I was watching Everyday Italian and noticed that Giada was no longer using the Global Chef’s Knife anymore.  In it’s place was the Shun Ken Onion Chef’s Knife.  For those unfamiliar with Shun, it is recognized as one of the sharpest and top knife brands.  Here’s a bit of detail on how the knives are constructed.

Clad Construction

The wavy pattern on our blades is called a Damascus look; what gives it that pattern are 16 layers of SUS410 High Carbon Stainless Steel pounded to 3/1000th of an inch and then “clad” on each side of the VG10 core. This combination of materials gives the blade strength, stain resistance, and incredible cutting performance.

The Cutting Edge

Shun’s cutting edge is ground to an angle of 16 degrees making them extremely sharp; compare this to the best German knives which are only ground to only 22 degrees. The exotic Japanese steels used in the cutting core of our knives allow them to hold these razor sharp edges without the need for excessive re-sharpening.

VG10 “Super Steel”

VG10 is a new type of stainless steel that has a higher density. This allows the steel to be tempered to a Rockwell hardness of 61, and still have the flexibility and strength to take and keep a perfect edge. VG10’s natural tendency is to remain straight and true, so when it is used, the edge of the blade naturally straightens out and stays sharper longer.

SG-2 Powdered Steel

Shun uses SG-2 as the cutting steel in some of our Elite knives. Our SG-2 is an exotic powdered steel with incredible edge retention capability and hardness, resulting in an exceedingly sharp and smooth edge. It has a much higher density and grain structure with no imperfections or weak points.

Kasumi Method

This is the traditional Japanese style of knife making where you take an extremely hard carbon steel used for the edge, then clad on each side a protective layer of stainless steel like our Shun Classic line. This is actually the process of how samurai swords are made.

Honyaki Method

This style of Japanese knife making is where the blades are made of one piece of steel, like our Shun pro series. In Japan the most prized and expensive kitchen knives are made this way.

The Ken Onion Chef’s knife is one hardcore piece of kitchen artillery.  It’s ergonomically designed and is made with  32 layers of SUS410 stainless steel, compared to the other knives in the line, which are made up of 16 layers.  MSRP for the 8-inch version of this knife is around $250.  Amazon has it for $200.00