does size really matter

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I have a Gesshin Ginga(white 2), waiting a couple of weeks would be worth it in my opinion.
 
OK, that does it....I'm waiting. I have just bought a King stone 1000/6000 with some guides and a nagura stone. I'll practice on my Globals and Ken Onion Shun so I'll have some sharpenings under my belt before the GG comes:pirate1:
 
Heh. I wouldn't have guessed that anything smaller than 270 feels inadequate, yet somehow now it does. I even prefer the big knife on smaller items like onions. With the right profile, a big blade will be as agile as your skills allow.
 
The last two comments are why I bought a boardsmith magnum maple board and I liked the extra prep space. I am very happy with my board. Don't know how I lived without it. If something ever happened to it. I would immediately replace it.
 
Funny, as I look around at different knife makers through the world, (lately I have been on a South American kick)it seems as if chefs in the US prefer larger 240 to 270 knives, while people in Europe and South America use mainly smaller knives. I have a friend in Peru working in a kitchen and he said they don't have a knife over 180 mm. I wonder if this is due to size constraints, or just what they grew up with?

My question is, for those of you outside the US how many regularly use 240 or above?
 
Americans are manly men and need manly knives!:pirate1:
 
I'm not a chef just a home cook, knives I use start from an 80mm parer to 180mm knives, not until I ventured onto this site did I explore longer knives. I now have a 210 and 240 gyuto and 270 yanagiba and have no problems using these. I still like to use smaller knives though and am in the process of ording a 165 and 210 petty just to cover all the bases lol. now if I had to choose 3 knives I'd go 80mm parer 150mm petty and a 210mm gyuto as all of my prep/cooking is done on a relatively small scale.
 
SpikeC said:
Americans are manly men and need manly knives!:pirate1:
Click to expand...

lol

I actually think european standard is 24cm.
I like to use 27cm, even for the small jobs.

But for home use you dont need more than 21cm. Yeah, this site is about buying more and more knives, but how many dinners are you preparing a week? Be honest with yourself. Imho if you have 24cm edge or more you need at least large pro sized board.
I can imagine all the blah blah blah coming now, haha
 
bieniek said:
lol

I actually think european standard is 24cm.
I like to use 27cm, even for the small jobs.

But for home use you dont need more than 21cm. Yeah, this site is about buying more and more knives, but how many dinners are you preparing a week? Be honest with yourself. Imho if you have 24cm edge or more you need at least large pro sized board.
I can imagine all the blah blah blah coming now, haha
Click to expand...

"Blah, blah, blah." :fishslap:

For years I got along fine with a 7" Wusthof santoku and a 3.5" paring knife and a 12"x12" board, so it certainly is possible. It's just more fun with a 240-270 and a bigger board.

Rick
 
I have messed around with a lot of different length blades and the one that I grab most of the time is 8 inches. When I want to cut a watermelon in half I use my 12 inch ham slicer, tho!
 
Rick
Just for my information, how many tomatoes are you cutting a month?
 
I know a lot of folks around here rag on the "lack of feel" and whatnot, but I'd love to have a place to store a huge SaniTuff board, like a 24x36. Hey, I don't see a lot of pro cooks and chefs chopping and prepping on end-grain maple and walnut boards. There's something to be said for these SaniTuffs.
 
SameGuy said:
I know a lot of folks around here rag on the "lack of feel" and whatnot, but I'd love to have a place to store a huge SaniTuff board, like a 24x36. Hey, I don't see a lot of pro cooks and chefs chopping and prepping on end-grain maple and walnut boards. There's something to be said for these SaniTuffs.
Click to expand...
Maybe I missed the sanituff bashing thread. I think most people like them. I have one on my radar. I want one for cutting meat. I think they are great.
 
I feel left out. I only cut approx 2133 tomatoes a month.
 
bieniek said:
lol

I actually think european standard is 24cm.
I like to use 27cm, even for the small jobs.

But for home use you dont need more than 21cm. Yeah, this site is about buying more and more knives, but how many dinners are you preparing a week? Be honest with yourself. Imho if you have 24cm edge or more you need at least large pro sized board.
I can imagine all the blah blah blah coming now, haha
Click to expand...

Need? Don't be ridiculous. 99% of cutting tasks most home cooks perform can be accomplished with a paring knife. So what? If you have a small knife for occasional use, the skill and the physical size, a longer knife is going to be more efficient. If you like refined edges, you will notice a drop in performance by the time you are done making a single large meal. Length gives you more edge to work with. I generally recommend shorter knives for people with less skill and less inclination to develop it.
 
Me ridiculous?
1. I dont know what do you mean by "most home cooks" but those I know cannot do even 20 percent of what they do with a paring knife. Not mentioning the higher risks of cutting yourself if you even tried. Or the lack of any forward/backward motion when cutting through wide things.
Or you mean those who open bags and packs? :biggrin:
2. Single large meal? TK, really? But maybe I dont know what refined edge is. What refined means?

3. I am sorry Im just stupid. Thats the reason. I cannot comprehend how home cook [who can do most of the tasks with a paring knife] benefits from 3 more cm of a edge to use.
[He also never used that kinda edge before cause he only got paring knife]
4. You should generally stop giving other people advice based on your own preference.

5. I guess I lack skill anyways, If I do my home cooking with short knife. Lol.
I guess it doesnt matter what size board I have, how much produce I cut, how nice job am I doing, do I like prep or not, what am I cutting, and so on.
Yeah, haha, how simple was that. I just have to work my skill!
 
Ok, kiddies, time to lighten things up a bit.

SpikeC said:
I have messed around with a lot of different length blades and the one that I grab most of the time is 8 inches.
Click to expand...

That's what she said.
 
270 at work, 210 & 240 at home depending on what I'm cutting.

270 is a bit overboard for 99.9% of people at home since you're most likely working on a small board. I have a 15 x 15 end grain board at home and 240 is the absolute max I will go on it, ideally 240 needs a bigger board than that.
 
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