Trending Larger or Smaller?

[matt79]

Back in the day I had 210mm as my main prep knife ,when I switched to 240s it was areal eureka moment have never looked back.But I have recently switched from 300mm yanagi to a 240 during service and that really works for me.At home I have tons of space,so I dont have to limit myself there.

[mhpr262]

I have two 210mm gyutos and they are nice to work with for some stuff (well, one at least, the other is kept in pristine unused condition) but in general I do find them a bit too dainty (6'3'' guy here). They would be great for most women though.

I mostly favour the 240-260mm blades, large enough for most anything and you don't need to pump much when rock-chopping (I mostly use German steel)

[Pig-pen]

I work in a detail-oriented tasting menu place, and I use a 210mm "laser" gyuto every day. I never need more length, and the low height and close tip allow for very fine work. I've tried longer and thicker knives, but it feels like using a hunting knife when you need a scalpel.

[Matus]

I am a home cook and while I did replace 210 gyuto with 240 because I found the 210 a bit too short for slicing, my most used knife is Carter Funayuki 167 mm (which I love dearly). Had it been 180 it would be optimal, but 167 works perfectly well. I only reach for different/smaller knife for specific tasks.

[Keith Sinclair]

In my older age deff. trended to lighter motorcycles.

[menzaremba]

Started off with 210mm and moved to 240mm. I have some lovely 270mm knives, buy I'm too short to use them effectively.

[XooMG]

Just received two of my small knives back from rehandling.

135mm Zakuri funayuki:

This knife is just wicked awesome. Light and well balanced to feel like a kitchen scalpel, it is the kind of knife that makes you look for stuff to cut. With the bevels tweaked a bit, it's one of my best (and I think I have some good stuff). 135mm of course is on the shorter end, but it's such a brilliant little knife, I choose it over larger knives even for tasks out of its normal domain.

Carter 150ish funayuki:

I don't have a huge amount of experience with this knife, but look at how sleek that handle is...it's practically a tang condom. The knife balances very nicely and feels alive in the hand. The size is excellent for the majority of kitchen tasks, and I think the profile is pretty good for general use. As a home user, these knives sit easily on my cramped kitchen counter or around the board without me worrying about bumping it or smacking the ege into something.

I actually think my ideal "all-purpose" range is 170-180mm, but smaller knives like these are awesome for some tasks, and sometimes stretching a bit longer is a good idea.

[29palms]

Mostly 225 - 240 or 10" carbon as I have the board space. I used to use 270's, but they really are big. I have a 165mm Carter Funayuki that I use the most it's the perfect small knife. Next busiest knife is my Del paring knife I love that thing.

[Benuser]

If space is limited I prefer a 190mm santoku over a 210mm gyuto, but otherwise I like a somewhat blade-heavy 270mm gyuto on a low working table. My grip has moved a bit forward. No chopping, no walking please.

[slowtyper]

In my experience, in professional environments I've been in, 270 is considered huge.