Reddit reviews Shun Classic 7” Hollow-Ground Santoku All-Purpose Kitchen Knife; VG-MAX Blade Steel and Ebony PakkaWood Handle; Hollow-Ground Indentations for Reduced Friction and Smoother Cuts; Handcrafted in Japan

At this point, I'd only really recommend Shun and Global, in that order. I started with Wustoff, and they did me alright, but I just don't like how their steel holds up, and really, I find the traditional European handle/bolster/spine to be really uncomfortable. Both Global and Shun make wonderful products, but I find the handles on Globes to be too skinny. Plus, as a super-mega-bonus, Shun allows you to return your knives back to them for the entire lifetime of the knife for sharpening, for free (you pay shipping to them, that's it.) It's painless and relatively fast.

They also have a much shallower angle on the edge, which I LOVE, though some people (usually those who are set on Wustoff/Henkles) only like a deeper edge. But goddamn they cut like butter. The only problem with the shallower edge is that you definitely don't want to A) use an electric sharpener on them (the edge is asymmetrical and the commercial ones out there don't have the proper angle) which is alright as they sharpen for you for free at the factory, and B) definitely DO NOT use a magnet hanger with these things. You'll bend the edge. If you go to Bed Bath and Beyond, you'll see it. They hang them all on those damn magnets and it ruins the blade. Get a nice block, or just get a Kapoosh (I have one and it works).

Look, if you want to completely flip his lid, this is all that any home chef really needs (IMO):

Shun 7" Santoku, hollow ground. This is my goto knife in the kitchen and it can do just about everything. I use it on 80% of what I do. When I upgraded from the standard Safeway $11 chef's knife to the Wustoff is was an amazing, night-and-day transition. The heavens opened up and I saw the light (and more importantly, what a sharp knife could do for you). When I bought this 7", it was exactly the same transition, only higher up. The balance, sharpness and quality of this knife over the Wustoff was what I had been looking for and it was every bit worth the money. Someone here mentioned that everyone needs a 10". This is overkill. It's like cutting onions with a samurai sword. While it looks cool, all the extra effort you need to exert for those extra 3 inches just fatigues the wrist and arm, which is not something you want when prepping a lot. 7" FTW.

Every chef needs a 7". Whether it's a european chef's knife or a santoku is up to the chef, though you'll notice that santoku's keep getting more and more popular every year. I think there's a reason for this.

So, too, does every chef need a good paring knife. They go hand in hand and you cannot do without one or the other. My 7" handles 80% of the work load, my paring knife handles 15%.

Shun also makes a wonderful 4" paring knife That's not very expensive. This thing will get in and get out, work in all the small spaces it needs to and do it with deft and ease. It's light, doesn't have much mass, and again, Shun's steel is wonderful (in my eyes).

The last 5% is for a good cleaver. Don't be fooled by big money in this category-- the cheap ones are the best. You don't need super knives here, they're for doing the hearty, down and dirty, bone-breaking work, and the nice steels wont hold up to this work. This is the greatest cleaver ever in the history of mankind. I have the No. 3. It is quite possibly the best $11 I've spent in the kitchen. I'd gone through about 5 cleavers before I found this one, all of them failed to hold up. This knife holds it's edge forever (seriously-- in the 5 years I've had it, I've only sharpened it once), it's got the heft you want in a cleaver and it's ridiculously comfortable to hold. I would suggest this with everything I have.

So there you have it. I firmly hold, and you will find others to agree, that all you need in the kitchen is a really good 7", a good paring knife and a quality, cheap cleaver. That's it. All those $600 sets with every kind of knife you could imagine are nonsense. I got a nice $150 boning knife as a wedding present and I've used it all of twice in two and a half years. Same with my carving knife. You just don't need them. They're totally nice when the need arises, but about 95% of the work in the kitchen can be accomplished by those three tools.

Take it as you will, and I wish you many fine meals prepared by him!

For the japanese knives with the indentations she could mean two things.

It's most likely she is referring to what is commonly known as a Santoku. Here is a pic. They are more or less just a style of a general purpose chefs knife. A really solid brand for not a lot of cash would be Victorinox. If you wanted something fancier you could go with a Wusthof.

However, she could also be referring to a knife made with damascus steel. These knives are incredibly high quality and very very sharp. Shun is the company that is most known for them. They are quite pricey but I've not heard a single complaint. They have several lines.

There is one incredibly famous knife maker named Bob Kramer who does that style. He partnered up with Shun to release a series with them. You can even order a Bob Kramer, Damascus steel Santoku as seen here. But they are pricey.

You could also go with their normal line if you wanted just a Shun Classic, for cheaper (but still expensive) as seen here.

If she does want the damascus steel but not a santoku knife then Shun offers a big line of normal chefs knives (as well as any other kind you could want).

Not all santoku knives have the indentations on the side, but I think most do.

I'm not a fan of Shun but your links are way more expensive than they should be.

It is cheaper for the Chefs and Santoku in the links I provided, if that does end up being OPs choice.

Since you like the look of damascus steel, I would recommend the Shun Santoku or the Chef's Knife.

But then again, I also vote voucher as each cook/chef has their own criteria for a blade (weight, balance, length, etc etc.)

Check out the Shun Classic Santoku.

It's made in Japan by a reputable brand (KAI), has great materials and looks (which is also important for a gift).

I'm sure he'll love it.

I might have the very Shun knife you're looking at. Is it model number: DM0718?

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-DM0718-Classic-7-Inch-Santoku/dp/B0000Y7KPO

It measures 1/4" shy of 7" from tip to heel of blade. The wooden handle seems to be a very hard and impermeable material. I have never found it to pick up smells and it doesn't seem to pick up an oil film.

I find the VG10 edge to be a pretty good steel. I hone it to 13,000 mesh and it seems to keep sharpness pretty well. All that being said, I do not have a direct comparison with other knife makes. I hear that for the price, better blades can be had. Shun knives are a bit pricey, but I wouldn't say that they're shit. I like this site for reviews:

http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/ktknv/indexall.shtml

I haven't found many other sites where a single individual has in depth reviews of many knives and has a good grounding in sharpening.

I find the damascus finish off putting on the Shun knife. The sides are damascus which clad the VG10 center layer which means that the damascus treatment is purely cosmetic. To be honest, the field of metallurgy has gotten really good. Damascus processing is obsolete and has been for maybe more than a century even. I would say that the most technologically advanced steel right now is made with powder metal processes. Ultimate grain control and modern alloy composition has made damascus steel a beautiful anachronism.

To be honest, I'm not even sure if the damascus texture on Shun knives is made in the classic process. The change in color in the waves is not correct and the waves do not follow up the bolster so I suspect that the patterning is applied with a photochemical etching process. I once got to talk to a knife designer from Spyderco who also makes VG10 center layer knives. I asked why knife makers wouldn't make an all VG10 knife. His answer was that the visible hamon makes for a nice looking edge and that VG10 was a difficult material to polish. Laminated on sides made for a cool looking hamon and the sides could be polished to a much finer finish that would be practical with VG10.

Anyways, I still like my Shun knives (even if the cost of their cosmetic work could have gone into better alloy maybe). They were a gift to me from a good friend. Insted of spending a lot on knives I got a big schwack of sharpening stones. One of the problems of top end knives is that one also needs to acquire a fairly expensive collection of stones to really achieve the ultimate edge that a fine knife is capable of.

I'll be honest, if I was a professional chef I would not be too preoccupied with buying a premier knife. Nice knives are nice to work with, but past a point they don't really make food taste all that much better. I have two culinary friends. One is a sous, the other is an executive chef. Both at high end places. When I inspect their knives (high end knives) I note that their edge quality is usually a bit worn. Clearly not at the peak that their blades can achieve which means that they're not getting the performance out of their top end knives that they paid a premium for. They make great food and run their crews well which makes me think that their knives aren't nearly as important as the other things they're doing right.

I note that you are considering quite a wide range when it comes to knives. Sabatier generally offers western style knives of softer alloys than what would be in a good santoku. They are fairly different product offerings in that Sabatier knives are tough and more chip resistant to chipping than a typical high performance Japanese knife, but incapable of achieving the same sharpness of edge a fine Japanese knife. Different shapes and technical edge properties between your two mentioned makes.

There is a lot of great information within the replies to this comment and I would like to add one as well. If you are thinking of buying your fiancee a real knife and you are serious about it, you need to spend at the very minimum 80$ on a single knife. You will get what you pay for, especially if maintained properly. I have a classic Shun santoku this one that I bought 6 years ago, it's the cheapest "larger" knife I have in my kit but it's one I keep going back to. So what I am saying is you don't need to go all out and spend 250$+ like the OP did (which BTW is fucking gorgeous, congrats) but at least invest some money into it.

Also, if you do end up buying a Japanese knife, make sure to get the proper handle depending on if you fiancee is left or right handed. Good luck finding what you are looking for.