All you really need in your knife set is one really good chef's knife. This Shun's classic chefs knife is 8-inches and very thin and light. It is an all-purpose kitchen knife that works for just about everything. This is a high quality Japanese knife constructed with Shun's proprietary VG-MAX cutting core and clad in 68 layers of stainless Damascus, this chef knife is corrosion and stain resistant with a strong, razor-sharp edge. Very sharp and durable.