Globals are the laughing stock of japanese chefs knives, sadly. They're sharp and easily sharpened, but shatter easily and don't hold an edge well. They're a revelation if you've only cooked with western/german knives before. Shun Elite have a 50/50 bevel and are much better knives than the normal Shun ones - the 15cm vegetable knife (petty) is actually good value. The standard Shun bevel is 80/20 (right handed bevel), though Everten stock Shun's left handed range and King of Knives branches can order them in if you need them. For getting to know japanese knives at a budget, the common advice is to get a petty (vegetable knife), santoku (meat/fish/veggies aka 3-ways knife) and a gyuto (chef's knife). JCK (japanesechefsknife.com) is an awesomely priced way to buy, with the Hiromoto and Shiki knives being particularly good value! Hope that helps.
