Shun Chef Knives, Any Good?

Just wondering if anyone here has a Shun 20cm or greater length chefs blade.

Is the damascus steel as great as they claim it is?

I currently use Global knives and atm I'd like to just replace my chefs blade, I'm looking at Shun and Wusthof (I've used the resturant owners 26cm classic, it's a great knife, but they seem pretty pricey.) Is there any other simillar less known brands you would recommend, I know Henckels are mean't to be good as well.

Also another question if you have time, is a mezzaluna a worthwhile purchase? Anyone who acctually has one, how much use/advantage do they have in a production environment or are they just a flashy tool?