3.5" / 90mm pairing ?

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ayumi_ishida

ayumi_ishida

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What are some of the Japanese go-to pairing knives to consider ?
I was thinking western handle / stainless steel , +- $100
But open to any combination for best performance
Currently using Victorinox 3.25 & 3.9 pairing , They work but exploring other options .
 
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Butch Harner is always the recommendation from me. Stainless XHP tool steel. Custom whatever you want for handle. Slightly over your $100 budget, but not by much.

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I'm not a big fan of shun in general, but their 3.5"/90mm classic parer is actually pretty nice for in-hand work because of that cut away at the neck/heel area, and pretty much right at your price point. I'm also not worried about their vg10 being supposedly chippy or whatever since there's not gonna be any board contact involved. Just make sure you don't accidentally get the 4" version if you want ~90mm.

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Probably not easily available for you, but the best generally available paring knives from Europe are IMO from Robert Herder... largely because they're the only ones that grind them proper thin.

There isn't a whole lot to choose from when it comes to Japanese paring knives because few knife makers have them in their lineup. Of the ones that do they often seem overbuilt, have awkward profiles, or are too tall or too thick.
Though I've never used any of them, the more 'mundane' brands like Shun, Mac, Misono or Miyabi seem the better pick there, simply because they at least have a more classical profile.
 
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Any idea why the Japanese pairing knives are typically that way ?
I've read that Shun and MAC have good reviews .
Re: Robert Herder ; is there just one pairing model that he offers or is there a specific recommendation ?
 
From Robert Herder there's sheepsfoot models and spearpoint (mittelspitz)...for all round usage I prefer the latter.
K1M would indeed be my recommendation if you're willing to spend a bit... with stainless steel + POM handle being hte most fuss free easy day to day option. The wood handles are nice but harder to keep nice. They also have the same knives in carbon... and it's a great carbon steel (not very reactive)...but for me I prefer paring knives to be full stainless.

Why Japanese paring knives are the way they are (they mostly simply... aren't), I think its because they have no tradition of paring knives. Hence why you mostly see them with bigger brands focusing on doing more western-style stuff.
 
TeaThyme said:
The 1922 series looks very nice, is it worth the extra money? (Not in stock though)
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I had one, nice grind and nice steel, probably the best classic style German production knife out there. But the spine is bit to sharp for me. The 1.2519 steel for K series should be theoretically bit better than the 1922’s C75W at similar hardness. I like the profile of 1922 more tho, it’s classic drop forged. I sold mine to @Choppin
 
Jovidah said:
I think @Benuser had one at some point, he might be able to shed some light.
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I had a 1922 petty. Excellent steel, C75W, low reactivity thanks to the polishing. Nowadays far too expensive. IIRC 120mm long, narrow, requiring a lot of sharpening, if used for board work, with the small contact area. The fingerguard far more a problem than with its big brothers. Short life span.
 
ayumi_ishida said:
View attachment 299773
Handle looks comfortable

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The mac professional is a really dependable series and yes the handles are nice and comfortable. I used to own the mac pro parer. I like the profile, but unfortunately I found that the heel had a tendency to bite me during in-hand work. YMMV.

Honestly my favorite paring knife is a freaking $8 victorinox 3.25". If I'm using a paring knife, which is rare to begin with, I usually want something with a little bit of flex to navigate curves (like in an apple or lemon). I also like the narrow spear point for coring tomatoes, strawberries, etc.

I know that collecting nice paring knives is fun. I've been guilty of it myself. But I almost never use the damn things.
 
chiffonodd said:
The mac professional is a really dependable series and yes the handles are nice and comfortable. I used to own the mac pro parer. I like the profile, but unfortunately I found that the heel had a tendency to bite me during in-hand work. YMMV.

Honestly my favorite paring knife is a freaking $8 victorinox 3.25". If I'm using a paring knife, which is rare to begin with, I usually want something with a little bit of flex to navigate curves (like in an apple or lemon). I also like the narrow spear point for coring tomatoes, strawberries, etc.

I know that collecting nice paring knives is fun. I've been guilty of it myself. But I almost never use the damn things.
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You have a point . I may just stay with my victorinox 3.25 .
 
Jovidah said:
From Robert Herder there's sheepsfoot models and spearpoint (mittelspitz)...for all round usage I prefer the latter.
K1M would indeed be my recommendation if you're willing to spend a bit... with stainless steel + POM handle being hte most fuss free easy day to day option. The wood handles are nice but harder to keep nice. They also have the same knives in carbon... and it's a great carbon steel (not very reactive)...but for me I prefer paring knives to be full stainless.

Why Japanese paring knives are the way they are (they mostly simply... aren't), I think its because they have no tradition of paring knives. Hence why you mostly see them with bigger brands focusing on doing more western-style stuff.
Click to expand...
The small Herders excel in peeling. This is thanks to their particular geometry: crazy thin, left face convexed with a high-degree microbevel, right side — under when peeling by a right-hander — flat with a minimal bevel. The anniversary edition with its large walnut handle and short blade with a free but rounded heel is very comfortable.
 
Jovidah said:
From Robert Herder there's sheepsfoot models and spearpoint (mittelspitz)...for all round usage I prefer the latter.
K1M would indeed be my recommendation if you're willing to spend a bit... with stainless steel + POM handle being hte most fuss free easy day to day option. The wood handles are nice but harder to keep nice. They also have the same knives in carbon... and it's a great carbon steel (not very reactive)...but for me I prefer paring knives to be full stainless.

Why Japanese paring knives are the way they are (they mostly simply... aren't), I think its because they have no tradition of paring knives. Hence why you mostly see them with bigger brands focusing on doing more western-style stuff.
Click to expand...
From Sharp Knife Shop dot com :

The petty is the Japanese equivalent of the western style paring knife. They're usually a little longer and I could never go back after using one. The idea is all the on board work is done wit your gyuto or chef knife and everything in hand is done wit the petty. Not limited to capping strawberries, peeling, turning, or coring veggies, and smaller butchery tasks like chicken, small fish, or deboning a pork shoulder.
 
150mm isn’t good in hand. Too long.

I recently picked up a stainless herder K1M from strata and its good for in hand work. Heel is covered to protect your thumb. Steel is essentially AEBL.

For WA handle I like akifusa. PM stainless or stainless clad carbon. my stainless is ground thicker than ideal, not great for in hand peeling work, but good for many other small tasks like trimming chops. Unlike shun it is not handle heavy. I loath the balance on shuns, others like them.
 
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