If you like hand-forged knives, the Shun Premier 4-Inch Paring Knife will catch your eye and work better than most custom forged knives. Still using the best of Shun’s high-tech methods, the Premier series added a hand-hammered tsuchime finish to the blade and won Blade Magazine’s award for 2010 Kitchen Knife of the Year.
This is quality and efficiency you’re not likely to see in many paring knives. Since the paring knife is one of the styles chefs use the most, it’s a good choice for one of your best knives instead of your cheapest. Common prep chores like removing flaws and peeling produce will take on a new feeling with this classy prep knife. Shun’s 33-layer Damascus-type steel gives the paring knife strength and flexibility but with a cutting edge much thinner than the blades of European and American knives. That means easier cutting, and when combined with the low-friction ripple effect of the high carbon stainless steel layering, the knife requires very little effort to use. The beautiful dimpled steel of the main body of the blade reduces friction even more. SG-10 stainless steel as the core layer gives the knife a long-lasting razor edge, but sharpens easily.
Shun’s Classic series featured tapered black handles with a D-shape — functional but unfamiliar to western chefs. The Premier series followed advice from popular German Chef Tim Malzer, redesigning the handle with a grip of walnut-type Pakkawood most Americans and Europeans will find easy to understand and comfortable to use.
Visit the Shun Classic Paring Knife to see the Shun paring knife in its original style.
