Opinion: Petty/Paring Knife (Budget $100)

Hi guys.

Some of you helped me purchase a great chef's knife. I ended up going with the Suisin INOX Western 210mm Gyuto.

I love it so much that I now realize I need a petty / paring knife. First, are these knives one-in-the-same?

If so, I would like to go with a good brand that is on par with Suisin, as I'd like to try a different knife, to broaden my horizons.


Do any of you have any recommendations?
I'm looking to spend about $100.


Thanks, Sleekay

sleekay said:

I love it so much that I now realize I need a petty / paring knife. First, are these knives one-in-the-same?


Thanks, Sleekay

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Petty is usually around 150mm to 210mm, can be used for almost any task, in-hand or on board. Paring is short, typically for in hand work and small, fine detail work.

I have the Tanaka blue steel petty and it is very good. gets super sharp and stays sharp forever.

F&F wasnt the best but it is cheap and good !!

Petty is usually around 150mm to 210mm, can be used for almost any task, in-hand or on board. Paring is short, typically for in hand work and small, fine detail work.

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Thanks! Then I'm definitely looking a petty, 150mm (approx.).

I have a Tanaka 150 blue damascus petty and it's a terrific knife.

Mike9 said:

I have a Tanaka 150 blue damascus petty and it's a terrific knife.

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Also have one of these in 165mm.

Thanks for the responses - is this the knife you guys are talking about: Tanaka Petty

Mine is wa-handled, blue 2 steel. Looks like this.
Are you wanting carbon or stainless, wa or western handle? Take a look at the FuRinKaZan from JCK, or the Misono Swedish Carbon.

Ya can't go wrong with that Tanaka. Got mine from 330 mate. Have had it since Feb. and is pretty much used all the time. Prob. the sharpest knife I own. It takes to sharpening too.



Pic after mhenry rehandled it. from the freebie thread.

Honestly, I think a paring knife is way more useful than a petty for me. The only things I can think of that I can't do with a gyuto (easily, at least) are in-hand tasks such as coring strawberries, coring tomatoes, peeling, etc. If it were up to me, I'd rather have a small gyuto (like your 210) and a paring knife than a small gyuto and a petty, which overlap too much.

The only reason I'd get the petty over the paring knife if I were you is if you're deboning a lot of chickens or working with meats with silver-skin. A paring knife isn't great for that stuff, and a 150 petty would be a good knife in that case since you can also do some paring knife tasks with it (albeit, less easily IMO).

heirkb said:

Honestly, I think a paring knife is way more useful than a petty for me. The only things I can think of that I can't do with a gyuto (easily, at least) are in-hand tasks such as coring strawberries, coring tomatoes, peeling, etc. If it were up to me, I'd rather have a small gyuto (like your 210) and a paring knife than a small gyuto and a petty, which overlap too much.

The only reason I'd get the petty over the paring knife if I were you is if you're deboning a lot of chickens or working with meats with silver-skin. A paring knife isn't great for that stuff.

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Interesting, I almost have no use for a paring knife. I find I can do any paring knife task with a petty, but then I can use it for board work, fruit, meats, etc. as well.

GlassEye said:

Interesting, I almost have no use for a paring knife. I find I can do any paring knife task with a petty, but then I can use it for board work, fruit, meats, etc. as well.

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Likewise. I have a 5 dollar victorinox paring knife that I LOVE. But, that is only because its a cheap beater that i can break down boxes and cut random crap with. For actual work a 150 petty does all the same work as a paring knife, but also performs well enough for trimming/breaking down meat and fish (to and extent). I also tend to use it as an everyday line knife. I'm not slicing giant cuts, or sushi rolls, so the petty hangs just fine with duck breast, tenderloin, pork, etc,etc,etc

The only that doubles some functions of both parer and petty

http://www.messer-mit-tradition.de/images/artikel/big/1809.600.02.jpg

Robert Herder's Yatagan, €30 in carbon.

I have 2 pettys one Takeda and a Tojiro DP, as a home cook i use the Tojiro more often since i like being able to take it to the table for smaller cutting tasks such as veggies for breakfast etc. Bottom line, if you are going to use it in a home environment, consider getting one in stainless.

Hi everyone. I just bought this Tanaka petty knife.

Looks like ebay had a better deal than a lot of the sellers on the internet. A lot of stores were selling the knife for $125 or so.

Thanks to everyone who provided options and opinions - very, very appreciated.


sleekay