Shun Premier Knife Set – Features, Tips & Recommendations

For over 100 years, Shun Cutlery has been producing the best quality Japanese knives using traditional handcrafting techniques. Through different knife series, Shun cater for the various needs of both home and professional cooks.

The Shun Premier knife set comes with the typical Shun excellence and its own unique set of features. Here are some of them.

The Blade Steel

A good knife blade is one that doesn't rust, as this can contaminate the food. It also looks bad. Shun Premier knife set blades feature high-quality corrosion-resistant VG10 steel. This is a stainless steel alloy with high carbon content.

Since carbon absorbs strong odors, the carbon is encased in between layers of softer stainless steel to prevent it from coming into contact with strong-smelling food. Only the cutting edge is exposed, as hard carbon is easier to sharpen to a finer point than soft steel.

Damascus Pattern

The VG10 steel of the blade is sandwiched between 16 layers of stainless Damascus steel on each side. This is a special type of steel forged in a special way to produce an intricately patterned, light but the durable blade.

Shun premier set damascus steel

Tsushime Finish

Knives in the Shun Premier knife set have a hammered, or ‘tsushime' finish.

In fact, in keeping with ancient Japanese practice, the blades are hand-hammered. Blades with a hammered finish form air pockets between the blade and the food. This reduces friction and prevents food from sticking to the blade when cutting.

Shun Premier Knife Set tsushime

Double Beveled

The cutting part of a knife is made by grinding the edge to a certain angle to make a sharp cutting edge. Western knives are usually sharpened to an angle of 20 degrees, while Japanese knives can attain angles as small as 16 degrees.

The smaller the angle is, the sharper the blade becomes. This is why Japanese blades tend to be sharper than western-style blades.

How the angles are ground will also determine whether they're single or double beveled. Single beveled knives are ground on one side of the blade only, while double-beveled knives have both sides of the blade sharpened.

Shun Premier knife set knives are all double beveled. Double beveled knives are more common, and they're easier to control than single beveled knives.

The Knife Handle

Shun Premier knife set handles are made of contoured Pakkawood with a walnut finish. The walnut finish gives it a natural look, while the Pakkawood, which is a mixture of natural wood and artificial resin, guarantees hygiene as it is water-resistant.

The handle is ergonomically designed for comfort and balance, with a symmetrical shape that makes it ideal for both left-handed and right-handed users.

Shun Premier knives are full tang, meaning that the blade of the knife passes right through the handle to the end. This provides a better balance between the blade and the handle.

Shun Premier Knife Set pakkawood handle

The Best Shun Premier Knives

The Shun Premier knife set comes with all the knives you need for a complete kitchen. Here are some of them.

The Paring Knife

A paring knife is like a pet knife in any set of cutlery. Petit is enough to be held aloft while cutting, this knife is ideal for peeling, trimming, and coring fruits and vegetables. Its small size also makes it ideal for decorative work which calls for dexterous maneuvering.

Paring knives are typically sharp-pointed, but the Tim Mälzer MINAMO Paring Knife 9cm is slightly different.

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Tim Mälzer MINAMO Paring Knife 9cm

Designed to look like a cross between a Japanese Santoku knife and a European chef's knife, this paring knife has a slightly curvy and rectangular tip. This style allows for both chopping and rocking cuts, which makes the knife more versatile.

The Santoku Knife

This is the go-to knife in any kitchen. An all-rounder, this knife is ideal for slicing, dicing, and chopping fruit, vegetable, and protein. If you're not really sure what knife to use, you can never go wrong with a Santoku.

Like the paring knife above, the Shun Kai Premier Tim Mälzer MINAMO Santoku Knife 18cm combines the Japanese Santoku look with the classical western-style chef's knife to give you the best of both worlds.

Shun Kai Premier Tim Mälzer MINAMO Santoku Knife 18cm

Utility Knife

Sometimes a paring knife is too small for a particular task and a Santoku too big. What do you do? Reach for the third piece in the Shun Premier knife set - the utility knife.

Shun Kai Premier Tim Mälzer MINAMO Utility Knife 15cm

Shun Kai Premier Tim Mälzer MINAMO Utility Knife 15cm

Halfway in size between the paring and the Santoku, this knife allows you to make precision cuts on both vegetables and meat comfortably. You can hold it aloft like a paring knife or use it on the chopping board like a Santoku knife.

Sharpening Shun Premier Knives

Shun knives have long edge retention, but they need to be frequently honed and occasionally sharpened. Using a blunt knife is not only bad for the ingredients, but it's also risky for you as well, as the knife could slide off the food as you cut and injure you.

The Shun Kai Premier MINAMO Leather Strop with Polishing Cream is a flexible leather strip that you can use to straighten the edge of your knife. It's kind of like a honing rod.

It comes with a polishing cream that contains chromium oxide for better polishing results. It’s easy to use:

  1. Simply rub the polishing cream into the leather and allow it to soak in for at least 5 minutes.
  2. Rub the knife onto the leather according to the angle of the blade on both of its sides. This will make the edge sharper and leave the blade looking more polished.

Shun Kai Premier MINAMO Leather Strop with Polishing Cream

Caring For Shun Premier Knives

  • Shun Premier knives are strong, but not even they can withstand the force of cutting frozen food, or bones - don't use them for this.
  • Rinse knives immediately after using them, using a soft scouring pad. Dry them out immediately using a soft cloth to avoid scratching.
  • Protect the wooden handles by polishing them with vegetable fat once in a while.

Final Words

With their superior workmanship, knives in the Shun Premier knife set would make a good addition to any kitchen and would never disappoint. Go ahead and check out their unique features discussed in this post and then find the perfect set for yourself from Shun collection here!

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