# Aren't Paring Knives the most important in home kitchen?



## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

I am a home cook, full disclosure, and wanted to bring a topic of Paring knife discussion to the table.

For me, the value of almost any thing is determined first of all by the amount of time in use. If I use car only once a month, for example, then there is no much value in buying expensive and large car (I live in EU). But at the same time, if I drive bike everyday, it maybe reasonable to invest in a solid bike. 

Now, getting back to home kitchen. In my life, I mostly exclusively use two type of knifes - 1 gyuto and 2 parring knifes, plus occasionally I would use small watanabe parring instead of gyuto, just because it is insanely sharp and stays this way forever. Gyuto I would use for dinner preparation or tasks involving board contact, and in all other cases I would use parring knife. I use it to open food containers, if needed, cut something small, like a piece of butter or salami or cheese, and I use it as a table knife as well, just because it is so good. Most importantly, my parring knives are stainless and the care could be completely neglected, that is why if my GF forgets it in the sink the other day it will not be a problem. 

For all these reasons above, for me it is one of the most practical knifes in kitchen and I was curious if I am alone in this approach, what do you guys think? Based on the number of discussions online or number of paring knifes on offer at cktg, for example, it looks like those knives are not that popular. Is it because you use cheap Ikea parring knifes? Or am I missing something here..


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## HRC_64 (Sep 1, 2019)

Looks like OP is confusing a 'petty' (odd-jobs) knife with a paring (peeling) knife.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

Hmm, the names are a bit confusing, I could be wrong, but I see it this way - petty is a WA style and paring is a western style. By saying Paring knife above I mean small knife below or around 10 cm with western handle. Petties knifes are great knife to use on the board, but not as tolerant to abuse as they western counterparts and not as tolerant to water, just because of the wooden handles.


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

The French call both "couteau d'office," and the only thing that varies between them is length…

For in hand work (coring, pitting, peeling), I have several requirements in a paring knife: a feather light handle, a short blade (less than 3.5”), pointy tip, and very thin edge. I personally use a vintage 3" Sabatier Nogent and 3.25" Robert Herder – neither sees contact with a board. 

A longer “couteau d'office” (say 4-6") is a very useful knife. Also known as ‘utility’ and ‘petty’ knives, I use mine for deboning birds, trimming raw proteins, portioning cured meats, small board work, cutting sandwiches, etc. I find around 6" or 150mm the perfect length. 

HOWEVER, if my chef's knife is already on the board, I never use my petty. If I am preparing a larger meal, it's always a chef's/paring knife combo. I hate having more than two knives on the board at the same time. More often than not, it's only my chef's knife on the board.

For you, if you find immense utility in a paring knife then that's great. I wouldn't be without mine. With that said, my petty pretty much functions as a smaller chef’s knife in those instances where pulling out a 10" chef's knife is overkill. Therefore, in actual board time it sees far more use compared to my shorter paring knives.


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## daveb (Sep 1, 2019)

Most paring knives are 3 - 4 inches with 3.5 working best for me. A short petty is 120mm, most are 150, I like 180 and some go to 210.

In both home and pro use I typically only use a paring when strawberries are in season - and I can top them with a petty or gyuto if needed. It's probably the least used type of knife for me.


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## Matus (Sep 1, 2019)

This is a Blazen R2 paring knife with a custom handle by Dave. And yes - it is used a lot


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## Brian Weekley (Sep 1, 2019)

Many years ago I bought 10 Victorinox SS paring knives. Indestructible, cheap, easily sharpened but not too sharp because I peel western style (towards the thumb). The only knife I’ll toss in the dishwasher. Most used ... I don’t know about that, though. I love my sharp knives too much and my magnetic rotation board is staring me in the face and my newest treasures are pleading with me to be used. For opening a cello wrapped package, a pad of butter or peeling an apple I reach for one of my Victorinox’s. For everything else I reach for one of my Japanese style blades. I love my reactive blades. I pick the right blade for the task and then delight in carefully cleaning and drying right after I’ve used it .... yes, I’m a bit OCD about it. I’ve even abandoned my western style filleting knives and am struggling to get the right technique down using my deba’s. Life is good!


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## kayman67 (Sep 1, 2019)

Delete.


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## kayman67 (Sep 1, 2019)

Canadian said:


> Edit.



Why did you delete it? I am 100% the same.


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> Why did you delete it? I am 100% the same.



It's there, just wanted to edit it cause my thoughts weren't very organized.


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## chinacats (Sep 1, 2019)

in general the shorter the blade the lower the costs...imo this is similar to someone who happens to enjoy cheap wines...it works to your advantage.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

Just one small clarification. I think my header is a bit off in a sense of comparison to gyuto. I use chef knife, aka gyuto a lot, it is extremely important and I love it a lot! I was merely also curious as to why there are not so many small knifes in the discussions and/or on sale. I use misono molybdenium 8cm and find it extremely fine knife. However, there are not many alternatives for me as compared to guyto market, filled in with hundreds of different options.


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## labor of love (Sep 1, 2019)

150mm petty is the second most important knife in my kit no doubt.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

chinacats said:


> in general the shorter the blade the lower the costs...imo this is similar to someone who happens to enjoy cheap wines...it works to your advantage.


I love cheap wines. Everybody can buy good and expensive wine, but it is much harder to find a good one for good money, so for me it is difficult to object  However, a quality paring knife although cheaper could still cost some money for good handle, steel and HT


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

vlasena said:


> Just one small clarification. I think my header is a bit off in a sense of comparison to gyuto. I use chef knife, aka gyuto a lot, it is extremely important and I love it a lot! I was merely also curious as to why there are not so many small knifes in the discussions and/or on sale. I use misono molybdenium 8cm and find it extremely fine knife. However, there are not many alternatives for me as compared to guyto market, filled in with hundreds of different options.



See my earlier response. I think there are various reasons for this, but I think that in hand use is limited and so there are less variables to discuss/debate/obsess over. A chef's knife/gyuto is your all-purpose knife and sees 90-95% of use (in my case). It's also very personal and one thing I've learned is there is no "right" way of doing things.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

labor of love said:


> 150mm petty is the second most important knife in my kit no doubt.


which one is it, if I may ask?


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## ojisan (Sep 1, 2019)

vlasena said:


> Hmm, the names are a bit confusing, I could be wrong, but I see it this way - petty is a WA style and paring is a western style. By saying Paring knife above I mean small knife below or around 10 cm with western handle. Petties knifes are great knife to use on the board, but not as tolerant to abuse as they western counterparts and not as tolerant to water, just because of the wooden handles.



As for the definition, a "petty" knife in Japan is any small knife with a wa or western handle. In Japan, most of petty knives are western style. You can find pages that say "petty knives are called pairing knives in English".

Loving my Misono UX10 150mm petty.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

Canadian said:


> See my earlier response. I think there are various reasons for this, but I think that in hand use is limited and so there are less variables to discuss/debate/obsess over. A chef's knife/gyuto is your all-purpose knife and sees 90-95% of use (in my case). It's also very personal and one thing I've learned is there is no "right" way of doing things.


100% agree with your approach and post. It is exactly the same for me. And Robert Herder knifes are a thing in itself. I am still hoping to buy 1922 office knife, which probably will never happen.


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## Paraffin (Sep 1, 2019)

Maybe they don't get discussed much because they're taken for granted as basic utility knives?

I use a couple of old Wusthof stainless paring knives for all sorts of things, including abuse like slicing open plastic food packaging, cutting string, basically anything where I want to spare the carefully sharpened edges of my good knives. I don't use them for actual in-hand paring, I have a 115mm carbon petty knife for that.

So I guess that technically speaking, I don't actually use my "paring" knives for cooking; just all the ancillary stuff around the kitchen. That 115mm petty gets occasional use, but I do most of my food prep with a 165mm nakiri for veg, and a 150mm honesuki and 190mm petty knife for protein. I'm not a gyuto fan. That's sacrilege around these parts, but I like specialized knives.


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

vlasena said:


> 100% agree with your approach and post. It is exactly the same for me. And Robert Herder knifes are a thing in itself. I am still hoping to buy 1922 office knife, which probably will never happen.



With the right profile and balance, a 4-4.5" office knife could potentially replace both a shorter paring and longer petty knife - but the handle would have to be VERY light for those times I would choke up on the blade.

Robert Herder makes great knives. I'm not always a fan of some of their profiles, but I love their bread and paring knives!


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> ...


Very interesting, thanks for sharing your experience.


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## labor of love (Sep 1, 2019)

vlasena said:


> which one is it, if I may ask?


I use a takamura hsps pro at the moment. Pettys are really really important-i feel like I should own a few more.
Tanaka ginsanko nashiji Petty is my home cook petty.
Would love to own a heiji Petty in semi stainless one day, I’ll probably special order one soon.


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## SeattleBen (Sep 1, 2019)

Canadian said:


> The French call both "couteau d'office," and the only thing that varies between them is length…
> 
> For in hand work (coring, pitting, peeling), I have several requirements in a paring knife: a feather light handle, a short blade (less than 3.5”), pointy tip, and very thin edge. I personally use a vintage 3" Sabatier Nogent and 3.25" Robert Herder – neither sees contact with a board.
> 
> ...



This mirrors my experience quite accurately. I rarely ever get out a petty if I've got a gyuto out already.


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## Carl Kotte (Sep 1, 2019)

I use paring knives for in hand work too. Seldom (if ever) use them on the board. And I don’t have pettys. Had some but they didn’t get much use, so they were ditched.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

I think I am starting to make my mind on the subject. Thanks for all your inputs! 
This is my take. I prefer 8 cm (paring) knifes, however a lot of people do actually use slightly bigger 12cm (petty) knifes for exactly the same tasks. This opens up a lot of room for consideration that I have not looked into before.


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## milkbaby (Sep 1, 2019)

Different strokes for different folks. I don't own a paring knife and thus do not use one. /shrug


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## labor of love (Sep 1, 2019)

The larger petty just becomes the smaller petty after years of sharpening and chip repair.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

Carl Kotte said:


> I use paring knives for in hand work too. Seldom (if ever) use them on the board. And I don’t have pettys. Had some but they didn’t get much use, so they were ditched.


Same stuff, i think it is a matter of preference. I have one petty, but i do not use it that much. The same goes for bigger knifes. For example, I much prefer 240 Gyuto, and Santoku which I loved long time ago now not used at all.


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## SilverSwarfer (Sep 1, 2019)

I started cooking pro in ‘96, finished culinary school in y2k. The only paring knife I’ve ever owned was issued in my school set (which set I ditched ASAP). 

It’s not that I’m proud of this; and it’s not that I don’t do in-hand work (katsuramuki every day I use a cutting board). I just don’t do anything with a paring knife. 

I think OP shares some wise words, “the value of almost any thing is determined first of all by the amount of time in use.” I certainly agree. In my case, by application: the paring knife has approximately zero value. 

If I had paring knives I totally loved in the same way I do my Yanagibas, this would be a totally different story.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

@SilverSwarfer, do you use Petty instead? How do you go about small and quick tasks?


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## kayman67 (Sep 1, 2019)

Canadian said:


> The French call both "couteau d'office," and the only thing that varies between them is length…
> 
> For in hand work (coring, pitting, peeling), I have several requirements in a paring knife: a feather light handle, a short blade (less than 3.5”), pointy tip, and very thin edge. I personally use a vintage 3" Sabatier Nogent and 3.25" Robert Herder – neither sees contact with a board.
> 
> ...



Like I was saying , this is so me, even with Sabatier in mind, the knife on the board and cleaning the knives after.
I guess most people that get proficient enough this way, won't reach for anything else if it's not a really specific task.


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## Matus (Sep 1, 2019)

In my definition a ‘paring’ knife is designed for, well, paring and in-hand cutting, what means that the blade is narrow (around 20mm) and should not have a sharp heel that wants to slice open my thumb.


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## kayman67 (Sep 1, 2019)

+1. I really dislike using this type of knife with a sharp heel.


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## vlasena (Sep 1, 2019)

@Canadian and @kayman67 
If Gyuto is out - it is out. No questions asked - it is the knife that will be in use. Now it seems I need to wrap my head around 120mm petty knifes. Which one's do you use?


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> Like I was saying , this is so me, even with Sabatier in mind, the knife on the board and cleaning the knives after.
> I guess most people that get proficient enough this way, won't reach for anything else if it's not a really specific task.



Back in the day when I was buying lots of knives trying to figure out what I liked, I had a couple long sujihikis in the stable...

It didn't take long for me to realize they would see no use unless I 'forced' the task...

My chef's knives were all shorter in height, and sliced through raw or cooked proteins perfectly well. My initial justification for a slicer was it would do this job better and with less effort, but in practice this 'effort' is not noticeable for the home cook. Moreover, for cleaning up chunks of meat I found I preferred a shorter petty. 

I do have a type of slicer in my butcher kit for portioning large cuts of meat, but that's outside the kitchen...

However, I do understand some people LOVE their sujis, and I understand why some would choose a shorter suji (180-210mm) over a gyuto in certain contexts.

So again, it comes down to personal preference and a kind of philosophy of use. I love maximizing the use out of my chef's knives. They are an extension of me arm, and I spend a hell of a lot less time switching between knives, sharpening and cleaning up. I know my standing rib roast isn't better or worse because I used a gyuto instead a slicer to portion it.


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

vlasena said:


> @Canadian and @kayman67
> If Gyuto is out - it is out. No questions asked - it is the knife that will be in use. Now it seems I need to wrap my head around 120mm petty knifes. Which one's do you use?



I have two: a 6" Sabatier Nogent marketed as a 'slicer' and a Masamoto HC 150mm Petty.

Will always keep my Sab, but would one day like to replace the HC with a western handled Kasumi Shig - absolutely an extravagance!


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

Keep in mind that I'm an amateur cook. It's a hobby for me, and my choices in large reflect that. Professional chef's often have an entirely different set of variables that effect their choices. 

I do have some experience in whole animal butchery, however.


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## SilverSwarfer (Sep 1, 2019)

At present, my duties as a Sushi Chef demand my workweek be split among several locations in different cities. I bought a knife roll this year, my first ever (toolbox w/padlock being preferable). I carry everything I’ll need if faced with any variety of potential nightmare emergency situations:

2 Yanagiba 
1 Sujihiki 270-300mm
1 Gyuto 240-270mm
-sometimes I’ll carry 2 Gyuto no Sujihiki or 2 Sujihiki no Gyuto-
2 Deba- 120 or 140 & 180 or 210
1 Veg Peeler, Swiss style
1 Scissors (Silky Chef X Pro) 
1 Microplane
2 Strops (leather-8nm, 2nm)
1 Boning Tweezers
1 Moribashi Chopsticks 
2 Makisu

Neither parer nor petty. I do in-hand peeling of small things like ginger with the heel of my sashimi knife. The tip handles whatever precision detail work I may need, on the board.


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## Nemo (Sep 1, 2019)

I rarely use a paring knife. I have a few nice petties but they don't get too much use. Different cutting styles, I guess.


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## nonoyes (Sep 1, 2019)

Props to the parer from this home cook.

If I could only have two knives they would be chef's and 3.5 or 4" parer. Third knife would be a shorter, tougher chefs, 180 or 150, on the tall side.

Use paring knife all the time to core strawberries, peel thicker skins, dig imperfections out of fruits and veggies etc. Good for coring peppers. Can slice cucumber or whatever directly into a bowl. Can be placed on a cutting board with a couple of lemons on the dinner table without anyone freaking out.

There are small jobs, like cutting a single apple, where in-hand work may follow and anyway it feels silly wiping down a 240mm blade afterwards.

I guess it depends on cuisine as well. My paring knives find much more use than my one neglected petty.


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## stringer (Sep 1, 2019)

I have never used a paring knife or petty knife at home. At work I keep both in my kit. A paring knife is essential for cutting boxes, straps, and plastic. And a petty knife so you have something to give to bartenders when they need to slice lemons.


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## Josh Hiett (Sep 1, 2019)

I’m with the OP! Gyuto and pairing is what I reach for most as a home chef.


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## labor of love (Sep 1, 2019)

Cutting a case of Brussel sprouts with a 10 inch gyuto is no fun. Grape tomatoes also, or really anything else that’s maybe an inch tall and inch wide. I use my petty for board work all the time.


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## SilverSwarfer (Sep 1, 2019)

stringer said:


> I have never used a paring knife or petty knife at home. At work I keep both in my kit. A paring knife is essential for cutting boxes, straps, and plastic. And a petty knife so you have something to give to bartenders when they need to slice lemons.


Lol... I forgot to mention I always carry a pocket knife... that could technically qualify (if you stretch the definition), I suppose but it doesn’t ever contact food.


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## ojisan (Sep 1, 2019)

Glestain has offset petty knives that you can handle like gyutos on cutting boards. It seems they are popular in Japan for those who don't like larger knives and have small kitchens.


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## Chuckles (Sep 1, 2019)

I have small children and need to cut grapes and strawberries in half all the time. I have a Harner/McLean parer that lives on my counter. It is patterned on a sabatier but has a killer grind and a coke bottle handle. It is a knife I would never part with. Harner makes great small knives. 

At work I carry an Al Mar eagle in my pocket. It is like a folding paring knife. Use it for utility but it actually cuts food well when needed.


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## Canadian (Sep 1, 2019)

Chuckles said:


> I have small children and need to cut grapes and strawberries in half all the time. I have a Harner/McLean parer that lives on my counter. It is patterned on a sabatier but has a killer grind and a coke bottle handle. It is a knife I would never part with. Harner makes great small knives.
> 
> At work I carry an Al Mar eagle in my pocket. It is like a folding paring knife. Use it for utility but it actually cuts food well when needed.
> View attachment 60293



Yep, that's pretty much an identical blade profile to my 3" Sabatier Nogent - nice knife!


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## Michi (Sep 1, 2019)

I like my Wüsthof paring knife. It has a good shape and cuts well:




I'm much less fond of my (much more expensive) Miyabi paring knife:




Just look at that heel, and where it is headed on the down-stroke. Total design fail, in my opinion. Just because a heel is right for a chef's knife doesn't mean it's right for a paring knife…


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## labor of love (Sep 2, 2019)

Yes, I don’t like gyuto shaped pettys much prefer suji shapes pettys.


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## Jon-cal (Sep 2, 2019)

I have a 90 mm paring knife, 2 150 petty, and a 180 petty. I use them sometimes but it’s a little forced just because I have them. There’s nothing they do I can’t easily do with a larger gyuto. Of all them, I prefer the 180 but I could easily get rid of them all and lose zero sleep over it


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## stringer (Sep 2, 2019)

I do use my 210 petty as a butcher knife for boneless protein processing. I'm not sure what point a petty becomes a sujihiki.


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## dafox (Sep 2, 2019)

stringer said:


> I do use my 210 petty as a butcher knife for boneless protein processing. I'm not sure what point a petty becomes a sujihiki.


Which one do you use?


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## Qapla' (Sep 2, 2019)

stringer said:


> I do use my 210 petty as a butcher knife for boneless protein processing. I'm not sure what point a petty becomes a sujihiki.



My best guess is that general dividing line between a knife being "petty" vs. "gross" is around 180mm-210mm. I've yet to ever hear of a 270mm utility-knife or a 135mm slicer, nor a 240mm bunka-bocho or 165mm kiritsuke-gyuto, even though all of those pairs refer to the same blade geometries. Not sure it matters, though; if a 210mm petty knife works as such for you, then no reason not to call it one.


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## LucasFur (Sep 2, 2019)

. 


Nemo said:


> I rarely use a paring knife. I have a few nice petties but they don't get too much use.





SilverSwarfer said:


> In my case, by application: the paring knife has approximately zero value.





milkbaby said:


> I don't own a paring knife and thus do not use one. /shrug



Op - this is why not much talking about paring knives, and when they are talked about it always meh, blades that people love because it's what they are use to. 

I have 25 gyuto's & 1 petty that I really don't even use. 
I don't know what task done by a petty/ Parer ... that can't be done better than a Gyuto or peeler. Maybe removing potato eyes, but as long as the heel isn't insane I'm good with Gyuto heel.


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## stringer (Sep 2, 2019)

dafox said:


> Which one do you use?



Ashi Ginga Swedish Stainless


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## dafox (Sep 2, 2019)

stringer said:


> Ashi Ginga Swedish Stainless


Thanks Stringer


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## MrHiggins (Sep 2, 2019)

Chuckles said:


> I have small children and need to cut grapes and strawberries in half all the time. I have a Harner/McLean parer that lives on my counter. It is patterned on a sabatier but has a killer grind and a coke bottle handle. It is a knife I would never part with. Harner makes great small knives.
> 
> At work I carry an Al Mar eagle in my pocket. It is like a folding paring knife. Use it for utility but it actually cuts food well when needed.
> View attachment 60293


I often use a paring knife, for many of the reasons Chuckles mentioned: strawberries, grapes, apples, salami, cheese, opening boxes/packages, etc... I'm still on the lookout for a good one, though. 

I mainly use the Vic 3" if which I own a few. I like the size, that the blade is flexible, and that there's no heel to bite you. I also have a Mac birds beak. I like the steel, but the curve makes it very limited in what it can do. I have a Robert Herder on order from Germany, but it's been stuck in customs for three weeks now. 

What I really want is that Harder, Chuckles. Not sure if it would replace my Vics, but it would make a great addition to my stable of paring knives!


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## rick alen (Sep 2, 2019)

I like all my knives sharp, I don't abuse any of them. I have a decent parer which is a thinned Cutco 4", originally "micro-serrated" and thick as a brick. I use it strictly for peeling strips of lemon peel for the one drink I use lemon peel for, cheap white wine with good vermouth. It is so perfect for the task it replaced my little Robert Herder, which sees some rare use with the occasional apple. I have practically no other use for a parer.


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## vitreous (Sep 2, 2019)

I use a 240 or 270 Gyuto for everything from cutting cheese to fruit to bread. Petty might come out if I'm halving olives


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## AT5760 (Sep 2, 2019)

A paring knife/petty gets a lot of use in my house. Small kids = small frequent meals and small pieces of food.


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## Chef Doom (Sep 2, 2019)

Paring knives make great letter openers.

That's about it.

Oh oh...and opening packages.


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 2, 2019)

My smallest knife at work was a 150mm Hiromoto AS core. Used most butterfly shrimp on the board. 240mm gyuto's favorite size knife. 270mm yanagiba's my prized blades.

At home smaller knives are used quite a bit. Really like pointy tip Tosagata 4" WS blade tough thick spine good for small cutting,coring strawberries even trimed carpet around door molding. Little thin ku Carter WS 140mm. That knife gets used a lot by both of us. 180mm KU Kochi K tip I use quite a bit. Gyuto all 210 Watanabe, TF hammer WS#1, Blue moon nashiji blue#2 core thicker grind a must for avocado seeds & great peeling melons, pineapple.

OP is right whatever you use most is important blade.


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## TB_London (Sep 2, 2019)

It’s the most abused knife so cheap and cheerful wins. I’ve got some expensive ones, but they barely get used- victorinox and a cheap old stainless that I grew up with so just feels right. When guests grab a knife it’ll nearly always be a paring knife and they’ll nearly always do something that’s a bad habit- which would damage either a sharp knife or themselves if it was a proper knife. It’s also good to have knives that need no special treatment. Given the tasks they do I’ve found no advantage to good steel and given the size there’s not much variation in grind. A €10 vic is hard to beat. I’ve seen some really nice looking customs (and some awful looking ones) but remind myself that it’s a knife with the most marginal gains of any. With a good gyuto you really notice the difference so spend the money on that


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## bahamaroot (Sep 2, 2019)

150mm petty is the smallest knife I own. Anything smaller feels like a useless toy.


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## gman (Sep 2, 2019)

i have two pettys, a 75mm and a 150mm; both get used a lot, but exclusively on the board. they are both too thick at the tip for in-hand work (i mean, they can be used in-hand at the heal, but so can a gyuto or suji, or yanagiba, or whatever). i'm actually looking for a legit paring knife for coring apples etc (work that requires a thin tip that can turn in hard product). looking at mac or shun. anything else i should consider?


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## kayman67 (Sep 2, 2019)

I wonder why no one posted a bird's beak knife as reference.


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## rickbern (Sep 2, 2019)

gman said:


> i have two pettys, a 75mm and a 150mm; both get used a lot, but exclusively on the board. they are both too thick at the tip for in-hand work (i mean, they can be used in-hand at the heal, but so can a gyuto or suji, or yanagiba, or whatever). i'm actually looking for a legit paring knife for coring apples etc (work that requires a thin tip that can turn in hard product). looking at mac or shun. anything else i should consider?


Take a look at the jki 105 stainless paring knife. That little puppy makes its living helping me cut the cores out of tomatoes. Pointy as all get out.

https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/collections/petty-knife/products/gesshin-105mm-paring-knife


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## Ivang (Sep 2, 2019)

I use a 150mm a lot at work, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, coring heirloom tomatoes, tenderloin cleaning, and line duty. I have a couple, but use mostly a beat up tsubaya western, pretty much a tojiro, its great because it's pretty much indestructible, i keep a thickish grind, with a highly assymetric edge on it, and it performs well enough. If something were to happen to this knife, it would be replaced immediately, right now right now, not the same, just a knife that filled the role.

I have a couple of smaller knives but hardly ever use them, not because the knives arent good, they're just not big enough for most tasks, and i need my work knives to be versatile.

I want a 165 or 180 petty, as i think i could use an extra couple of cm. for the amount of use i think i would put into that little knife, i would consider it very important, and would be willing to put a good amount of money in it. I had a tanaka ironwood 135mm, i sold it because it was a little bit to small, if it had been a 150 or bigger, i would have never sold it.


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## dafox (Sep 2, 2019)

I have a 90mm dolar store utility knife that I use to open packaging. I've tried a few 150mm petties, my favorite is a Fujiwara Kanefusa FKM stainless, it gets used mostly to cut apples into slices for snacks. Ive discovered that I like utility shaped pettys and not mini gyutos. I keep looking at the FKM 180 and Suisin Inox 210 petties but I've not bought one yet. The FKM 180 petty seems good for processing raw protein but I like my FKH 180 gyuto for this and the SIH 210 petty seems perfect for slicing sushi rolls, using a SIH 210 gyuto for this right now.


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## MrHiggins (Sep 2, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> I wonder why no one posted a bird's beak knife as reference.


I like mine to core apples, which I actually do a lot. That's the only use I've found for it.


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## Paraffin (Sep 3, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> I wonder why no one posted a bird's beak knife as reference.



I've never used one because I could never figure out how to keep the edge sharpened, other than a "steel" or ceramic rod which is only good for touch-ups, not actual sharpening. It wouldn't fit my normal sharpening routine on flat water stones, so I've never bought one. Is there a technique for sharpening these on stones? Maybe working on a beveled stone edge?


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## SilverSwarfer (Sep 3, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> I've never used one because I could never figure out how to keep the edge sharpened, other than a "steel" or ceramic rod which is only good for touch-ups, not actual sharpening. It wouldn't fit my normal sharpening routine on flat water stones, so I've never bought one. Is there a technique for sharpening these on stones? Maybe working on a beveled stone edge?


I have a Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker. The "rods" serve me very nicely for sharpening unconventional blade shapes. I hold a single rod in my left hand and then sharpen freestyle. I think I remember where to find a youtube link showing the technique. 

Of course using the setup as intended, in the "corner-facing" configuration would obviously be more approachable and user friendly.


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## HRC_64 (Sep 3, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> I wonder why no one posted a bird's beak knife as reference.



Not alot of people do tourne cuts outside of work settings


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 3, 2019)

Also can be done with slip stones. Just touched up my Soboten carbon pruning shears. I keep a pair med.-fine perma soak with my King Hyper IK & Gesshin 4K. They come in all different shapes mostly for gouges & V chisels. That's why used them to sharpen ice carving tools. Had one that was perfect for sharpening Forschner 10.25 wavy edge bread knife. They also happen to be excellent for garden tools. I am surprised that I am the only one pushing these stones here. Been using them for years can't live with out them.


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 3, 2019)

Might add that when I say garden tools don't mean the crap they sell at Home Depot & Lowe's . As with knives Japanese make serious garden tools.


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## Kippington (Sep 3, 2019)

Paring knives come in handy in professional kitchens, but at home I just don't need anything that small. I'm in agreeance with a bunch of the fellas here.

After reading this thread I realised I don't own a paring knife.


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## M1k3 (Sep 3, 2019)

For my use, outside of getting leftover remnants of pith on lemon and lime skins, it sits in my knife bag. It's a 3in Vnox paring. My gyuto sees the majority of work. For things those 2 won't take care of, I grab a meat cleaver.


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## Carl Kotte (Sep 3, 2019)

For you guys working as cooks/chefs: what do you do when you have 20 kg of onions to peel eg? (Maybe that never happens to you, but imagine it would!) At all the places I worked, a 80 or 100 mm paring knife was the weapon of choice. In-hand work only, no board contact. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done without a paring knife (of course there are other options: pettys, gyutos, single bevels etc etc) but doing it with a paring knife is time efficient and it saves you from the weight of the heavier knife (the blade of which you don’t really use more than 5-10% of when peeling anyway).


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## ian (Sep 3, 2019)

I use one at home (90mm). Mostly for opening plastic bags, scoring chestnuts, cutting the occasional single piece of citrus.

And seriously, I'm not going to throw a *gyuto* across the room when I'm angry...


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## Carl Kotte (Sep 3, 2019)

ian said:


> And seriously, I'm not going to throw a *gyuto* across the room when I'm angry...



Of course not! For knife throwing I would recommend a +300 Takohiki (damascus or honyaki) for biggest dramatic effect. They fly through the air in the most unpredictable ways. Gyutos generally do not deliver the goods for these kinds of anger management tasks. [emoji12]


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## minibatataman (Sep 3, 2019)

Carl Kotte said:


> For you guys working as cooks/chefs: what do you do when you have 20 kg of onions to peel eg? (Maybe that never happens to you, but imagine it would!) At all the places I worked, a 80 or 100 mm paring knife was the weapon of choice. In-hand work only, no board contact. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done without a paring knife (of course there are other options: pettys, gyutos, single bevels etc etc) but doing it with a paring knife is time efficient and it saves you from the weight of the heavier knife (the blade of which you don’t really use more than 5-10% of when peeling anyway).


Yep exactly. The only pairer i own is a Herder I use for things like that. I'm hoping I'll replace it soon with a sabatier 

As for a petty, I also only own one but that's because I don't need anything else. It's a Matus 180mm, thick at the heel and super thin at the tip. I use it at work for trimming and portioning and cleaning up proteins, as well as smaller produce, when using it on board I just keep the handle part off the table so that I have enough clearance, and it works fantastically well. I sometimes don't even take out my gyutos at work. It's also more or less the only knife I need at home as well. I wouldn't see the point of a 120 or 150 mm one either, so I get why so many people don't use them all together, but 180s are a lot of fun and I find mine very very useful


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## kayman67 (Sep 3, 2019)

Carl Kotte said:


> For you guys working as cooks/chefs: what do you do when you have 20 kg of onions to peel eg? (Maybe that never happens to you, but imagine it would!) At all the places I worked, a 80 or 100 mm paring knife was the weapon of choice. In-hand work only, no board contact. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done without a paring knife (of course there are other options: pettys, gyutos, single bevels etc etc) but doing it with a paring knife is time efficient and it saves you from the weight of the heavier knife (the blade of which you don’t really use more than 5-10% of when peeling anyway).



Depends on the final results or habit I guess. 
At first I was doing the same thing but soon realised that it's time wasted, time I didn't have. I'm a lot faster now to slice and dice with a gyuto directly.


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## kayman67 (Sep 3, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> I've never used one because I could never figure out how to keep the edge sharpened, other than a "steel" or ceramic rod which is only good for touch-ups, not actual sharpening. It wouldn't fit my normal sharpening routine on flat water stones, so I've never bought one. Is there a technique for sharpening these on stones? Maybe working on a beveled stone edge?



I understand this well. 
There are ways even on flat bench stones. I do recurve blades all the time. 
But it's easier and faster with smaller stones and a round diamond strop.


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## Carl Kotte (Sep 3, 2019)

kayman67 said:


> Depends on the final results or habit I guess.
> At first I was doing the same thing but soon realised that it's time wasted, time I didn't have. I'm a lot faster now to slice and dice with a gyuto directly.



So, while I agree that it is a matter of habits, and that the whole thing is contingent on the final result, I wonder in what way this responded to my question. When you say ’slicing and dicing’ are you thereby including peeling the onion? (Understand me correctly: I’m not questioning your Gyuto ability; I’m just asking whether we are talking about the same thing [emoji16]!)


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## kayman67 (Sep 3, 2019)

You do have to peel them no matter what. If you need them in one piece for something, I would also suggest using a paring knife. If you don't, peeling them prior to the actual cutting is time we don't usually have and it's just one step not needed.


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## ThinMan (Sep 3, 2019)

rickbern said:


> Take a look at the jki 105 stainless paring knife. That little puppy makes its living helping me cut the cores out of tomatoes. Pointy as all get out.
> 
> https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/collections/petty-knife/products/gesshin-105mm-paring-knife



I have one of those. It’s great. I use it this time of year to slice peaches.


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## M1k3 (Sep 3, 2019)

Carl Kotte said:


> For you guys working as cooks/chefs: what do you do when you have 20 kg of onions to peel eg? (Maybe that never happens to you, but imagine it would!) At all the places I worked, a 80 or 100 mm paring knife was the weapon of choice. In-hand work only, no board contact. I’m not saying it couldn’t be done without a paring knife (of course there are other options: pettys, gyutos, single bevels etc etc) but doing it with a paring knife is time efficient and it saves you from the weight of the heavier knife (the blade of which you don’t really use more than 5-10% of when peeling anyway).



I don't need to keep the onion whole. So cut ends, cut in half, take skin off then slice or dice (depending on it's use).


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## daveb (Sep 3, 2019)

M1k3 said:


> I don't need to keep the onion whole. So cut ends, cut in half, take skin off then slice or dice (depending on it's use).



This. But. Leave one end on for dice. Both off for slice or julienne.


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## SeattleBen (Sep 3, 2019)

gman said:


> i have two pettys, a 75mm and a 150mm; both get used a lot, but exclusively on the board. they are both too thick at the tip for in-hand work (i mean, they can be used in-hand at the heal, but so can a gyuto or suji, or yanagiba, or whatever). i'm actually looking for a legit paring knife for coring apples etc (work that requires a thin tip that can turn in hard product). looking at mac or shun. anything else i should consider?




Jon has two $30 usd paring knives that are out of stock right now that look nice. 



HRC_64 said:


> Not alot of people do tourne cuts outside of work settings



How many people do them at work anymore? I don't think I've done a tournee since school.


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## minibatataman (Sep 3, 2019)

daveb said:


> This. But. Leave one end on for dice. Both off for slice or julienne.


Pretty sure that's how everyone should do it haha. My comments where for when I had to keep onions whole (which I do sometimes)
Of I'm dicing or slicing then it's probably a 50lbs bag of onions for soup or something. Then definitely top and halve and peel... Followed by A LOT of chopping


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## gman (Sep 3, 2019)

rickbern said:


> Take a look at the jki 105 stainless paring knife. That little puppy makes its living helping me cut the cores out of tomatoes. Pointy as all get out.
> 
> https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/collections/petty-knife/products/gesshin-105mm-paring-knife




Looks like exactly what I'm after! Out of stock, unfortunately. :/


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## Matus (Sep 3, 2019)

I am positively amazed by the variety of how we approach small cutting tasks expressed in this thread.


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## MarkC (Sep 3, 2019)

Put me in the Vinox camp. Small, inexpensive and whe someone damaged them or takes the, I just buy a couple more. Couple swirls on a stone and they are sharp again.


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## SilverSwarfer (Sep 3, 2019)

Worked with a guy in NYC we just called “Grande,” he manned the grill most nights. There was a season when we featured whole grilled bronzino, which would be deboned and reassembled for plating. 

I remember still vividly, 17yrs later, how he swore by, and was masterful with, the Victorinox serrated paring knife for this task. 

Serrations allowed him to always incise through the charred skin delicately yet aggressively enough not to tear the frustratingly delicate flesh. 

So +1 on the Vinox (serrated)


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## HRC_64 (Sep 3, 2019)

Matus said:


> I am positively amazed by the variety of how we approach small cutting tasks expressed in this thread.



From pocket-knife to line-knife just about sums it up


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## MarkC (Sep 3, 2019)

SilverSwarfer said:


> Worked with a guy in NYC we just called “Grande,” he manned the grill most nights. There was a season when we featured whole grilled bronzino, which would be deboned and reassembled for plating.
> 
> I remember still vividly, 17yrs later, how he swore by, and was masterful with, the Victorinox serrated paring knife for this task.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I have one of those that I use on tomatoes, especially little cherry sized ones and it works great. Not sure you can sharpen them but they are cheap enough you just get another one when it is time.


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## Elliot (Sep 3, 2019)

Bit of an opposition point of view it seems, but I use multiple parers/Pettys from 110mm-180mm on a daily basis.

I am a home cook but eat a lot of fresh fruit and have a lot of smaller meals that may not necessitate breaking out a gyuto at all.


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## kayman67 (Sep 17, 2019)

I saw this guy cutting with both big and small and reminded me of this topic.


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