Steel
The core
VG-MAX, VG10, AUS10A, or a composite edge. The core decides how long the edge lasts and how finely it can be ground.
The craft
The long way to a Shun edge.
A Shun is not made in one pass. Steel is layered, forged, heat-treated, ground, and finished over more than a hundred steps. Most of them are done by hand.
The edge is the last thing we make. It is the first thing you notice.
Our workshop in Seki City has done blade work since 1908. Shun began there in 2002 with a narrow aim: make a knife that feels inevitable in the hand. Thin behind the edge. A handle that meets the palm without a seam. A cut that asks nothing of the cook.
Seki has been a knife town for centuries. The steel is local, the water is soft, and the grinding is still done at a wheel, by eye, with a hand close enough to feel the heat. A machine can remove steel. It cannot tell you when to stop.
That is the part we keep. More than 100 steps separate a sheet of steel from a finished Shun. The count matters less than the habit: check the edge, check it again, and do not send out a knife you would not keep.
Explore the collectionsFrom steel to edge
What a hundred steps actually means.
Four stages, grouped for clarity. Each one contains dozens of small decisions that never appear on a spec sheet.
Forge
The layers
Hard steel is clad in softer layers, then forged and heat-treated. The layers protect the core and draw the pattern on the blade.
Grind
The geometry
The blade is ground thin behind the edge, then set to 16 degrees. This is where a knife starts to feel fast in the hand.
Finish
The edge
Handle, bolster, and final edge. Every blade is checked by hand before it leaves the workshop. Then it is wrapped and shipped.
Steel & geometry
Thin where it counts.
A Shun edge is ground to 16 degrees per side. That is sharper than most Western kitchen knives, and it is why a Shun moves through an onion with so little pressure. The trade-off is simple: a thin edge rewards a good board and hand washing.
Damascus layers are not decoration. They protect the hard core, and the pattern comes from the layering itself. Kanso and Sora take a different route: one clean steel, or a composite blade, with less finish and the same edge angle.
How to keep the edgeLine by line
Six Shun lines, compared.
Every line is finished at 16 degrees and made in Seki City. Use the core, layer count, and handle to choose between them.
| Series | Core | Layers | Handle | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | VG-MAX | 68 | Ebony PakkaWood | The original |
| Premier | VG-MAX | 68 | Walnut PakkaWood | Hammered finish |
| Dual Core | VG10 over VG2 | 71 | PakkaWood | Long-wearing edge |
| Shiranami | VG10 over VG2 | 71 | Prussian blue micarta | Wave Damascus |
| Kanso | AUS10A | Single steel | Tagayasan wood | Quiet and thin |
| Sora | VG10 composite | 420J cladding | Textured handle | The first Shun |
Made to be used
Pick up the knife.
The workshop does the hard part. All a Shun asks of you is a good board, a hand wash, and a dry cloth. The edge will do the rest.
Shop all knives