Shun Kanso 5" Asian Multi-Prep Knife

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.

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

I’m a hobby blade smith and this is my favorite purchased kitchen knife to use daily. Very versatile and a great size for most tasks. Durable and even can survive in the dishwasher occasionally. Holds a sharp edge very nicely.

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.

My favorite prep knife. Been using for a few months and it is very versatile light and I love the rustic handle.

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

Mostly use this knife for cutting vegetables. Cuts better and easier than my nakiri. Glides through everything I've used it on. 1 year update...would have to call it the "honey badger" in my arsenal. Used on average 4 days a week for "1 person meal" vegetable prep and hasn't needed to be sharpened yet. Probably 50/50 use on hard and soft vegetables

Love the size/weight/balance. Came respectably sharp and well finished. Does have an incredibly thin tip so taking care of it is a must. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a quality kitchen knife that will cover most of your prep needs.

I had to hone down the edge a bit to make it more to my liking for sharpness, but otherwise it holds up great. Can slice through a gourd with ease. You want see-through slices of tomato? Yup, this will do it, even without the resharpening; but does it super easily afterwards. The factory edge is good, but I find my edge is just a bit better the way I do it. Why? Slices through tomato with ease, slices through gourd skins with ease, slices through frozen squid with ease, so on and so forth. But only after my edge is applied. Otherwise the factor edge is just... kind of slightly dull comparatively. It's sharp, just not as sharp as I get it. How thin of tomato slices? Paper thin. Slices through the oddly somehow tough skins of things like tomato and peppers without issue. (Those who know, know what I mean by oddly somehow tough.) The squid cuts better partially thawed of course, but it can do it. Shears right through it neatly like it's cutting ice with a hot blade; but the knife is cold. I credit most of its capability to its job to the Vanadium steel they used with this line of knives. It's a good steel, and it holds the edge well. The balance is also nice, by my standards at least. Maybe I am just used to this style of knife though. And it's full tang, so no worries of it snapping at the handle too easily. Could still happen potentially, but not like partial tang stuff. And I like that it's not overly fancy. It's a knife. It has a dirty job. It doesn't need to look like it's going out to the ball to dance with the prince. Would I buy this knife again? Probably not, but only because I won't need to likely, and I want to get the others first. Maybe then after that I will buy another for just in case. This knife handles most things well enough, but its flat edge profile does make it so it's not the best for some work. If I could change anything about this knife, aside from the factory edge I went on about... it would be the belly of the blade. A very slight, oh so slight curve would make this knife perfect for me... and maybe 0.5 inches longer in the blade at most. Not much really, it's just sometimes just almost a tad bit too short for some things.

The knife looks really good but too bad the handle is very uncomfortable to hold, and the knife is on the small side - I don't consider it a kiritsuke knife... It was returned 😔

Excelente cuchillo

Immaculate product. Extremely happy to be the owner of yet another kanso knife. So far the collection I've been making over the years have been outstanding, lightweight, durable, they hold their sharpness extremely well. I refuse to use any other knives in the kitchen. Even being one of the cheaper collections from this brand their craftsmanship and feel in the hand is unbeatable.

I am a professional chef, I have bought two of these so far and will eventually buy another. It is one of two knives I use every day. The steel is slightly soft so over sharpening can wear down the blade if youre not careful.