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Shun Elite 3-1/2-Inch Paring Knife

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Brand: Shun
Category: Kitchen

List Price: ~~$150.00~~
Buy New: $114.95
You Save: $35.05 (23%)

New (7) from $114.95

Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

1 reviews
Sales Rank: 22815

Size: 3-inch
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 0.6 x 0.9

MPN: SG0400
Model: SG0400
EAN: 4901601428445
ASIN: B000NW9808

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

•	3-1/2-inch paring knife from the elegant Shun Elite collection
•	Made in Japan of incredibly sharp, strong SG-2 steel
•	Beautiful black PakkaWood handle with inlaid design
•	Decorative flourishes on handle and blade edge
•	Wash by hand; lifetime warranty; gift-boxed

Shun Elite Cutlery Collection:

•	Shun Elite 4-1/2-Inch Wide Cook's Knife
•	Shun Elite 10-Inch Chef's Knife
•	Shun Elite 9-Inch Bread Knife
•	Shun Elite 9-Inch Slicer Knife
•	Shun Elite 6-Inch Utility Knife
•	Shun Elite 2-Piece Santoku and Paring Knife Set
•	Shun Elite 4-Piece Steak Knife Set
•	Shun Elite Boning Knife
•	Shun Elite 6-1/2-Inch Santoku
•	Shun Elite 7-Piece Knife Block Set
•	Shun Elite 2-Piece Asian Knife Set
•	Shun Elite 3-1/2-Inch Paring Knife
•	Shun Elite 8-Inch Chef's Knife

Accessories:

•	Shun Elite 8-Inch Chef's Knife
•	Shun Shun Elite Gokujo Boning & Fillet Knife 6-in.
•	Shun Shun Elite Serrated Utility Knife 6-in.

Similar Items:

•	Shun Sharpening Steel
•	Shun Elite 10-Inch Chef's Knife
•	Shun Elite 9-Inch Bread Knife
•	Shun Elite 8-Inch Chef's Knife
•	Shun Elite 6-Inch Utility Knife

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
Nimble and razor-sharp, this 3-1/2-inch paring knife practically melts through an apple and shapes a radish with little effort. A member of Shun's fabulous Elite collection, the knife features a sleek black PakkaWood handle, made of a hardwood-resin fusion, which showcases an inlaid traditional Japanese emblem and fine rings of copper and brass near the bolster. A distinctive flourish, called a "hamon," along the edge of the blade recalls the samurai swords once made in Seki City, Japan, where Shun Elites are manufactured. Any chef would feel honored to receive this exceptional, gift-boxed knife.

Shun Elite knives stand out for their incredible sharpness, sharper even than Shun Classics, thanks to the newest powdered steel alloy known as SG-2. The process used to make SG-2 results in a fine-grained, very dense blend of ingredients that creates a smooth-as-silk knife edge. Shun edges are formed to an unusually keen 16 degree angle, which is one reason they're so prized among chefs who value uniformly thin slices, a necessity in Japanese cuisine. Covered by a lifetime warranty, Shun Elite knives should be washed and dried--carefully--by hand, and stored when possible in a wooden block to protect the blade. --Ann Bieri

Product Description
Shun Elite is an innovative combination of aesthetics and performance in kitchen cutlery. Handcrafted in Seki City, Japan, the center of the ancient samurai tradition, Elite???s stunning design is directly inspired by the artful aesthetics of samurai swords, down to the smallest detail. The blade is made of a unique core of SG2, an exotic powdered steel that???s hardened to 64 Rockwell (compared to the 56-58 Rockwell of European kitchen knives), resulting in an exceedingly sharp and smooth edge. This amazing metal means that Elite knives stay sharp several times longer than comparable stainless cutlery. The knife is then clad with two layers of SUS410???a softer stainless steel that provides strength, flexibility and corrosion protection. The only thing more beautiful than the knife in your kitchen is the way it performs in your hand. Hand wash. Lifetime warranty.Features:SG-2 Powdered Steel.Comfortable Ambidextrous Pakkawood Handles with samurai family crest inlay.NSF approved for professional use.Traditional Japanese styling.Lifetime Warranty.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Amazingly Sharp Knives--and as SEXY as cutlery can get! But, Global is better! May 19, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

My 20 year old Henckels (that have served me well) needed sharpening recently, and while picking them up I had to inspect the Shun knives so many are talking about; I ended up buying two Shun Classic knives--an 8" Chefs Knife and the 3.5" paring knife. After getting home and using them wildly for two days, side by side with my freshly sharpened Henckels, I was less than impressed with these supposedly "wicked sharp" Japanese knives.

Yes, they were sharper than my freshly sharpened Henckels 4 Star's, but not in a great and dramatic way, and considering I had spent $180 for two knives, I wasn't exactly thrilled. The Shuns were, however, much more comfortable and much more sexy (for cutlery) than my classic Henckels, no doubt about that. Still, I wanted something ultra "Japanese" sharp with those insane 16 degree edges. I returned the two Classic knives and invested even more (almost double the original amount) in the same two knives from the Shun Elite line--an 8" Chefs knife and a 3.5" paring knife. I had done my homework and read about the new powder steel technology involved with these Elite knives (and how many see this as the future for finer cutlery), and how the blades started and stayed sharper because of this harder SG-2 powder steel (Rockwell rating of 64). All in all, it sounded good, but these were BIG bucks I was laying out, and I had been less than thrilled with the Shun Classic knives...

Well, happy to report that these are the Japanese knives I have been dreaming of--EXTREMELY sharp and sushi-knife like; they go through food as if they are powered, as if everything is butter. The Chef's knife is the sharper of the two and dicing a raw potato or cutting through a butternut squash is a marvelous experience with these knives. While examining the chef's knife's edge at a restaurant over lunch, right after purchasing them, I semi-cut myself on this incredibly sharp knife-it sliced the top layer of skin, though there was no blood. It delighted me actually, as this is how the sharp single edged Japanese sushi knives are--scary (as in you have to be careful) sharp.

I love the handle and grip on these knives--the Classics were comfortable enough with their D shaped handles, but the Elite's handle is more ergonomically designed for the hand, and very beautiful to look at it too with it's copper trim and tiny inlaid plaque midway in the PakkaWood handle. I must say however that the PakkaWood finish is much better on the paring knife--glossy black and shiny; on the Chef's knife the PakkaWood is much duller and you can literally see visible scratches from the polishing process; perhaps this is Shun's final touch for the ancient Samurai effect, but personally on a $200 knife I would like a perfect glossy finish. This is really nitpicking, I realize, but I did examine 4 brand new 8" Elite Chef's knives at the store and they were all like this, and one in fact was more severe than the others (the scratches were severe enough to mar over the inlaid plaque).

The relationship between knife and cook is a very personal thing--you really need to feel and handle a knife before buying when investing this much in cutlery. The Shun Elites fit my big hand wonderfully, creating second nature from the first moment, and the balance is perfect (for me). I adore how these Elites have turned daily chopping and cutting and mincing into a sensuous and delightful experience. I quarter and then filet fruits such as Kiwi for my parrot and I, and with the Elite paring knife it is like doing so with barely any effort at all--as if the knife is following my mental plotting through the fruit, all on its scary sharpness own.

Adoring these 2 Shun Elite knives, I honestly feel it was worth the almost $340 that they cost me. And I know from experience that are a definite and BIG dramatic step up from the Shun Classic line. The Elites are truly about performance and the cutting edge in knife sharpness, and not just a hype "fancier embellished" product for wealthy kitchen freaks looking to unload their disposable dollars.

My only caveat? BE CAREFUL, these are the sharpest knives I have ever experienced (short of single edged Japanese sushi knives) in 30 years of being in the kitchen and around knives, including graduating from CIA and working as a professional chef for a few years.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
***UPDATE:

A friend, inspired by my kitchen equipment renovation, went out and bought Global knives, preferring them for his high-tech shiny stainless kitchen. He asked me over for a cutlery show-down with my new Shun Elites. I was ready to rub his Globals into the dust!

After an entire afternoon of chopping and comparing, we both came to the same overwhelming conclusion--the Globals were sharper and easier to use. It's not that they are sharper per say, but if you examine them closely, the Global's edges are slightly concave, and are burred and rough, while the Shun Elites are polished to a gleaming and shiny, and taper to a much more straight point. My friend and I both felt that the Global's burred concave edges allowed the Globals to sorta gripe and slice/slid through everything from carrots to meat with more ease than the Shun's polished and acute edge. Because of this ease, we can also logically foresee the Global's staying sharper longer as well, despite the higher rockwell rating of the Shun's high tech SG-s powder steel. However, who knows...?

We even tried shaving hair off of our arms, and the Globals won this test with ease.

I loved my Shun Elites--they were sexy and beautiful. But the Globals were obviously designed by and for chefs--they are much easier and nicer to use, and as I said, they just effortlessly (read rip) through any food with no effort at all; I was very impressed--so much so that I returned my Shun Elites and exchanged them for a complete set of Globals, which are less than half the cost of the Elites--and I got twice as many knives (never have had a good bread or boning knife before!)

While everything I originally wrote above is still very true, I highly recommend that if you are searching for truly sharp (as in Hello, Mr. Winter Squash!), easy to use kitchen cutlery, that feels like an extension of your hand and arm, that you check out Globals as well as the Shun Elites. They are both wonderful knives, but I genuinely have to say I see why Globals are so popular with professional Chefs--they are awesome knives--maybe not as sexy and hand crafted as the Shun's, but they more than make up for that with an incredible ergonomic ease and free flowing sharpness that makes them a joy to use.

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