The Kanso Collection

With each use of your knife, the razor sharp edge naturally bends over just a tiny bit. The edge is still sharp, but the sharpest part isn’t making contact with the food. The answer is honing with the shun kanso combination honing steel. It gently realigns the edge of the blade, prolonging the knife's sharpness. This Kanso 9 in. Steel Honing Steel has two surfaces a smooth one for day to day honing, and a micro ribbed one for weekly honing. While fine European knives can require honing after each use, shun's harder steel means you can done just once a week or so, depending on your level of use. To make honing to the correct 16° shun angle easier, this Kanso 9 in. Steel Honing Steel has a built in 16° angle on the handle. The steel handle provides a secure grip and matches the look of the rest of the shun kanso line.

This was a real step up from what we used at home for years.. Anonymous. Tue Nov 01 2022

Do you bake or buy whole loaves of bread? Then this will be one of the most-used knives in your kitchen. The Shun Kanso 9" Bread Knife cuts through bread quickly and easily, whether it's crusty or tender, and with less crumbing. The secret is our wide serrations. Kanso's wide, undulating serrations gently glide through bread so there's less tearing. Cakes and pastries benefit from the Shun Kanso 9" Bread Knife's smooth-cutting capabilities, too.

LOVE this knife! It is truly game changer for slicing a loaf of fresh bread!!. Mary D.. Tue Feb 24 2026

The Kanso 6.5" Boning/Fillet Knife is a rigid knife with a razor-sharp edge and it's adept at key kitchen chores. For boning, the narrow, sharp, curved blade gets in close to the bone, making it easy to separate meat from the bone. Even fibrous tissue is no match for Shun's extremely sharp edge. It’s perfect for trimming the silver skin from a tenderloin or roast or even making your own cutlets. The narrow blade reduces the drag as you cut the meat, so cutting is fast and easy. When it comes to filleting fish, the blade's 6.5" length is just right to glide through the body of the fish, quickly removing bones and skin for a perfect fillet. The contoured tagayasan handle provides a secure grip for excellent control. Shun Kanso boning and fillet knife is part of the Shun Kanso series. Kanso is a design principle based on zen philosophy. It means “simplicity,” but simplicity is achieved by eliminating the non-essential. In Kanso, QKA/Shun took away anything that doesn’t matter and kept everything that does: high-performance steel, razor-sharp edge, perfect balance, and precision cutting control. The steel is Japanese AUS10A highly refined, high carbon, vanadium stainless steel that takes a razor-sharp edge and holds it longer. Kanso's Heritage finish hides scratches and gives Kanso a rustic look that just improves with age. The handle is made of a wood called tagayasan or wenge, which is sometimes known in Japan as “iron sword wood.” the handle contouring enables an easy chef's grip. Full tang construction provides strength, balance, and easy cutting control. Like all Shun knives, Kanso is sharpened to a 16° cutting angle on each side to cut cleanly and help preserve food’s freshness and best taste.

Love it!. Svetlana. Quincy, MA. Sun Aug 17 2025

The Shun Kanso paring knife is a must-have for every kitchen. In a way, you can think of it as the mini version of the chef's knife because, like the chef's knife, the paring knife is quite versatile. The paring knife gets its name from its main function of removing or paring away things like peels or pits from fruits and vegetables. It’s ideal for peeling, coring, trimming, decorating, and other details work. Its small size gives you complete control over the tip and edge of the blade. Generally, you'll use this knife in your hand rather than against a cutting board, though paring knives can also be used for chopping small foods, such as garlic cloves or ginger. Shun took away anything that doesn’t matter and kept everything that does high-performance steel, razor-sharp edge, perfect balance, and precision cutting control. The steel is Japanese AUS 10 A-highly refined, high carbon, vanadium stainless steel that takes a razor-sharp edge and holds it longer. Kanso's Heritage finish hides scratches and gives Kanso a rustic look that just improves with age. The handle is made of Tagayasan wood, sometimes known as iron sword wood. The handle contouring enables an easy chef's grip. Full tang construction provides strength, balance, and easy cutting control. Like all Shun knives, Kanso is sharpened to a 16° cutting angle on each side to cut cleanly and help preserve food’s freshness and best taste.

PERFECTION!. Katherine. California. Sat Nov 11 2017

Nakiri is simply Japanese for a vegetable knife. Once you get the Shun Kanso Nakiri in your hands, you'll soon see why both professional chefs and good cooks around the world choose this beautiful and extremely useful tool whenever they have fruits or vegetables to prepare. With its straight blade, edge, and spine, the Nakiri isn’t rocked like a chef's knife. Instead, use a simple push cut and enjoy the clean, swift work it makes of vegetables of all kinds. For daily salad preparation or slicing vegetables for stir-fry, it can't be beaten. Finely dicing onions is fast, and easy, and with the Shun Kanso Nakiri’s blunt end, safer, too. The hollow ground indentations in the blade help food release from the blade more easily, too. The Kanso 6.5" Hollow Ground Santoku Knife is part of the Shun Kanso series. Kanso is a design principle based on zen philosophy. Which means “simplicity,” but simplicity that is achieved by eliminating the non-essential. In Kanto, QKA/Shun took away anything that doesn’t matter and kept everything that does: high-performance steel, razor-sharp edge, perfect balance, and precision cutting control. The steel is Japanese AUS10A—highly refined, high carbon, vanadium stainless steel that takes a razor-sharp edge and holds it longer. Kanso's Heritage finish hides scratches and gives Kanso a rustic look that just improves with age. The handle is made of a wood called Tagayasan or wenge, which is sometimes known in Japan as “iron sword wood.” the handle contouring enables an easy chef's grip. Full tang construction provides strength, balance, and easy cutting control. Like all Shun knives, Kanso is sharpened to a 16° cutting angle on each side to cut cleanly and help preserve food’s freshness and best taste.

Sharp! Sharp! This is a very lightweight knife that is perfect for dicing and cutting a variety of things! The texture is cool. The handle is not smooth and the blade itself looks industrial - does not match the other KAI series from Shun, but this is a great knife! Packaged perfectly and safely. Get it and enjoy!. Kj. Boston, MA. Mon Nov 21 2022

The Shun Kanso hollow ground santoku is a beautiful, Asian-inspired chef's knife that many cooks today have added to their kitchen favorites. A knife of many talents, a Santo easily handles all the basic kitchen cutting tasks. In fact, some people even prefer it to a chef’s knife. Slightly shorter than the standard chef's knife, the Shun Kanso Santoku is very easy to maneuver even in a smaller kitchen. There's just enough belly curve to enable rocking cuts, which just adds to the knife's versatility. Shun thinks you’ll find that this distinctive kitchen knife works beautifully and fits your hand like a glove. As easy to use as a chef's knife, the santoku is especially well suited to a down and forward cutting motion push cut. Many cooks swear by their santoku for easy food preparation and top performance. Shun took away anything that doesn’t matter and kept everything that does high-performance steel, razor-sharp edge, perfect balance, and precision cutting control. The steel is Japanese AUS 10 A -highly refined, high carbon, vanadium stainless steel that takes a razor-sharp edge and holds it longer. Kanso's - Heritage finish hides scratches and gives Kanso a rustic look that just improves with age. The handle is made of tagayasan wood, sometimes known as “iron sword wood." The handle contouring enables an easy chef's grip. Full tang construction provides strength, balance, and easy cutting control. Like all Shun knives, Kanso is sharpened to a 16° cutting angle on each side to cut cleanly and help preserve food’s freshness and best taste.

This is a beautifully crafted knife. The blade is beautiful and made with the devotion that Japanese craftsmen are famous for. The wooden handle is a lovely dark brown and fits nicely in my hand. This is more than a kitchen knife, it is a piece of art and deserves special care. No dishwasher, dry immediately after use and store such that it won't nick you or be nicked by other cutlery.. Robert. Virginia. Sat Sep 22 2018