I don't have Shun knives, but I think I would choose a set of what's considered the basics. If you have not had great knives before, you may find that cutting things up is such a pleasure with a good knife that you'll want to cut up a chicken after all.

C

I have always heard that it's best to buy seperately. You might save some money buying a set, but rarely do they have exactly what you would want, in which case you end up spending money on things you don't want.

And for the record, I have never used my boning knife on a chicken. I have used it one lots of pineapples though! It's great for cutting the outer part off, because it follows the curve easily. :)

I see the "don't buy a set" recommendation for cookware, too, but I'm not sure that I buy into it as a blanket recommendation. It really depends on the set. I've purchased cookware sets several times and received a knive set once. I can't think of any pieces of either that I wouldn't use regularly. Well, maybe there is one: a small stainless steel fry pan which I used sometimes but not often because if I had something small to fry, it was usually better just to use a non-stick pan (I've got four kids, so if I was searing something, it usually needed on of my bigger pans).

I would suggest looking at the knife set to see what it comes with. A common set comes with only 3 or 4 of the most used knives in (almost) anyone's kitchen (usually some mix of chef's 10", chef's 8", boning, paring, bread, straight 8"). I think you'd be safe with something like that.

C

I agree with cike. I also see the "don't buy a set" recommendation for both knives and cookware and I think sets can be a great deal for both knives and cookware, especially if you're starting from scratch.