While renovating my meager kitchen, I recently splurged, spending over $330 on two Shun Elite knives. They were hand made Japanese knives--sexy and sleek, beautiful to look at it--and very sharp with a gleaming edge. They caught your eye with a dazzling patterned blade.
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 with my Shun Elites!
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 finish, 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-2 powder steel. However, who knows...?
We even tried shaving hair off of our arms, and the Globals won this test with ease. They are incredibly balanced and just seem to bounce in your hands.
This "Spear" 4" paring knife in particuar has a funky "ergonomic" handle that many have critizized, but I LOVE it! I fits my large manly man hands WONDERFULLY and makes this knife everything I have wanted in a small paring style knife. I can see where if you had smaller hands, this might not be the right choice for you--you might want to check out Global's Western style paring knife, which feels like the same ol' Henckels or Wusthoff to me--MUCH prefer the more comfortable and molded feel of this much more modern design...!
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!)
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--the Shun Elites possibly as well. 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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Global 4 Inch Paring KnifeProduct Description: Global GS-7 4" Parer
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I bought these knives to use while crab fishing.They are so sharp that I can cut solidly frozen bait in 3 -4 strokes, bone and all.I've never had a sharper knife.They're inexpensive enough that when they get dull, I just toss them.Great knives for the price.
