Shun knives are quite popular in commercial kitchens. They’re very durable and usually treated as such. This early model Shun Classic 10 inch chef knife has seen hard use and better days. The blade is pretty badly curved and has seen frequent sharpening. The resin impregnated wood part of the handle is also twisted out of it’s seat. Let’s see what kind of shape we can bring this knife back to.
I had a different idea initially but due to the design of the “tang” the plan is to re-handle this knife using the existing D shape bolster and end cap as a guide. This knife has been retired for a while now and the owner doesn’t like how high the tip has been ground over it’s life. So in addition to thinning this knife behind the edge I will also re-profile the blade.
I marked out my stock for the handle and started drilling the holes to fit the “full composite-tang.” A method of tang construction I’ve never seen before. I imagine this is how all of Shun’s knives are constructed. I roughed out the D shape of the handle before assembling with epoxy.
Using a metal file I flushed up the wood and steel of the handle. Opposed to using a sandpaper block which just grinds the metal dust into the wood. Once I was happy with how the handle felt in the hand I moved on to finishing. I’ve been trying out Boiled Linseed Oil finish on my handles and with lots of coats it seems to hold up very well. It is not a film finish so you still get the feel of the wood in your hand. Unlike mineral oil, it is a drying oil so it does cure and this particular stuff is food contact safe.
I sharpen all my knives on a progression of Naniwa Professional Stones. Followed by stropping with 0.5 micron honing compound. That’s taking it to approximately 30,000 grit. Totally unnecessary since it won’t hold it very long but does it ever sing.
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- Shun Classic 10 inch from 2002. This knife has had approximately 4mm removed from sharpening over the years.
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- If you look closely you can see the lamination line, where the damascus cladding meets the VG-10 core. Note how the tip has been ground well above the original profile grind.
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- Hard to make out in the picture but the blade is curved in the middle in addition to being bent at the bolster.
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- I believe the story of how this handle was ripped out of alignment involved a frozen turkey during the holiday season. Sometimes you just need to make it happen haha
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- This was my initial idea for the re-profile. Making it more of a 210mm line knife.
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- After some thought, it made more sense to make it 240mm (9.5″). This would bring down the tip making it more useful but still keep the extra length for crushing prep tasks.
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- I was unsure of how Shun constructs their handles. My first thought was incorrect so I cut a couple notches and chipped away some of the handle. I was not expecting the hardware inside.
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- The threaded bit of the end cap was adhered into the handle. Once that bond was broken I was able to unscrew it and disassemble the handle.
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- Another view of the “Full Composite Tang” featured in the Shun Classic line.
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- Here is the blade after re-profiling down to 240mm. White Oak handle rough-shaped and ready for assembly.
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- After considerable sharpening a knife will start to get thicker as the cutting edge gets closer to the spine. Thinning will reduce the wedging effect and enhance the performance of the knife. I marked out where I would ideally thin up to, removing all the marked lines. I made it about half way up to that point and was happy with the results.
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- Thinned behind the edge. Looking closely you can notice the hamon line now running 4mm parallel with the cutting edge. This is approximately what it would have been originally.
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- The finished product. The blade has been lightly hand sanded to remove most of the scratches and give it a more uniform look. Also rounding over the spine slightly to be a little easier on the hand while in the pinch grip.
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- The finished product. The blade has been lightly hand sanded to remove most of the scratches and give it a more uniform look. Also rounding over the spine slightly to be a little easier on the hand while in the pinch grip.
