Shun Reserve ND0700 Paring Knife, 3.5-Inch

Exceptional blade, mediocre handle construction
I struggled between three and four stars on this knife. When I first bought it, it was easily the best knife that I have ever owned. Ever. I have other Shun knives, but this one was exceptional.

The blade is beautiful and very sharp - sharper than any of the other Shun knives that I have. The weight and feel is outstanding. I always cut my apples with paring knives, and this one did better and felt better than my Shun Premier paring knife - which was the best knife that I had used prior to this.

I was totally excited to give this five stars...until last night. What's not shown in the product picture is that there is a red layer of some material between the PakkaWood handles on each side and the metal tang. When mine arrived, the red material in one small section was splintered, but no big deal. What I noticed last night, though, was that the metal tang was exposed over most of the length of the handle on one side because the red material had apparently...
Great knife, but too delicate for normal human beings.
I bought this paring knife for my wife and the first time she used it, the tip broke off. The seller said this was not a common problem and promptly shipped a replacement. Within a week, the tip on the second knife was gone. I suppose this could be due to improper usage, although this has not happened with any other knife (including paring knives) my wife has owned over the last 23 years. I'm guessing it might be fine for a properly trained chef who never makes a mistake, but it is much too delicate for a normal cook. Another observation I have about Shun knives in general (my wife has a Shun chef's knife also) is that the edges are much more subject to damage than, say, a Wusthof or Henckels. Shuns also seem to need more frequent sharpening. Yes, I am aware chefs sharpen their knives frequently, but there's that problem of what professionals do. Although my wife loves these knives overall, they just don't seem suited to regular folks who have not been trained in proper usage and...
Good Blade - Subpar Handle
We purchased the Shun Reserve Paring Knife as a Christmas treat for ourselves. As a man I really liked the beefy handle and the western-style grip. My wife loved the sharpness of the blade. She said she could lay the knife on veggies and let gravity cut them. The length of the knife is 7 13/16 inches. The grip from the bolster to the end of the handle measures 4 inches. The laser etching on the blade gives it a cool look and the nickel/stainless steel makes for easy care.

Now to my concerns. After only 3 weeks of use, the wood inlays which sandwich the tang began to splinter and separate from the knife. Leaving valleys between the tang and prominent charcoal wood pieces of the handle. This exposes the edge of the tang and makes for an annoying little skin gripper when using the knife. My recommendation would be to lose the red inlays and make the handle out of two solid pieces on each side of the tang.

I would like to conclude by saying we have other Shun knives...
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