Have 240mm, need smaller second knife

Hi all, reading so many good posts over the past few weeks has been.. illuminating. My current desire is to purchase another, smaller knife for my uses as a home cook enthusiast. I currently have:
240mm Ashi wa-gyuto
8" Wusthof chef's knife
Small Wusthof pairing knife
Takayuki damascus vg10 santoku

The santoku is going to my girlfriend as an excuse for me to buy more knives and I use the Wusthof as my beater. While I really enjoy my 240mm gyuto, I find it a lot of knife when cooking a quick meal for one or two. I'm looking to add a smaller knife for these quicker meals, but i can't decide between:
180mm santoku
180mm gyuto
210mm gyuto

Reading several threads, I've noticed some members really like a 180mm gyuto in addition to their larger knives. I'm thinking it can also serve to do anything on a board a 150mm or larger petty would be used for. I'm wondering if the width is to small for chopping, something a santoku may be good for. If I'm going 180mm, which one would be preferable over the other?

Or do I just go 210mm? I'm concerned it's too close to my 240mm. And then I'd require a petty.

Your collective experience is welcomed in figuring out what would best suit my needs.

KNIFE TYPE
180 gyuto vs 180 santoku vs 210 gyuto
Yo handle ok, prefer wa
Stainless or semi
$200 budget

KNIFE USE
Home use
Slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing, trimming meats and fish, no breaking down chickens or anything.
Pinch grip
Push, slice
Stainless or stain resistant
Prefer lighter, good fit and finish. Will not replace handle.

With my work and studies, I don't have time to learn to sharpen myself or at least give the learning time it deserves for the next year. Will take my knives to Tosho or Knife instead for sharpening in the meantime.

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Edge grain board
Don't sharpen myself yet, will only be able to devote time to this next year.

Found some good answers in this thread from two years ago which I missed on my first few searches:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/8898-210-verus-240

Thanks!

You should have a petty anyway imo.

210 is a lot smaller than 240 gyuto despite the small change in length. just like a 240 is way smaller than a 270. for me 210 gyutos are entirely too small as the area near the tip gets much too 'short'. hence ive opted for a 190 santoku which keeps more height throughout the blade.

Another rec for a petty. A 150 or 180 would compliment your 240 gyuto.

Thanks for the replies guy (and thanks Theory for all your YouTube videos). After more reading I agree a 150mm petty is a good idea. Let's say my 240mm budget is/was $200, how much would you put towards a petty?

I think I may look for something around half that, and save that if ever I decide on more knives. I have a bad feeling this is just the start.

Panda, enjoying your 190mm Hiromoto?

Hiromoto as 150mm petty is like $80.

its ok, rather use a 240 but it's fine for home use. i don't find a petty particularly useful, where as i use a paring knife quite a bit. when the paring is not big enough, i would rather use a full size instead of a small 'utility'.

With my first knife purchase, I bought a 240 gyuto and a petty(Kikuichi). I found I rarely used the petty, but wanted a paring for more "in hand" sort of work. So when I ordered my set of Raders, it was a 250ish gyuto and a paring knife.
Of course, it all kinda boils down to how you use a knife and how you cook. Personal preference weighs highly on this subject.

not a bad demo on a 150mm tojiro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfdoCRMJ7bQ

ThEoRy said:

Hiromoto as 150mm petty is like $80.

Click to expand...

I would second this. I use mine a lot. It can do a lot more than a pairing knife. Great for 'quick' jobs

I would suggest the Hiromoto 190. Has almost the same edge length as a 240, without the tip of course. Prefer it over a 210 gyuto. A petty is very nice but has a really short contact area. And with a petty I have to change my grip too much compared to what I'm used to.

get yourself a 150 or 180 petty!

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice everyone. I've decided to start with a petty, take some time to figure out how I like it with the 240mm, then reevaluate what else I'd like to have. Now I need to take stock of what's available and which petty I'd like.

Cheers
Ato

I will call myself an outlier here and say that I use a 270 (actually 262mm) gyuto and a 150mm petty and more and more I've been wishing I had a smaller gyuto for certain tasks. There are quick cutting jobs I want to do (e.g. cutting up already-cooked veggies for my kids) where a big gyuto is just too much, but that require actual chopping, which I don't think a petty is particularly useful for, given the shortness (from edge to spine) of that profile. So I'm in the market for a 210 gyuto, which, granted, is only useful for a limited number of tasks, but the only thing that's really convenient in certain situations.

So for me, a big gyuto, a small gyuto, and a petty (which is incredibly useful for lots of other tasks) are all worth having.

dannynyc said:

I will call myself an outlier here and say that I use a 270 (actually 262mm) gyuto and a 150mm petty and more and more I've been wishing I had a smaller gyuto for certain tasks. There are quick cutting jobs I want to do (e.g. cutting up already-cooked veggies for my kids) where a big gyuto is just too much, but that require actual chopping, which I don't think a petty is particularly useful for, given the shortness (from edge to spine) of that profile. So I'm in the market for a 210 gyuto, which, granted, is only useful for a limited number of tasks, but the only thing that's really convenient in certain situations.

So for me, a big gyuto, a small gyuto, and a petty (which is incredibly useful for lots of other tasks) are all worth having.

Click to expand...

I am currently in exactly the same dilemma. I used to pride myself on using big manly 10''/240mm/270mm blades, but I recently tried out a slim 8'' blade that I had bought cheap on ebay and I really liked it. I am currently thinking about buying a 210mm gyuto or even a santoku ...

Spent the last few weeks looking around at 150mm petty knives, and am wondering if people have comments or suggestions based on their personal experience and based on what I filled out in the OP. What I'm looking at with a budget up to $125ish, and wa or yo does not really matter:

Hiromoto AS (I would not be thinning/etching the petty)
Takayuki Grand Chef Swedish (available both wa and yo)
Gesshin Uraku
Misono Moly

Upper end of my budget:
Sakai Yusuke Stainless
Akifusa PM

Out of budget but close-by:
Konosuke GS

There are other knives I would consider, but they are out of stock, so I didn't bother listing them. Besides, I believe the choices above are more than adequate. Of everything listed above, the wa and yo Takayukis, the Misono Moly as well as the Konosuke GS would be easiest, as they are all in-country.

The Hiromoto and the Yusuke would come from Japan and I believe would mostly avoid customs and taxes. The Akifusa and Uraku are from the US and are more likely to hit customs.

Regards,

Oops, can't edit my above post anymore. There was also a Tanaka Ginsan wa-petty at metalmaster, but unfortunately that batch disappeared last week. I may wait around until it comes back, considering the price, if it's worthwhile.

Atokade said:

Spent the last few weeks looking around at 150mm petty knives, and am wondering if people have comments or suggestions based on their personal experience and based on what I filled out in the OP. What I'm looking at with a budget up to $125ish, and wa or yo does not really matter:

Hiromoto AS (I would not be thinning/etching the petty)
Takayuki Grand Chef Swedish (available both wa and yo)
Gesshin Uraku
Misono Moly

Upper end of my budget:
Sakai Yusuke Stainless
Akifusa PM

Out of budget but close-by:
Konosuke GS

There are other knives I would consider, but they are out of stock, so I didn't bother listing them. Besides, I believe the choices above are more than adequate. Of everything listed above, the wa and yo Takayukis, the Misono Moly as well as the Konosuke GS would be easiest, as they are all in-country.

The Hiromoto and the Yusuke would come from Japan and I believe would mostly avoid customs and taxes. The Akifusa and Uraku are from the US and are more likely to hit customs.

Regards,

Click to expand...

Instead of the Misono Moly I would suggest the Misono 440, harder steel. Even better steel, but without Misono's exceptional F&F: stainless monosteel Hiromoto Gin-3.

Ato,

I have both the Yusuke stainless 150 petty and the Hiromoto 190 Santoku. I prefer the Hiromoto Santoku. Much more versatile than a petty, and the AS steel takes on the coolest patina going! I really love the extra weight, too. The Yusuke petty is almost weightless in hand.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

J

Mute-on said:

Ato,

I have both the Yusuke stainless 150 petty and the Hiromoto 190 Santoku. I prefer the Hiromoto Santoku. Much more versatile than a petty, and the AS steel takes on the coolest patina going! I really love the extra weight, too. The Yusuke petty is almost weightless in hand.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

J

Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. Benuser, and I believe, Panda, also suggested the hiro 190mm. I think I'll start by adding a petty, and then looking at the Hiro 190mm or other santokus.

Benuser said:

Instead of the Misono Moly I would suggest the Misono 440, harder steel. Even better steel, but without Misono's exceptional F&F: stainless monosteel Hiromoto Gin-3.

Click to expand...

Thanks! the Hiromoto G3 I definitely considered, however I can only find it at JCK and I'm not sure if it will ever come back in stock. Would you know of any other place I can purchase one?