A foundational Japanese knife set built around the four blades a serious home cook reaches for daily. The Shun Classic 7 Piece Set delivers chef, santoku, utility, and paring knives in their most refined form, alongside a combination honing steel, kitchen shears, and an 8-slot Kanso block with room to grow your collection.
Each knife carries Shun's proprietary VG-MAX cutting core, a fine-grained super-steel that holds a 16-degree edge longer than European blades. The core is wrapped in 32 layers of stainless Damascus cladding on each side, 64 layers total, producing the rippled wave pattern unique to every blade. The D-shaped ebony PakkaWood handle is contoured for both left and right-handed users, sealed against moisture and bacteria, and balanced by a full composite tang for control through long sessions.
Handcrafted in Seki, Japan, where the country's master blade-making tradition reaches back over 700 years. The Kanso block is laminated hardwood with eight slots, including dedicated places for the honing steel and shears, and three extra slots for the knives you'll add as your collection develops. Shun knives carry a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, and Kai Australia provides ongoing free sharpening for the life of the knife.
This is the set that builds a kitchen, not the set that finishes one.
What's included
- 8.9cm Paring Knife (DM0700) — peeling, trimming, intricate work
- 15.2cm Utility Knife (DM0701) — slicing fruit, vegetables, and protein
- 17.8cm Santoku Knife (DM0702) — slicing, dicing, chopping
- 20.3cm Chef's Knife (DM0706) — the everyday all-purpose blade
- Combination Honing Steel (SS0790) — smooth and micro-ribbed surfaces with built-in angle guide
- Select 100 Kitchen Shears (DH6002) — herbs, packaging, food prep
- 8 Slot Kanso Block (BE0070K) — laminated hardwood, room for collection growth
Knife specifications
- VG-MAX high-carbon stainless steel cutting core
- 32-layer Damascus cladding per side, 64 layers total
- 16-degree edge angle, hand-finished
- D-shaped ebony PakkaWood handle, ambidextrous
- Full composite tang construction
- Handcrafted in Seki, Japan
Honing steel
- Stainless steel construction with built-in angle guide
- Two surfaces: smooth for daily, micro-ribbed for weekly maintenance
- 22.9cm rod length
An important note on Japanese knives
Shun knives are razor sharp and built for precision, which means they require a different approach to a heavy European chef's knife. They are not designed to cut through bones, frozen food, or thick-skinned vegetables like pumpkin or watermelon rind. Pressing down hard on a hard surface will chip the blade, and chips are not covered by warranty. For heavier work, use a Western-style chef's knife or a meat cleaver, both of which we stock in the Shun Classic range.
Care instructions
- Hand wash only with mild detergent and dry immediately with a soft cloth
- Never place in the dishwasher
- Use a soft wooden cutting board rather than bamboo, glass, or hard plastic
- Use a slicing motion (forward or back) rather than pressing straight down
- Rinse acidic foods off the blade immediately after cutting
- Do not soak the wooden handle in water for extended periods
- Oil the handle occasionally with a neutral vegetable oil
- Store in the included block, not loose in a drawer
- Hone weekly to maintain the edge between sharpenings
- Free sharpening service available through Kai Australia