Has anyone tried this on a shun or similar very hard steel Japanese knife?
1331985
I have used it on carbon steel knives, kitchen and utility, with great outcomes. It takes a twice as many passes with those as with the standard stainless but the results are very good. Straight off the machine it'll be near razor sharp. A few passes on a strap or stone brings total razor sharpness. I average about 1 knife per minute when I'm sharpening them to razor sharpness.
1331986
Yes, I use it on my Ginsu Japanese steel knives and they are sharper than ever. I love this Smith's sharpener! Best thing I've bought in a long time.
1616182
Usually the blades for japanese knives and german knives are at a different angle. Since this is a german knife sharpener, I would stay away from sharpening japanese knives.
420508
I was curious about this question and I conducted a quick experiment. I got a plastic ziplock bag and put it in between the knife and the magnet to try to simulate the plastic sheath. Here are the results with the various size chef's knives 12 inch - knife slid right off 10 inch - knife slid right off 8 inch - knife slides a little, then stays still I probably wouldn't trust it with the plastic sheaving on it.
1835455
Yes, it is made of AUS 8 steel which is a Japanese stainless steel. See http://www.midwayusa.com/technicalnotes/application_pages/knife_steel_and_handle_material_chart.htm .Check your State and local laws regarding legality.
333680
If it's a real shun knife, I would not use this on it. This sharpener works great on Walmart kitchen knives and the such. I'd use a real oil stone, or send it to Shun for free sharpening.
481007
You can try contacting the Shun knife company online and see if they can direct you. They are the ones who make the Kai Pure Komachi knives. I bought a magnetic knife strip from Amazon and my knives sit on the strip attached to the wall so they are within easy reach. It's an alternative to trying to track down another sheath.
165688
I have a set of Shun blades. I purchased a set of Globals for my mother a while back. There is no reason why this block wouldn't work for yours. As a matter of fact, I would highly recommend something like this unless you chose to keep them in a molded case. I prefer this to a butcher's block because you don't have to be as Bruce Lee about sheathing them...
593595
We have had ours for 6+ months. While fine with cheap knives, the nice Shun and other high end knives I bought for Christmas are all ruined at the tips, they are folded and bent. The design of this block is bad for fine edged cutlery. They need to round off or put a point in the rods so you are not using the very fine and pointed knife tips to impact and separate the rods.So my professional opinion, it is horrible for a fine edge and tip.
68365
I would like to know the answer to this question, too. The answer by Ms. Ledbetter doesn't do it. Does anyone know if this will sharpen santoku knives?
1393245
Ive been cutting sushi on this board with a japanese yanagi for over a year now, the knife is stupid sharp( i have a local asian resturant sharpen it for me every other time i use it) its never splintered or gotten pieces in anything ive cut on it.
1907453
I'm not sure about your knives but I know the knives I have are is hard and are 420 stainless steel. So using this product. It put in the edge on the knives very close to factory specifications and I have not found a better product. This inexpensive that does exactly what it says it does. I hope this helps you
496317
Probably not, this knife block doesn't even fit the Shun meat cleaver, and I think the Shun meat cleaver is pretty small compared to the wusthof cleaver.
1223856
"hard" is relative. It works well for Gerber steel but VG10 is a bit different. Hard steel will take longer. For that kind of blade steel you probably want a sharpener that has a carbide side and a ceramic side. You can do it, but it'll take a while.
1225956
Yes, just be sure your shun is not a single sided edge. I have two shuns and it sharpens them beautifully.
1663306
No, it will put the wrong angle on the knife. Also, Shun offers free sharpening for their knives, you just need to pay S&H.; Honestly, I would just do that. http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/warranty
2139998
Yes & no! It will change the degree of angle on your Shun knives but it will also sharpen them. Why not purchase an electric whetstone sharpener built specifically for the Shun knife?
555085
I am using German knives in my kitchen and this sharpener works great. I am sure it will work just as good on Japanese knives, hope this helps.