Chef/Kitchen Knives

pinkbunny said:
Now, I'm gonna have to disagree with @JimP42 on something.

Since you want something a little smaller than an 8" chef, here are your usual possibilities :
6" chef
5.5" santoku(7" is close enough to an 8" chef to not be worth considering.
Utility/petty knife

If I were going to get a knife that your wife could use, no question, 5.5" santoku. Women love santokus at that size.
But if I were going to get a smaller, nimble knife for me, I know jimp42 doesn't like them, but I love a petty knife. Has the length to do work like a chef knife, and you can really choke up on it when holding it like a paring knife.
Often times I will stick to just chef and petty knife, and never use a paring.
Click to expand...
Petty==utility?

You do you, but I can’t use those like a chef knife because a proper chef knife grip would extend below the blade edge. Not good. My favorite paring knives are a little 2.5” pointy one and a 2.75” peeling (birds beak) knife. Thumb isn’t used to hold paring knife at all 95% of the time. Completely different usage/leverage/balance/etc… and not very suited to a ~6” utility at all.

I agree on the 5.5” Santoku. That’s the fave of one of my daughters. The other likes the 6” chef’s.
 
JimP42 said:
Petty==utility?

You do you, but I can’t use those like a chef knife because a proper chef knife grip would extend below the blade edge. Not good. My favorite paring knives are a little 2.5” pointy one and a 2.75” peeling (birds beak) knife. Thumb isn’t used to hold paring knife at all 95% of the time. Completely different usage/leverage/balance/etc… and not very suited to a ~6” utility at all.

I agree on the 5.5” Santoku. That’s the fave of one of my daughters. The other likes the 6” chef’s.
Click to expand...
Yup, a petty is a utility knife. Technically, paring = petty =utility, because Japanese use 'petty' for multiple sizes, but the longer are much more common than traditional shorter paring.

All depends on how you hold your knife. I prefer a pinch grip for most things, like this:

Some people like the pinch grip, some people like the traditional way to hold it like a hammer, different strokes.

When you pinch grip a 135-150mm petty/utility knife, they really come alive for detail work. Especially the taller ones.
Like in this video, skip to the 135-150mm parts.
 
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pinkbunny said:
Yup, a petty is a utility knife. Technically, paring = petty =utility, because Japanese use 'petty' for multiple sizes, but the longer are much more common than traditional shorter paring.

All depends on how you hold your knife. I prefer a pinch grip for most things, like this:

Some people like the pinch grip, some people like the traditional way to hold it like a hammer, different strokes.

When you pinch grip a 135-150mm petty/utility knife, they really come alive for detail work. Especially the taller ones.
Like in this video, skip to the 135-150mm parts.
Click to expand...


I still don’t get it. It’s a compromise - awkward for paring (off board), and knuckles in the way using a pinch grip on the board. The only thing it was better than chef or paring in that video was meat, so get a knife that’s good at doing that instead of another compromise. I’d much rather have a boning/filet knife than a utility.

A “tall utility knife” is basically a chef or Santoku or some variant, right? That’s cheating :)

Along the same line of thinking, I think I’d get an offset deli serrated knife instead of a bread knife if I was starting over.

For context, here is what I call a 6” utility knife. I have a much older one in my block, but I never use it.

1688708171653.jpeg

Somebody must like them - they still sell, and they are nearly always in knife sets, but I suspect that it’s more because people expect to see them than anything else. Jack of all trades, master of none.
 
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And while this thread thankfully did not induce me to buy any more knives, I did order a proper cutting board since I have been using thin HDPE boards.

This one, in medium:
knifewear.com

Larchwood Premium End Grain Cutting Board

We have spent years looking for the perfect cutting boards, and we've found that Made sustainably in Cape Breton, NS, Larchwood boards are the closest thing to a perfect balance of form and function. The end-grain construction is easier on your knife’s edge, they also keep scarring down to a...
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I like an 8" chef. I use it for everything.
I was gifted a Mercer 10" a year or so ago. Impressive for the cost. But I do prefer 8". 10 is too much in a basic home kitchen. I use it a lot anyway.

So 8" chef, small thin parer, and rarely a large serrated bread knife is my preference. All others would sit in drawer. Although, as others mentioned, my girlfriend likes Santokus. I have a large and a small and never use them. But she does. Bought a super nice Wustof Santoku and just never bonded with it. Now just gets used and abused by the ole lady.

Good knives get destroyed here so I don't even bother anymore. Honestly the Mercer is good enough for my mad skillz and I don't get mad when I see it sitting in the sink, or out next to the rose bushes....Grrr. Always wanted a Shun. I'd have to keep it in my safe!
 
NKD said:
I like an 8" chef. I use it for everything.
I was gifted a Mercer 10" a year or so ago. Impressive for the cost. But I do prefer 8". 10 is too much in a basic home kitchen. I use it a lot anyway.

So 8" chef, small thin parer, and rarely a large serrated bread knife is my preference. All others would sit in drawer. Although, as others mentioned, my girlfriend likes Santokus. I have a large and a small and never use them. But she does. Bought a super nice Wustof Santoku and just never bonded with it. Now just gets used and abused by the ole lady.

Good knives get destroyed here so I don't even bother anymore. Honestly the Mercer is good enough for my mad skillz and I don't get mad when I see it sitting in the sink, or out next to the rose bushes....Grrr. Always wanted a Shun. I'd have to keep it in my safe!
Click to expand...

I hear you on knives getting destroyed. That’s why I bought a case and hide them. Plus I can now easily drag them up to the cabin instead of using the crappy 30 year old Henckels my family ruins.
 
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1k/6k Stone -you need this as well. Learn to sharpen your knives and you'll save a lot of time and money. It's very easy to do so.

Shun's are ok. Per the knife discussion above. A santoku, bunka or petty as others have said is a good 5-6" sized knife. I prefer a petty with a bit of height to it. Chef knives to go is a good site, but just be careful with the steel you buy. Certain Japanese steels are a PITA to maintain.
 
Bringing this one back from the dead for an update. I have been enjoying the knife set, but don‘t really love the vegetable slicer. So gave that to my daughter and bought a 5” utility knife. Am absolutely loving this thing. Use it more than everything else.

IMG_2628.jpeg
 
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