Are those Shun knives worth the price? What's so special about them? Are they just the latest chic poo poo thing to have? What do you own?
Been looking for a good set of knives for a looooong time.
Depends on what you mean by worth it. Is a Mercedes Benz worth the price? "Poo Poo"? Haha, yea but no. They are very nice knives, one of if not the best, but most don't need the best. They're really expensive.
Kitchen knives are one of those things, if you're into knives, yes, the expensive ones are worth it. If you just want to get the job done, you don't need them. You don't see a lot of nice expensive knives in restaurant kitchens, one reason is they're made with such hard steel that they are more "brittle" than stainless or carbon, and can chip on bones or if dropped.
I basically just use three knives, chefs, paring and my Santoku. I use the Santoku in place of a utility and some chopping, Chinese vs French.
If you only use 2-3 knives on a regular basis, you really don't need to buy a set. I think it's better to buy only the three you use the most and get decent ones. Jmo.
I don't buy knives online, unless I'm replacing one I already have with the exact same one. I want to hold it. Weight, size and shape are important.
I have a bunch of knives. The ones I use pretty much always are Mac Pro chef 8", Bob Kramer 4" paring and Wustof 5" hollow edge Santoku. I also have a Wustof double serrated 9" bread knife.
It's also important to have a nice sharpener. There are many available. If you want one of the nice electric type I'm not a good person to ask. I use a hand held diamond steel (fine) and a hand held diamond V also fine.
Buy a set and you get a sharpener and a block to store them (which is nice to have), but you get a couple of knives you won't use. If you go with a set, At least find one that you can actually hold the knives before you buy them. To me, this is most important.