Quote:
Originally Posted by
kmwrestle 
Obviously I don't need all those knifes, but lets face it this forum is all about excess. No one NEEDs 1/2 the stuff we talk about on here.
Listed is what I want. I want to get a set of the above knives and be done. I don't want to be at a point in a year or 2 I wish I had this knife.
I was thinking shun elites, but i'm reading that shun discontinued the line, and is getting rid of the free sharpening for april 1. This may be a deal breaker.
Is the shun elites the best out there, or is there a better alternative?
For mass market knives, I'd say Shun are quite good. I prefer their western style knives to the german makers. They're quite sharp. Some don't like the grips. If I were you, I'd get the Kaji line with the western grip.
But no, Shun are not anywhere close to being the best. To get the "best", or brands that could reasonably make that contention, you'd be spending like $500 just on a gyoto/chef's knife, and that's sort of a minimum. I have a Nenox that I got a little while back.
Honestly Shun Elite is even overkill for 95% of home cooks, but if you must have it, go for it. I'd recommend going with the Kaji, however.