Wusthof Ikon vs. Shun Classic — 8 Inch Chef's Knife.

The Wusthof Ikon is Wusthof's flagship, top-tier line. It uses their proprietary 58 hardness steel and is ground to an insanely sharp 14 degree angle. A full tang and extremely ergonomic handle finishes the knife off and makes it a pleasure to use.

The Shun Classic is Shun’s standard knife line. It has the best performance they offer without all the extra frills of their higher end lines. It features a true full tang, 34-layer Damascus-clad blade, and black pakkawood handle. Like all Shun knives, it also comes with free lifetime sharpening.

In this video, I compare the Wusthof Ikon 8" Chef's Knife to the Shun Classic 8" Chef's Knife and give my opinions.

[AdoreInVegas]

I tend to use my Wusthof chef knife for "harder" meats that have bones I need to nick or use a bit of muscle (i.e. splitting a raw chicken breast bone), and switching to the Shun when deboning or for the more delicate slicing. I use a cleaver for the heavier bones, of course, but it's not unusual for me to use both knives on the same preparation.

[MasterClasster]

I did a 'both' approach instead of an either/or. I bought the Wusthof classic Ikon, and plan to get the Shun Classic but the Santoku version, so a bit shorter, more or less flat belly blade, and more of a chopper. The Wusthof is my hearty workhorse for heavier meat and hard veg, and the Shun Santoku is for rapid fire veg prep. I've got a paring knife and bread knife and I'm pretty much covered for anything the average person is going to need.

[lecsu]

Nobody commented on your video. Let me be the first to say Thank you for a quality review and good information on both knives!

[paulbrown]

You need to know that at least in some configurations, your audio is left channel only.

[mkelebay]

You talk as though the shun steel is completely better. Softer steel means it will bend more easily, which can be fixed easily with honing, a harder steel will hold an edge longer, but will chip easier too, which is a harder fix as you have to remove material along the entire blade.

[AlCasa]

I bought a wusthof classic chef knife 9 inch a few years ago as my do it all knife. I figured I’ll buy one good knife and it will last me many many years. I decided to get a 6 inch chefs knife, something a little smaller that doesn’t shock people so much, a little more versatile. I went Japanese and I almost never use the big German knife anymore. Difference is night and day. I went with Mac knives. Just recently wanted to try shun with the shun classic 6 inch. My opinion if you want one knife that does it all, is a pleasure using every single day, shun classic 6 inch is the one. You don’t need 8 inch or 10 inch chefs knives like some people say. You will find a 6 inch gets everything done the same wag but with much better control and weight.

[SuperDenonciateur]

What kind of wood cutting board is it ?

[TheRadecke]

Isn't this the Wüsthof Classic Ikon and not the Ikon? The Ikon has a wood handle and is a bit more expensive

[AlainTabangin]

what's with the audio? it's like many of your videos

[mahajanneha]

Hello, how would you compare the Wusthof Double Serrated Bread Knife with the Shun Bread knife? Which will be sharper and more durable? I hear double serrated knives are better for crusty breads like artisan loaves. Do you recommend serrated or double serrated knives for softer breads like banana bread.

[emiliosman]

Great review, thanks, I bought shun and plan to buy a wustof too. Victorinox is a great cheap back up knife to have on hand. Some of the comments below are silly. Bot brands are great and your review was excellent. Thanks

[xmachineoo]

Thank you for your video but I'd go for Wusthof Ikon just because My Guru Gordon Ramsay uses them ..

[ADHDgoofy]

thanks for the vid. helped me make sure i was making the right choice. hope your link gets you affiliated credit as i used it to make my purchase. thanks again.

[TheMrVengeance]

2:20 - ... Errr, I don't think you know what the term "deal breaker" means. It's a *bad* thing, a negative. It's something that breaks the deal you'd otherwise have.
You can't say the sharpening service on the Shun is "a deal breaker" and then explain what a wonderful and great service it is.

[misterwhitepizza]

Hi, I've seen on wusthof website that they suggest to use the steel to sharp them. However I like the whetstone sharpening because it seeems more effective. Which way would you recommend, and which whetstone should I use for the knife? I'd go with 1000 start and a 3000 finishing.

[AGC]

The Shun has free sharpening?? Does this mean every time you want Shun to sharpen it you have to send the knife to Japan?? Hoping it doesn't get misplaced on the way to or on the way back?? How will Shun sharpen it? With a grinding wheel? Might be cheaper to hand the knife to a "qualified" local sharpener.

[stephanhofner]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but the kai shun classic knives are factory made and not hand made, right? Thank you anyway for all your great videos on knives and such! Greetings from Germany

[KitchenOnTheLeft]

Any knife will rust if you don't take care of it. I have a shun classic, one of my family members used it and left it in the sink after they washed it, and it rusted like crazy. But it shouldn't be an issue if you take care of your knives.

[xIMDANGERDUCKx]

Lmao I was wondering why my audio was off, it’s configured to output through left speakers only

[pbandjosh]

Nice video but it's not Wooshtoff if you're aiming for German pronunciation. It'd be closer to Voost-hofe.