How much did you buy it for?
I hope Ray is reading along–looks like a Ken Onion.
3 Likes
Wonderful collection you’ve got there.
But good night! who HAS been sharpening that Santoku if not you, and why are they taking so much metal off?
I’ve had a cousin(*) that knife (Zwilling Santoku) for 15 or so years and while it’s not an everyday knife, it still gets lots of use and is still on its original bevel.
(*) Oops I see now you corrected the brand to Wusthof. Oh well, then, I guess I should say it’s not a cousin but rather that one relative we don’t talk about. 
1 Like
I mostly use Western-style knives. I’ve never had any Japanese blades and I think the lack of “belly” would take some getting used to for me.
I’ve had the Zwilling knives below about 30 years except the Santoku which is only about 15 years old. They’ve gotten a lot of use, but honestly the 8-inch chef’s knife doesn’t seem to be right to me so I use the 6-inch more often. I mostly only break out the 8-inch when I’m cutting melons or something where I need the added length and/or weight/leverage. Rutabagas at Thanksgiving and Christmas, too.
Lately I’ve been using the two home made, block aluminum handled knives (at top/bottom of pic) a lot more often than any of the others. I’ve had the one at the bottom (4.5 inch blade) and several others similar for years, but was just recently gifted the larger one (6.5 inch blade) a few months ago. My wife’s grandfather made these knives in the 1950s and gave them away as gifts to family & friends. I’m guessing there are a few hundreds of them around, both in the aluminum handled style and in stained/polished wood scales of various types.
It may sound weird, but I also get a lot of use out of cheap, plastic-handled Wusthof paring knives when breaking down a larger piece of meat (e.g., whole top sirloin, whole round, large bone in pork shoulder, whatever). I find the little paring knives to be pretty helpful in finding my way around corners, so to speak.
I’ve given each of my daughters a 6-inch Zwilling chef’s knife (but in the style of the 8-inch above, full bolster) as they’ve gone off to college.
2 Likes
lol! I miss your epic battles with ray 
I generally hone each time I use a knife. This is something folks either at CH or here at HO had to beat into my head, and now I only need to sharpen about every 6 months. Before that I was sharpening every week or two. The weird thing is, some 30+ years ago I used to routinely hone. I just can’t remember exactly when or why I stopped and went to sharpening so often. Long lasting “temporary” insanity, I guess. (ETA, maybe I just lost the honing rod and let inertia carry me.)
But I also hone my serrated bread knives and they seem to do well with the treatment. I use a very light hand (maybe 1/5 the pressure I use with regular knives). Also, the serrations on both of these bread knives are not very deep. So they kind of sound like “ping-ping-ping-ping-ping” as the blade runs down the steel, but the teeth don’t get hung up.
Edit: I don’t get why balisong/butterfly knives are illegal in some US states and quite a few countries. I’ve got other pocket knives I can deploy one-handedly, about as quickly.
I don’t.
2 Likes
Reading this thread made me realize what a “knife virgin” I am. I have a couple of chef’s knives, a ham slicer, a bread knife, and assorted other small knives, and that’s it.
It’s been a while, so it’s a bit fuzzy. I usually buy Shuns when the have a sale, so I think this was likely in the $150-175 range. I think these were going for $200, maybe a bit more at regular price.
I was waffling on a meat cleaver for a while, but finally pulled the trigger when I had trouble chopping up some leftover turkey bones for congee. 
I think I am missing the Zwilling vs Wusthof Trident reference, but I was sharpening my favorite Santoku for the last 20 or so years, and using an electric pull through Chef’s Choice. 
There. I’ve said it.
3 Likes
I’ve got one of those … 
1 Like
Honestly, the only knife in that lineup with any belly is the one you don’t like.
2 Likes
Yeah. He has a Ken Onion Shun knife. I could be wrong. Apparently, the Shun Ken Onion cleaver now is priced that ~$1500. Pretty sure, they were not that expensive back then.
That what I thought too. I thought is was in the $200-250, but apparently, they are now being sold for $1500-2000. Want to sell them to make a profit?
3 Likes
Yikes!
1 Like
Sorry, but it looks like an item from the Knife Channel.
2 Likes
This is a decent cleaver in my opinion. The weird look aside, it actually works for me and offers a decent grip and good leverage to cut through the bones, but it’s not exactly amazing or highly versatile.
Would you rather have it, or $1700?
1 Like
I’ll think about it after this Thanksgiving. 
1 Like
Your Shun Ken Onion cleaver does look pretty.
