We named Shun Classic Knives our best $500 kitchen knives a while back, and for good reason.

Shun took kitchen cutlery to the next level when they introduced their Classic series a few years back. The Classics feature a VG-10 Japanese “super steel” that is incredibly hard and, as a result, can be made incredibly sharp.

These blades are beautiful too, with their Damascus-patterned styling and lightweight pakkawood handles.

The blades are sharper than anything you’ve ever encountered, but need just a little bit of maintenance to keeps them that way. Don’t let them sit in water for any length of time, don’t run them through the dishwasher, and keep them aligned with a decent honing steel.

Shun offers free lifetime sharpening for when you really need your edges restored to their out-of-the-box sharpness.

Santokus are great, versatile, all-around knives. Some people replace their standard Chef’s knives with them, though at OnlyKnives we think the two types of knives complement each other nicely.

This Santoku is available with and without grantons, those little dimples that keep the food sticking to the blade. We’ll link to both models below.

More Info on this Shun Classic Santoku:

• Click here to find this Knife at Amazon.com
• Click here to find this knife with a dimpled granton edge at Amazon.com

Find the Shun Classic Santoku on eBay:

NEW SHUN CLASSIC 2 PC. ASIAN SANTOKU SET US $120.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Sunday Nov-23-2008 19:24:35 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

KERSHAW SHUN CLASSIC 7" SANTOKU KNIFE - NEW US $109.99 Auction Ends: Monday Dec-01-2008 17:47:04 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

KERSHAW SHUN CLASSIC 7" HOLLOW GROUND SANTOKU KNIFE US $114.00 Auction Ends: Tuesday Dec-02-2008 16:01:57 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item