Shun knives are made in Seki, Japan — a city that has been forging blades for around eight hundred years. Each knife is built around a hard cutting core clad in layers of softer steel, which is what produces the rippled Damascus pattern down the blade and lets Shun grind a far finer edge than a Western knife will hold.

That edge is the point. A Shun goes through a tomato, a shallot or a side of salmon with almost no pressure, and it stays sharp far longer than most kitchen knives.

The classic first buy is the chef's knife or the santoku. From there the range runs to paring, utility, bread, boning and slicing knives, plus blocks and sharpening steels.

Merchants stocks the full Shun range in store, and we're happy to talk you through which blade suits how he actually cooks.