I gave in to temptation, or curiosity as the case may be. The impetus
was a review in New York magazine of santoku knives. What fired me up
on the winner, Shun Classic 6.5", was the beautiful pattern on the
blade. (Well, it did get the top nod for function too).

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/features/16980/

I poked around on the web and it got other excellent reviews so I felt
more confident that it was worth seeking.

Today I journied through the rain to Broadway Panhandlers in Manhattan
(which is a great kitchen store, BTW) to check out the Shun. It was
indeed beautiful, both blade and handle, and I liked how it felt l so
I bought it. $94 and comes with two free sharpenings in the first
year. The salesclerk said that they've sold over 130 of those knives
after it was mentioned in the magazine. Not bad for some no-cost
publicity (you do the math). I also signed up for their knife club
(basically they take your e-mail address and send you "offers" etc.).

I could barely restrain myself from opening the box on the way home,
but thought the better of playing with a very sharp knife on the NYC
subway. When I got home I... chopped onions! Very, very nice- now
that's one sharp knife! I like how it feels too, just right. I
compared it with my Henkel's 8" chef knife. The Shun was noticeably
sharper and heavier (my guess is about 10-20%), the better to chop and
slice with. Still, the Henkel's was pretty darn good and won't be
retired; I'd had that old workhorse sharpened about a month ago.

It will be fun working with this knife. I found a place to store it
where it will be handy and on display.

Now I have to do something with all those chopped onions

Wheat Berry Salad
Soak wheat berries in water overnight. Boil until al dente. Drain.
Add about half again quantity of frozen corn (thawed and drained),
chopped onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!