100mm Petty Passaround, looking for feedback

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Just a quick update...still in transit to me. It’s been taking forever. I think the holiday weekend might have delayed it.
 
I received the knife yesterday. Haven’t had a chance to cut with it but initial impression is that it feels great in hand. I don’t typically use small knives. Just recently picked up a 180 petty and that’s my tiny blade. I know some didn’t like the light blade to large handle but it feels really good to me. I have tried some smaller petties and pairing knives and couldn’t deal with the tiny handle. I hope to put this to good use this weekend but could see this as great addition to the rack. Stay tuned but excited to use this one.
 
User: Home use...myself and son

Dates used: 7/10 - 7/16

Initial Impression: Felt really nice in hand. Wasn't sure about the blade finish. Super thin and light.

Likes: Size...my smallest knife at the moment is a 180mm petty. I need something this size on my rack. I have tried to like smaller blades but the handles always seem too small or huge. This was perfect combination of blade length, height and handle size for me. Very handy to grab for small kitchen tasks but not so small that it is a single purpose blade.

Dislikes: Initially I didn't care for the blade finish but after some use I changed my mind. It has a cool look to it but I had concerns about durability. One week of use isn't really a good durability run but after thinking about it this has been shipped all over and used but quite a few before me. I didn't beat on it but gave it a good workout and the finish seems very solid. Initially I wasn't sure about the green in the handle but this grew on me as well.

Sharpened: Didn't get a chance to get out the stones. Knife was decently sharp when it arrived.

Tasks performed: I pretty much did all my cutting for the week with this knife with the exception of slicing some tenderloin and cutting up a pineapple and watermelon. Mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chicken, apples, strawberries, etc.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed using this. Thanks Tim! I would like to add something just like this to my rack as I think I have a big gap in this space. What I found this knife most useful for was working with raw proteins. It was very handy for cleaning up chicken breasts and removing silverskin on beef. My son used this knife a fair amount this past week and his thoughts were very similar. His only gripe in the end was the green in the handle but loved the size, fit and finish.
 
AT5760 said:
It’s off to the next person this afternoon. The knife came in just as I left on a family vacation, so my write up is a bit delayed.
Click to expand...

I guess that wasn't the best of timing for when it got to you.
I hope that you still got to play around with it some and cooked a bit while on vacation.
If you feel that you need to use it for a few more days to get a real impression of it that is perfectly fine.
I just wanted to get a pulse on where it was at the moment.
 
I only got a couple of days with the knife, but I was able to use it for a full meal and some odds and ends. @Tim Rowland, thanks a ton for letting me try out your craftsmanship.

User: Just me (my wife sticks to the Ikea butter knives)

Dates used: July 21-30

Initial impression: Small, laser thin gyuto with a freakin' awesome handle.

Likes: 1. I really, really liked the handle. The finish is pretty grippy, even when wet. The grain on the wood is gorgeous, and the lime green liner adds some color without it being gaudy. The handle is on the longer side for a parer, but the diameter and shape work well for a parer/small prep knife. 2. It peels well - being a parer that matters! Once I got used to the thinness of the blade, I felt really comfortable using it on apples and carrots. With more time, I think a knife like this could be as efficient or even more efficient than the peelers I usually use. 3. The knife has great overall fit and finish and it's clear that Tim takes care with his work.

Dislikes: 1. I didn't find it quite as comfortable to use in hand as the Opinel and Wusthoff that I usually use for in hand tasks. I think it was the combination of slightly longer neck and slightly taller heel. The handle is very comfortable, but I felt slightly awkward at first when trying to peel fruit. But thankfully I didn't nick my thumb on the heel. 2. I am neutral on the blade finish. Pro - it reminds me a lot of my Benchmade's finish and I think it likely adds substantial corrosion resistance. Con - it felt like it added some drag on softer foods like melon.

Sharpened: Gentle touch up on Rika 5k. I've got a long way to go on sharpening, and didn't want to mess up the edge or finish. So I just gave it 8-10 passes on each side to freshen the edge. Felt fine on the stone, but I went really, really light.

Task performed: Did an entire family meal with this little guy. I used it to core and slice strawberries and melon for the kids (used a gyuto to peel the melon). Sliced pork chops, which it did quite well given the length. Prepped a few apples and red peppers. Sliced summer squash. In addition to daily work on fruit, I used it to cut shallots for a salad. Shallots are no match for this knife.

Final Thoughts: First, if every knife that I own had a handle to the similar to the one on this knife, I'd be a very happy guy. I really like the feel and shape of it. Second, I don't think I quite gelled with this knife as a parer, BUT I think a 150mm version of this knife could be my perfect daily prep knife. The profile worked well on the board and an extra bit of length would be great when slicing portioned proteins or dealing with peppers, apples, and larger stone fruit. The blade is thinner than anything else that I own, but it never felt brittle or fragile.
 
Thank you for participating in this passaround as well as the great feedback.
If I do another passaround in the future I will make sure you get a little more time with it if you want.
 
I love these pass around review threads. I feel I learn a lot about the art of evaluating a knife in the abstract from comparing pictures to multiple reviews from different cooks with different training/experience/preferences.

Also, just wanted to say that the knife looks ridiculously gorgeous. Would love to hold it in hand, too, but I assume this pass around is "closed" at the moment.
 
Thank you for your inquiry.
This is my 1st pass around here on this forum, but I may do another in the future with a different knife. This one is now on its way back to me for final inspection and compilation of all the feedback to use for future iterations of this petty.
 
Update and consolidation of feedback:

  • Everyone seemed to be impressed with the fit and finish.........that makes me smile I try to focus on that stuff as much as geometry.
  • Mixed reviews on handle size, I think that will always depend on hand size and preference on balance.
  • Most seemed to like the handle material choices...even the little pop of color.
  • Multiple mentions on the thinness of the blade. This was made with .040" stock...I believe I will be changing to .060" stock to improve balance, encourage confidence in the robustness of the blade.
  • Mixed reviews on the blade finish, it was sandblasted with a garnet media. I will probably change this to a satin belt finish as I do on most of my other knives.
  • Some liked the profile with the longer distinct emoto, and some wanted it shorter. I think for the 100mm size I will make the emoto slightly shorter and leave the same length for my longer pettys.
  • Some thought that at 100mm a slightly shorter heel would help the in hand feel as well. I am going to explore making it 25mm vs. the 28mm here, I believe along with shortening the emoto a touch it should create a better in hand feel for paring tasks.
  • A few thought that a 150mm version would be just the right size for a prep/protien knife...That is in the works.

Thank you again for everyone who participated in this pass around and all the great feedback. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to use it.

I really liked the feedback from this one so I would love to do a second pass around with a different profile and will most likely open it up as a 2 part. Con. US and then Europe

So what would everyone like to see as my next pass around?
 
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Tim Rowland said:
Thank you again for everyone who participated in this pass around and all the great feedback. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to use it.
Click to expand...
This looks like the definitive win-win - you got useful feedback and everyone involved got to use a terrific knife.

As you say, handles are never going to be a one-size-fits-all thing. Also, they're the most interesting part of the knife, after all ;)

Tim Rowland said:
So what would everyone like to see as my next pass around?
Click to expand...
Narrator: it soon became obvious that this question was utterly pointless and the knifemaker decided to just make the next test knife he had in mind
 
Whoo, I was the last person to have try this knife, but due to some unforeseen difficulties, I didn’t have a chance to sit down and write this review, so here it goes:

First impressions, it’s like a nice kitchen scalpel lol. Thin and tall blade, long and sender handle. Aesthetically, this knife is very pleasing to the eyes and the touch.

I used the knife for around a week in a pro kitchen setting. Unfortunately, due to the size, I didn’t reach for it as much as I wanted to, but still tried to use it as much as I could. I’m more used to using a 135-150mm for making delicate cuts with small veg or proteins. Not a fan of the handle, as it was really hard for me to use it with a steady pinch grip, so for the most part, I was legit holding it like a scalpel. I didn’t notice any heat treatment issues with the blade. It arrived sharp and left sharp, never did I think to myself that it needed a touch up on stones or the strop. Flew through shallots and radish really nicely. There was no friction, so that’s a plus as well. If the knife was a touch thicker, that would be a plus, as well, because I felt like I had to be extra careful while using it

The only downfall of this knife to me is the size, which is probably a personal issue, but the only 100mm petty I currently own is a Mazaki, which also sees limited use. Everything the 100mm petty can do, I would prefer to do it with a longer petty. I asked my coworkers to see if we shared the same opinion, and they did.

Overall, this is a great petty. Would I purchase this exact one? No. Would I ask Tim Rowland to make me a longer one? Absolutely.
 
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