petty prep knuckle clearance

[HSC /// Knives]

150-180 mm length

what minimum height do you like for knuckle clearance?

thanks

 

[Gshep91]

I have a 180x40 and a 180x47 and I feel like somewhere in the middle would be perfect

 

[M1k3]

I have a 180x40 and a 180x47 and I feel like somewhere in the middle would be perfect

What he said.

 

[dehory]

40mm seems like a good minimum height to me too, and anything above 44-45mm starts feeling a little more like a mini gyuto than a petty.

 

[MowgFace]

My favorite petties with “knuckle clearance” in this range are between 34 and 40mm.

I actually think along similar lines as @dehory above, though on the other end of the spectrum. 210 Gyutos used to run 42ish-mm, so 40mm would be my maximum while still being a petty.

That being said, I also like my tiny suji petties and I am not a part of the “taller is better” Gyuto fad that’s going around lately.

 

[jakuda]

32-36mm. If it's taller, it might not be as nimble for other prep tasks, and then I might as well pull out my 180mm gyuto like an Ashi Hamono.

 

[ITKKF]

As mentioned in another thread, knuckle clearance depends on the way handle is positioned, so that’s to be taken into account too.

 

[Keithpaints]

Petty are often used in slicing motion. My pointy petty decores big strawberries held in hand.

 

[Jovidah]

Depends a lot on the use case, for meat and in-hand work IMO less blade height is better.

 

[Vertigo]

Maybe I'm out of touch, but a petty is a hand knife? The only time I'm using a petty on a board, I'm steering with my index finger on the spine and lightly holding the handle with the rest, no need to worry about knuckle clearance in the first place?

 

[HSC /// Knives]

Thanks for the responses and guidance.

I’m all about giving the customer what they want, so if a customer wants a petty with knuckle clearance then that’s what I give them.

Remember, everyone is different

 

[AT5760]

38mm just enough for board work and narrow enough that in hand work isn’t too awkward.

 

[Matus]

For the the best solution with not having enough knuckle clearance with 150mm petty is a 180 mm petty and keeping my hand off the cutting board. I would not want to trade the nimbleness of a narrow blade for more knuckle clearance. Example - Munetoshi 165 petty (about 40 mm tall). Great little knife, but it does not quite feel like a petty anymore, more like mini-gyuto / general utility knife that covers more bases.

One knife that gets a half-exception from is the the little 'weird' Saito petty I got from JNS: It has a rather different design than 'traditional' petty knives and it gives some more knuckle clearance even though it does not have a particularly wide blade.

Fact is - we have two 150mm petty knives at the moment and no 180 - and I miss not having one.

 

[Corradobrit1]

All depends on the size of your sausages. For smaller hands 35mm is OK. Average size then 38-40mm

 

[sumis]

if i feel i really need more knuckle clearance for a petty task, it is actually a gyuto task. also, it is not difficult to change your grip around, or keep the hand(le) outside the board.

.

 

[Jovidah]

Yeah the whole obsession with tall petties was always lost on me. If it's short and tall it's not a petty, it's a cheese knife!

Personally, if for whatever reason I was set on a petty with more knuckle clearance I'd look into the profile... going with something more triangular a bit like a honesuki. That way you still get a nimble tip. But whether that actually works for the user depends a lot on countertop height, user length, etc.

 

[rickbern]

my munetoshi 165 petty is 40 mm tall and I think it’s too large to be a good petty. Not a bad knife, just not a great petty.

Edit. Didn’t see @Matus comment. I agree with what he said!

 

[stringer]

I don't use petties (210 or smaller) for board work. Knuckle clearance is irrelevant to me. I would prefer a spear point sujihiki style profile. If I want a short knife I will use a nakiri. I guess I will have to have you make me one of those too!

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

38ish mm for what you describe Harbeer.

 

[panda]

tall petty defeats purpose of a petty.

 

[ian]

Ask the customer to read this thread and then give you a target heel height.

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

looks like I may be an outlier. but I really like that cruwear forged petty I picked up from you 180x 40. I thought 40 was a great height for me at least. able to get enough knuckle clearance for what I need but still allows the tip to be very nimble and easy to do delicate things with like mincing up onions or shallots or garlic etc.

 

[Barmoley]

It also largely depends on the height of the handle and its angle relative to the edge. Take a 40 mm tall knife with an unrealistic 30 mm tall handle vs a 10 mm tall handle. These would feel very different in use and have very different knuckle clearance. Maybe it is not the absolute height of the blade that matters but rather the difference between the blade height and handle height? All within reason of course.

 

[athel]

The narrower the better imo, I love my ~29mm tall 180mm ginga petty. I agree with some of the others -- if the task requires something taller, I should just be using a gyuto, but a narrow petty does things a gyuto can't. I feel the same way about sujis (although balancing how that trades off against weight).

 

[Jovidah]

It also largely depends on the height of the handle and its angle relative to the edge. Take a 40 mm tall knife with an unrealistic 30 mm tall handle vs a 10 mm tall handle. These would feel very different in use and have very different knuckle clearance. Maybe it is not the absolute height of the blade that matters but rather the difference between the blade height and handle height? All within reason of course.

Offset petty it is!

 

[panda]

Offset petty it is!

sir that's a bread knife

 

[Mikeadunne]

37mm

 

[MowgFace]

I think everyone brings very valid points to this conversation. So lets make a Petty sliding scale!

29mm or Less - Tiny Sujihiki. Not meant to be used on board, unless hand position and grip are adjusted accordingly.
31-38 - Tall Petty. For most users, this height affords "knuckle clearance"
40-45 - Mini Gyuto. For Average to large sausage sizes
47+ - Santoku. For the 3 virtues.

 

[Delat]

I have a gap in the 30-40mm range that I've never felt the need to fill, personally.

My wife uses the 135x28 blue-handled petty for everything, from oranges to watermelons. I use the 150x28 as a slicer/trimmer. If I need knuckle clearance, which is very rare, then I just work off the near edge of the cutting board. A 180x30 might be a nice addition but I don't often need to trim or slice huge chunks of meat so just use my old zwilling for that.

Once I jump to the 170x40 and 180x45 size (the two on the right) they're basically small gyutos I use for regular, small preps. That size and height are really nice and nimble to use for quick tasks and I use that size a lot.

Adding a little visual aid

 

[Barmoley]

In reality we know the correct answer is 42 all we need now is to know what the question is.