[masraum]

Originally Posted by rusnak

Well, I like Shun knives but they dont fit your criteria. Polished perfection, crazy sharp.

I would go to a restaurant supply place and look for a carbon steel knife. They can get much sharper than stainless, but they need to be resharpened and they rust but this is what you want. A Japanese carbon steel cleaver would be my go-to for butchering meat.

We have (and I like) Shun "Classic" knives. They are good knives, and a plus for us was that they were attractive (and stainless with handles that won't dry out) which ticked some boxes for the missus since our knives are on a magnetic holder and therefore visible.

Attractive, sharp, fairly durable, and they hold their edge well.

I like their classic blonde knives, and their premium, but not that we have the classics, I have to stick to one style for aesthetic's sake.

Shun Classic


Shun Classic Blonde


Shun premium


Bob Kramer makes some REALLY nice looking (and I'm sure their performance is top notch as well) kitchen knives.