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Seth

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As I get older I find I am trending toward smaller knives. I have bunches of 270s; kiri, gyuto, yanagiba, but I am really enjoying some 180s these days. Are you finding your preferences changing over time? A 270 feels like a monster to me now plus I am in a home cooking environment.
 
I prefer 210mm gyutos. I live in a small apartment with a small counter top. It doesnt fit big boards or blades.
 
I have plenty of space but I do like smaller knives atm, home cook/house chef for hire
 
I'm forcing myself to exclusively my recently acquired 225 Marko, putting the 250 Marko aside. Really liking the shorter blade!
 
In the hypothetical "if the house was on fire and you could grab only one knife on your way out the door" scenario, my 240 Devin ITK, no contest. But more and more, for smaller tasks, I find myself using the Gesshin Hide 210 gyuto from Jon. Fantastic cutter. :thumbsup:
 
Funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing about an hour today while cutting some mushrooms. As a home cook, simply more comfortable using a relatively smaller knife for most tasks.
 
I much prefer 240 mm gyutos lately after using 270 mm gyutos for a couple of years. I use to be very OCD about the actual cutting length and blade height, of my knives, but now I dont really care about that so much as long as grind and profile is how I like it to be.
 
I cook in a professional setting and I use a 240 gyuto and a 220 chukabocho almost exclusively, I had a 210 wa-gyuto but it felt like a toy and couldn't handle a large prep load as well.
 
I am a pro, I use a 240 and everyone says "THAT IS HUGE" they like their 8" Shuns
 
Love my 240 DT ITK gyuto. The 210 hiromoto feels like using a petty. I do use a couple 150-180 pettys, but we have to cut enough onions, carrots, peppers,etc. that a 240 is my main knife. (home cook)
 
At home I don't use anything larger than 240mm. I just don't have the space.

That said, at work, I definitely have been leaning towards larger knives. Using a nice 270mm gyuto is a revelation. My Ginga is a destroyer of all things veg and I love having the extra height & length. I just feel faster and more precise. When space is limited and I don't have the room to spread out (so to speak), I like having a sturdier 240mm and I actually usually end up using a 210mm petty for most of my prep. Especially if I am doing prep on the line.
 
Smaller knives just suit the way I do most of my cutting.

In the not so distant future I'll probably do a kind of review/comparison of various smaller all-purpose knives, since they don't really get as much attention. Perhaps a little teaser?
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that Takamura from those specs looks really thin
 
I was thinking about Pepin who seems to use a petty for just about anything and then there is that guy HIRO TERADA Basic cutting skills (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YKRnv0aq-8) who always uses a small slicer. (I think we figured out what it was at one point.) But for me there is a definite trend. Even a 240 looks bigger than it use to.
 
I was thinking about Pepin who seems to use a petty for just about anything and then there is that guy HIRO TERADA Basic cutting skills (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YKRnv0aq-8) who always uses a small slicer. (I think we figured out what it was at one point.) But for me there is a definite trend. Even a 240 looks bigger than it use to.

He uses a Kikuichi 210mm petty.

You can do all that with pretty much any knife but a longer petty is just plain fun because they're so light, thin & nimble.

He was showing off for the camera and so his precision wasn't there 100% but the way he diced the potatoes was gangster.

I know another poster here who was working at a kaiseki place in NYC said one of the Japanese line cooks only used a Suisin IH 180mm petty & was incredible with his knife skills. I would have liked to have seen that!
 
I prefer knives that have a bit of character. The length doesn't mean terribly much. I can proficiently wield any length of knife all day and use it for a variety of tasks. But the general feel and 'voice' means a lot more to me. There's so many knives that do the general task of cutting very well, but very few that speak to you whilst doing so. That's a purely subjective aspect, yet much more compelling IMO. All that being said- if I was trapped in some nonstop version of prep hell, I'd probably feel best with a 53mm tall, 245mm long gyuto :whistling:
 
I have always preferred an 8or9" slicer for most things, just so light and nimble.
 
I bought 240 as my first gyuto. Then added 210 gyuto. Later came two 180 different gyutos. Seems like 165-180 is just the perfect length for me. Almost never I feel the urge to reach for anything longer.

Just a home cook.
 
I've gone up to a 300mm gyuto and back down to a 180mm santoku. It's been fun trying different types of knifes and sizes, seeing which one works best for a specific task.

Jay
 
XooMG would you consider the Takamura a laser?
If we're going to use terms like that, then yes. The only other knife I have that really plays the same game is my Sakai Yusuke extra-thin, and that (the Yusuke) might be a tiny bit thinner by the tip, a bit more whippy/flexible, and worse with regard to sticking. The Carter isn't too far off, but is a bit thicker than expected since his site reported 1.2mm around the stamp.

Here's the Yusuke extra-thin and Takamura:
lIJSZPt.jpg
 
"Old School"..... 270mm Singatirin, Honyaki gyuto. I must say that I own way more 210mm's than any other knife. Still like the longer blade though, must be just because I'm OLD & DUMB! :D
 
240s for heavy prep and on certain blades where the size shines - Kato, Kono Fujiyama, etc... 210s on the line, finer work, home use. Like to have a couple of 180s around for off site work, travel & line sometimes.
 
I love 240s but if I was a home cook I seriously wouldent mind something light and delicate. Pro kitchen completely different though large knifes are a must for me my days are long enough and large knives make me quicker and more efficient which in turn makes my day easier and less monotonous. Love my 240s and 270s. Long and flat is how I like them think masamoto ks, mario etc.
 
For the guys using a 180: do you use a gyuto or a petty? I ask since 180 gyuto's are not that widespread.
 
Lately my 185 Shig seems to be the go-to even though I have a large cutting board and a decent size kitchen. I have larger knives that I use for fun when I feel like it, up to 250, but as a home cook if I'm only cooking for 2 then there's not a big need for me to use the larger knives I find. For larger dinners I do tend to go for the larger knives. Some day I'll try a 270 just to get a feel for it though!

For the guys using a 180: do you use a gyuto or a petty? I ask since 180 gyuto's are not that widespread.

Gyuto for me too. Well, 185 for me.

-Steve
 
When I use a 180, it's a wa-petty. Gengetsu stainless clad white #2.
 

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