I previously owned cheap TV infomercial knives, then progressively moved to sharper knives I bought from Costco, then finally landed on Calphalon contemporary series and then their new VG-1 Katana series.  I thought Calphalon made beautiful and very sharp knives.........that is until I switched to the 7 piece Alton Brown Shun knives.  This 8 inch Chef's knife is included in the 7 piece setup.

My personal experience is that previously I had to force my hand down on large carrots, potatoes and green pumpkins.  With the Shun, it scares me how sharp it is, because I can feel almost nothing when I cut the carrots and potatoes....it's as if I'm cutting tofu.  I had to use some force on the pumpkin but still it feels really weird using a knife as sharp as Shun.  Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it feels weird.  I'm wondering if the Henckel Pros (2 men icon) and the Wusthofs are the same way.

Anyways this is probably one of the best knives I have ever used.  You should buy these if you cook a lot, but if you're a beginner be very very careful.  This is one sharp knife.