serrated Utility 5.5" each side. [VB0722] Unlike jagged sawtooth Chef’s 8" serrations, Sora Utility 420J stainless serrations are rounded for [VB0706] a smoother, easier cut. steel upper A quality Japanese steel known for excellent stain resistance. A modern “hamon” The wavy design joining the steels is based on traditional Japanese blade hamon patterns. Traditional-style handle Utility 6" with emblem [VB0701] Textured PP/TPE provides excellent grip, easy maintenance; polished steel Shun emblem enhances and Bread 9" balances handle. [VB0705] Push-pull serrations Hidden tang for maximum cutting effi ciency. Controls weight and enhances maneuverability; tang extends to logo medallion in handle. Shun’s 16° angle guide makes it easy to maintain the correct angle while honing. Chef’s 6" [VB0723] Smooth for day-to-day honing. Combination Honing Steel 9" Micro-ribbed for weekly honing. [VB0790] See page 36 for block sets What is Ultimate Utility 6" 420J Japanese Composite Blade [VB0741] stainless steel upper Read more about specialty blade shapes on page 5 technology? Sora uses Kai’s proprietary Composite Blade Braze weld technology to bring together a VG10 three- layer san mai cutting edge with a Japanese 420J stainless steel upper. The two blade sections are laser cut, then fi t together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Braze welding permanently joins them. The attractive wavy pattern at the joint is based on traditional Japanese sword hamon lines. Read more VG10 cutting core about Kai’s proprietary Composite Blade Hollow Ground Santoku 5.5" technology on page 53. [VB0740] 8 9 Kanso Kanso is a design principle based on Zen philosophy. It means “simplicity,” but it is a simplicity that is achieved by Tagayasan wood handles and concentrating solely on what is most essential. Shun’s Heritage finish combine to give Kanso style that is at When it comes to Shun’s Kanso cutlery, essential means once nostalgic and thoroughly high-performance steel, a razor sharp edge, perfect modern.