# Shun Sora set at Costco



## gic (Nov 19, 2015)

I saw a quite reasonably priced Shun Sora set at Costco today. Not for us of course, but Sora is actually one of the better designed Shun lines I think. Standard Shun VG10 so maybe chippy until sharpened a few times. Still ,if someone has to buy a set, it's not a bad choice


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## IndoorOutdoorCook (Nov 19, 2015)

This one? http://www.costco.com/Shun-Sora-8-pc-Knife-Block-Set.product.100226171.html


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## deltaplex (Nov 19, 2015)

I'm more and more of the opinion that sets are put together so that a manufacturer can find a way to move seconds and/or back stock.


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## Mucho Bocho (Nov 19, 2015)

gic said:


> Sora is actually one of the better designed Shun lines I think. Standard Shun VG10 so maybe chippy until sharpened a few times. Still ,if someone has to buy a set, it's not a bad choice



Gic, I'm not sold on VG-10 being chippy. I've had at least five Shun classics and none of them chipped. Some may have other experiences. Have you handled the Sora? The handle is hollow molded plastic and I'm not sure I'm with you the this set is a good value. The Gyuto looks like a Ken Onion inspired design. Each to their own I guess.


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## gic (Nov 19, 2015)

Never cut with them, was just going on the basis of the profile in the display version, looked flatter than some of the other shun's


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## Keith Sinclair (Nov 19, 2015)

Do not mean to totally trash Shuns some are better than others. This batch is the others. The steel honing rod that comes with the set I would never use on VG-10 steel. Ken Onion should have stuck to Tactical and Hunting knives


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## richard (Nov 19, 2015)

gic said:


> going on the basis of the profile in the display version, looked flatter than some of the other shun's



This is true. One thing to be aware of the Shun sora line is constructed more economically, so instead of having VG-10 core steel sandwiched between soft stainless, instead the "body" of the blade is a non high-carbon stainless (they say here 420J), and then a piece of VG-10 is forge-wielded to the body for the edge/lower part of the blade. The handles are also a cheaper plastic (but likely still durable) plastic material. I'm sure they cut competently though. I'm hoping Shun will try out different blade profiles...who knows, maybe they eventually release something I could mistake for a Misono (though I'm a bit doubtful).


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## richard (Nov 19, 2015)

keithsaltydog said:


> Do not mean to totally trash Shuns some are better than others. This batch is the others. The steel honing rod that comes with the set I would never use on VG-10 steel. Ken Onion should have stuck to Tactical and Hunting knives



Well, it's kind of the standard (though not good) MO even for Japanese-made knives to include a grooved steel honing rod in a knife set in North America. The Shun Premier line's sharpening steel is a grooved steel. Interestingly, the Shun Fuji comes with a smooth ceramic hone, although they charge a whooping $229 for it. And I thought the Miyabi Birchwood sharpening steel was ridiculous at $200. I could like...buy a knife with that kind of money (or two...or I could wait for a Costco sale and buy me a whole set of Shun Soras! :laugh: Then get myself an idahone for $30).


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## Soccerman (Nov 27, 2015)

I agree that VG-10 is not chippy, there are so many knife makers using this steel, how can it be chippy?
Or someone claims shun being chippy? I am not sure who started the idea that Shun VG10 is chippy,
I have used 5 shuns including this Sora series, none of them is chippy.
Think about it, shun is a huge company, some small Japanese makers can never afford the shun's equipments, how come shun's heat treat is worse than those small companies?
additionally, if someone wanna make a claim shun is chippy, have they collected enough random samples to do the sample test comparison? 
If they don't have the statistic data to prove their claim, what they said should just be BS.


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## daveb (Nov 27, 2015)

Shun VG-10 being chippy is not a mischaracterization but like most stereotypes is not universally true.

The Shun Classic especially is a German style knife made with Japanese steel designed to be sold to the housewife market that wants a "pretty" knife but has little skill in using it. They are used to cut anything and everything with no regard to torsional strength. Chicken bones be damned, cheese is meant to be pried apart, tip first into hard vegs. Beat on a sharpening steel with it - it cames with the set right? When (and if) sharpened its with a pull through device at home or in a culinary store. Yeah they chip. The immediate fault is usually the user but the root cause is Shun used a steel that is ill suited to their target market. This is even more true with the subject Sora line of knives.

I catch all the "problem" knives for a local culinary store, both in-house knives for cooking classes and demonstrations as well as knives that customers bring in for repair and sharpening. A disproportionate number of these are Shun with chips and/or broken tips. I am at best an average sharpener (in this crowd) but can effect repairs on most of these problem children. Over the last couple years I've returned to service well over a hundred Shun Classics and Premiers. Bad ones I refer back to the manufacturers. 

I personally own one Shun that I use for demonstrations (gotta use house knives in front of customers). I use it appropriately and keep it sharp on stones. Never had a problem with it. But I am not Shun's target market.


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## richard (Nov 27, 2015)

Very well put Dave. I think the source of why some people think Tojiro's VG-10 is "dramatically better" also traces to what you speak of. By the time someone has found and narrowed in on Tojiro, that person has done some research (or has a knife saavy friend who has told them) what and what not to do with a thin Japanese blade. Don't get me wrong, Tojiro performs well and is great bang for the buck (particularly with the current pricing on Amazon, not as super compelling 2-3 years ago when prices were generally higher), but their target market is generally likely to be more careful than the average Shun user, the tip is much less pronounced than on Shun knives, and finally (the Shun bashers' heads might explode upon hearing this one), they are a good bit thicker behind the edge than your Average Shun. All combine for less chips and broken tips on the scoreboard for Tojiro vs. Shun.


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## Unstoppabo (Dec 18, 2015)

Frequent browser, first time poster. Price caught my eye so I looked up the Sora series and what I found was kind of odd and interesting enough that I wanted to see if anyone had more information.

Here's how they describe it on their website: 
"Sora uses Shun's proprietary Composite Blade technology to bring together a VG10 san mai cutting edge with a Japanese 420J stainless steel upper. This technology puts high-performance material exactly where it's neededon the edge. The two blade sections are laser cut, then fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Braze welding permanently joins them. The attractive wavy pattern at the joint is based on traditional Japanese sword hamon lines."

So if I'm interpreting this correctly, they take a VG-10 cutting edge sandwiched between 2 layers of something else (definition of san mai) and then they cut that out and "braze weld" (I think that means it's basically soddered instead of welded) it together with a stainless steel upper. 3 layers at the cutting edge, some soddering, then a single layer stainless steel on top. If i'm right, anything above the fake hamon line is not VG-10 and not fit to really take an edge. Practically speaking, it's unlikely that anyone takes this knife past the usable cutting edge and this seems like a creative way to create an entry level product that allows them to reach customers that would love to own Shun knives but can't justify the price. Obviously doing something this commercially driven is not going to win Shun any fans on forums like this (and give their critics more to hate), but we are not the target audience either. 

Wondering if anyone has any experience with these knives. Is fit and finish still on par with what you would expect from Shun or are they starting to cut a few too many corners?


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## richard (Dec 18, 2015)

I've handled them in the store not looking to get one, but just curious, and the fit and finish is quite good. It's not the F&F, but the materials that suffer a bit due to being an economy line, with the handle feeling a bit plastic-y, but still solid. The somewhat surprising plus is that the chef's knife has a flatter profile and IIRC lighter and more nimble than the typical Shun classic 8".


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