Shun Kanso 5" Asian Multi-Prep Knife

Phenomenal!! Super sharp, better than the European style I've had for a decade

Shun is such a great brand and this knife lives up to their standard. It’s a great size and weight. Very practical and versatile.

Once you get to this level of Shun knives they are sharp and durable as can be. This is a beautiful knife and boy does it cut. Really this thing is only topped by my aogami super carbon knife and the Shun Premier. The knife confuses me a little past that. It is marketed (says on the blade) that it is a Honesuke which is for chicken butchery...it is not quite long enough for this process and maybe a bit thin for it as well. The ergonomics of this knife are strange as well with the core of the knife running through the middle of the handle but being much wider than the handle giving a very strange feel in the hand and quite strange to pinch grip the knife. I think in all the Shun Premier chef utility knife probably makes a bit more sense here being 1 inch longer and the same general shape. I think that maybe makes a bit more sense.

This is a sharp well built functional design

Shuns are a great buy for any level cook/chef. Solid, sharp.

To be completely honest, I did not think when I opened the box and got the knife that I was going to like it. This knife looked to be very small, and had a very small edge to the blade. I was very very wrong. This knife is amazing, thin blade with excellent control, and holds its edge better than most.

A very sharp knife great for cutting vegetables with little pressure applied. Glads through what you are cutting

I found this knife while looking for a reasonably priced honesuki - a poultry knife. The ads for this knife opt for the term "prep knife" but everything about the knife - size, profile, and weight - all scream honesuki. I already own several Shun knives, and have been very happy with their products, so I decided to give this one a try. Sure enough, when the knife arrived it was labeled honesuki on the box and blade.I knew going in Kanso is Shun's less expensive line, but I have to say I was still a little disappointed when I first held the knife. The holes for the rivets have rough edges, and the rivets themselves are set at different depths - some protruding slightly above the handle, others slightly recessed. There were rough edges at the end cuts of the handle wood right where your fingers land. And I'm a little perplexed why they extended the full tang slightly above and below the handle. I'm guessing this is a stylistic choice, but it produces a ridge that, while not uncomfortable, is not the most pleasant to hold. I immediately took the knife to the shop and spent about ten minutes sanding and polishing down the rough edges, which helped immensely. This is the first time I've felt the need to "correct" any newly purchased knife (even far less expensive ones) - should that be necessary on a knife at this price point?The edge itself is blazingly sharp, although it is not polished and clearly was finished on a low grit stone - I would estimate from the markings at 500 grit or less.Once the rough edges were taken care of, this knife does have a nice, if not "premium" feel in the hand. It's very light weight and balances at the front rivet so it's very nimble.Upon parting a chicken my view on the knife improved somewhat. It's perfect for this job - it should be as that's what it was designed for. Cutting through joints is clean and satisfying, but this knife surprised me when butterflying chicken breasts. It was so clean and fast cutting, I literally pulled out my Shun gyutou for the other breast to confirm what I was feeling. The Kanso was faster and had less drag, and for this one task, slightly edges out (pun not intended but always appreciated) the much more expensive knife.Overall I have a hard time recommending this knife because of its small but correctable flaws out of the box, especially when something like the Shun Classic version of this knife is only 25-30% more expensive. And I think at this price point there are numerous knives that would provide similar performance without needing some DIY attention.