Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

One thing I see not addressed here is the difference between Shun classic and Shun elite. I have had significant exposure to both lines and the Globals. Everyone is correct in saying that the final decision should be made by your hand, but the best steel is the shun elite as far as edge retention is concerned. Anyone who has invested in these high end knives would do best to learn about sharpening them or his or her hard-earned money is only effective for that first month after the "yearly" sharpening. I sharpen professionally and know what these knives are capable of. Using them without honing for long periods of time is like pushing your bmw to the supermarket.