So what's up with Japanese petty knives?

[paulraphael]

I've been wasting a fair amount of my employer's time leering at Japanese knife porn these last few days, and am curious about the rationale behind 150mm paring knives. I think the western 75mm to 150mm standard works just fine. I can only see the extra inches getting in the way for the things I do with a small knife.

Am I missing something?

Edited October 16, 2007 by paulraphael (log)

[wildfirecutlery.com]

I've been wasting a fair amount of my employer's time leering at Japanese knife porn these last few days, and am curious about the rationale behind 150mm paring knives. I think the western 75mm to 150mm standard works just fine. I can only see the extra inches getting in the way for the things I do with a small knife.

Am I missing something?

←

Poor Japanese translation - it is a 5-6 inch in between knife - not a paring knife and not a board chef's knife . see http://www.japaneseknifecompany.com/knives...ultry-knife.htm

Very useful unit .

[Octaveman]

Not sure I understand your question. You reference the same size for both western and japanese petty knives. The Japanese have paring knives as small as 70mm and petty's up to 150mm. What am I missing?

[paulraphael]

Not sure I understand your question.  You reference the same size for both western and japanese petty knives.  The Japanese have paring knives as small as 70mm and petty's up to 150mm.  What am I missing?

←

I never see anything smaller than 120mm from most of the manufacturers. It might indeed be bad translation when people call these paring knives, but I don't see anything that's more like a paring knife.

Who makes paring knives??

[Octaveman]

Hattori HD (105mm), Hattori FH (70mm), Misono Swedish Carbon steel (80mm), Misono Molybdenum (80mm), Tosagata (4"), Global, Al Mar (3") and a bunch others under 4 inches (Shun, Kasumi, MAC, Ryusen).

They're out there just gotta do some digging. But you're right in that there didn't used to be a lot of choices. Recently the past few years have seen more and more brands sporting the shorter knives for the western market.

[paulraphael]

Thanks Bob,

I hadn't seen any of those ... had just been looking at Korin and at the more familiar lines at JCK (hadn't checked out Hattori because of price). It's curious that with brands like Misono they dont cary pairing knives in their lower lines.

The Tosogata looks interesting. Cheap! I'm normally not a fan of the traditional handles, but they might work for a pairing knife. What do you think about this one?

[Octaveman]

Yeah, who knows tthe reasoning for the manufacturers making what they make. Tosagata knives have great steal and are good knives for the price. They are budget knives so handle materials and finish of the blade is not great. Not bad but just not all that great. As far as the paring knife, I honestly wouldn't know because I have little to no use for one. It's certainly worth a try at $25.

[Vaughan]

I have the 70mm Hattori FH and it's a great paring knife. Maintains an ultra sharp edge, is small and comfortable, which I like for things like mincing garlic, peeling, taking the skin off blanched tomatoes etc etc. A lot of the knife geeks (meant in a positive sense) seem to like the 150mm petty. I've considered getting a 150mm Blazen (Ryusen) as I hear they're a good knife but its a lot of money to spend on an experiment that may not work out. Let us know what you get and how you like it.

Edited October 17, 2007 by Vaughan (log)

[paulraphael]

I use a pairing knife mostly for detailed things where the food is in my hand, not on a cutting board ... peeling, coring, removing stems from strawberries, etc.. I usually use a pinch grip over the middle of the blade, so just the tip is poking out. I wonder if the 150mm knives are designed for different techniques ... and if so, what?

[WiscoNole]

I use my petty for shallots, small onions, garlic, and very precise cuts (fine julienne, brunoise and fine brunoise, etc.). That's definitely not all though...some jobs are just easier with a petty, as you have more control than with a chef's knife/gyuto.

[paulraphael]

Has anyone used the Misono Swedish steel (carbon) knives, or the molybdenum steel (stainless)?

They make a reasonably priced pairing knife in both these lines. I've seen it suggested that stainless is a good option with pairing knives, considering how acidic many of the fruits and things are that you cut with them. Not sure how big a deal this is.

The stainless series is on the soft side for Japanese knives.