How this ONE knife started a 20 year obsession - Shun Classic 150mm Petty

The one knife that started ALL of this; Shun Classic 150mm VG10 petty. And now 20 years later, a collection of over 40 knives - Japanese and non-Japanese - factory made and hand made - custom and stock handles - easy to find and unicorns.

Everything starts somewhere, this is my beginning story!

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If you have any questions about Japanese knives or about some brands, feel free to ask it in the comment section below.

If you have seen my knife review videos and own one of those knives yourself, feel free to add your experience in the comments as this will help other users make an informed decision.

Thank you all for your support and feedback!
#ShunClassic #JapaneseKitchenKnife #TwentyYears

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[chefknivesenthusiast]

The rabbit hole is real! It all started with a Miyabi and Kai Shun for me...and also 40+ as off today.

[Chefkhev]

When I was homeless & jobless 13 years ago I was gifted a Shun 3" Pairing from a Chef friend who later took his own life. Since then, I've climbed my way from dishpit to exec chef with his memory, RIP Chef Chris Mattieu, inspiring me throughout the challenges of this carrer.

[johnniemiec]

Fun story Frank. My journey got started for different reasons, but the end result is similar. I personally started with a Miyabi 8 inch gyuto, my initial level up was a Makoto Kurosaki 180mm Sakura bunka. Just getting into custom handles, although a while back I lucked into a Masamoto 150mm(?) yanagiba petty with a beautiful custom handle that doesn't get much use, but I do love.

[markfeduk]

Great video and channel Franki! Beautiful knives. Congrats!

[Masterfighterx]

My journey started when I saw some damascus knives in a local mall, some time later I got a Tojiro DP 240mm 37 layer VG10

But now I'm actually stepping it down at 11 Japanese knives where 2 are to be sold, maybe more later. Some of them are of course not going away, but I'm going more simple and minimalistic (if you can even say that with still having 9+ knives (I also have other knives than the Japanese ones 😅) and I'm going for some nice German ones to be my new mains, I really wanted Ginsan, but it seems the internet really just can't decide whether it's stainless (as German stainless, which I'm after) or semi-stainless.. And usually Ginsan Gyutos, unless quite expensive, are not tall enough and/or are at or above spec on the knife edge.

For the German knives, I just discovered a German brand called Carl Mertens Est. 1912, and their knives look amazing, smoked Oak handle 200mm classic German chefs knife with a more vintage look (Not Robert Herder vintage, but vintage for what was made decades ago by Zwilling) for only $100 (Wüsthof is almost $200) Although I like tall knives, the profile doesn't speak to me, but you can for $10 more get an extra tall 200mm chefs knife at 53mm vs the stock 46-47mm.

Having said all that, there might just be room for a last grail, Jiro 😂.

[nadm]

I have this knife. It is a great knife!

[blazeranger]

The Shun Reserve knife has an amazing Damascus pattern in it.

[dchennery]

Very nice deep dive into the origins of the collection. I’m a rookie by comparison. Been 3 years since I’ve dived down the rabbit hole with my shibata koutetsu bunka and it’s hard to look back after that. Thanks for sharing Franki. Love hearing the stories

[jensschettler]

But I really recommend to you the German Herder K Knifes. They are stellar imho. Thin as a japanese knife and all in all they have such character. Highly recommend get the K3 or K5.

[Haganeaffutage]

Nice video Frank, i wait for about 15 years before having my first japenese Knife Goko Hamono 240 Sujihiki (gift) not even one year ago!
I now own 5 at home and waiting for an other one on the road … i think i am in big trouble ahahhaha.
Thaks again for sharing your story always interesting 😉

[jensschettler]

i also have this knife. It is a real special. It is production made but hey, isn't it lovely? For me this is such a great knife. Use it for almost anything. This 150mm Shun have a special place in my heart, I really love it. One reason is it made so many cuts in my fingers cause it is so damn sharp. Awesome blade. Also have the 19cm Santoku witch is also unbelievable.

[jeffhicks]

That's the first one I wanted to get also. Ended up with 140 mm Miyabi Koh petty, but then I got this Shun anyhow. They're fine. I like how thin the Shuns are but that's about it. They're stupidly overpriced for what they are. No more Shuns for me. It's been 4 months now and now I own around $5000 worth of Japanese knives and stones, and growing. What can I say, I have issues. Anyway it's funny how before I owned any Shun was seen as the ultimate knife and now it's something I won't even bother with. The next realization came with these so called artisan knives and how crazy overhyped a lot of them are, despite being made from basically stamps sheets of steel. Honestly if the choice is a Miyabi or a Masakage, get the Miyabi, it's better. If you want an artisan knives get a real one. Get a Sukenari or Fujiwara or something legit.

[roospike]

Brave to do a video on a Shun Classic ... if I even look at my Shun classics they chip. 😄

[chrisL]

You pronounce shun wrong its pronounced like shoon which rhymes with moon. I always thought it was pronounced the way you say it; until recently I saw on their website they say it rhymes with moon 😅