Best knife for segmenting fruit?

[Phip]

Home cook here who for over 10 years has supremed a lot of grapefruit in season, usually six to eight boxes a year (so I've done this over 1000 times, literally), plus oranges for salads and such. I've used 50+ general purpose J knives for doing supremes at one time or another. A few things I have and haven't found.

--I would hate to have to do the job with a paring knife because it's so much quicker and safer to remove the rind with a larger knife.
--I have not found citrus to harm my carbon edges, but of course I wipe my blade with a damp cloth and dry it promptly after use. Some all-carbon blades can bring a bit of metallic taste to the meal, though, depending on the steel, patina, etc.
--Anything shorter than 180mm is a pain because I use a single long stroke to get each facet of rind off a grapefruit. I don't mind longer knives, but when they get much wider than 45mm that's a lot of blade in your hands when you're doing the sectioning task.
--My favorite is Watanabe's180mm pro gyuto upgraded w/ an enju handle. It's blue core w/ stainless cladding and one of my few truly "dead guy" knives, as in I'll never get rid of it until I die. It's so nimble and versatile I grab it instead of a petty every time. Gyuto knife | Kurouchi Japanese analog of western chef's knife
--If you want all stainless, the Suisin Inox 210mm gyuto is nice; they come with one of the better stock handles around and are light and nimble. If they make a 180mm, it could be just what you want if you're inclined to stainless only. Suisin Inox Honyaki Wa-Gyuto

 

[marlinspike]

--I would hate to have to do the job with a paring knife because it's so much quicker and safer to remove the rind with a larger knife.

--Anything shorter than 180mm is a pain because I use a single long stroke to get each facet of rind off a grapefruit. I don't mind longer knives, but when they get much wider than 45mm that's a lot of blade in your hands when you're doing the sectioning task.

I think the difference in length preference here is I go around like an apple.

 

[Perverockstar]

https://japanesechefsknife.com/prod...small-gyuto-140mm-5-5-inch-stag-handle-it-798

 

[Perverockstar]

Also, IDK how many of those know about this technique for getting the supremes... But I cut through the left side of the supreme, then from there I continue a little bit more to the right then I peel off the supreme from the right side by pulling with the knife.


It makes it faster for me and the supreme comes out very clean. For that job I'd use a long paring knife, a petty or a small gyuto.

The Mr. Itou I shared above would fit the bill perfectly. It also has the right shape and size for peeling the citrus, including a Pomelo.

 

[marlinspike]

Also, IDK how many of those know about this technique for getting the supremes... But I cut through the left side of the supreme, then from there I continue a little bit more to the right then I peel off the supreme from the right side by pulling with the knife.


It makes it faster for me and the supreme comes out very clean. For that job I'd use a long paring knife, a petty or a small gyuto.

The Mr. Itou I shared above would fit the bill perfectly. It also has the right shape and size for peeling the citrus, including a Pomelo.

That's how I do them too, cut one side, then roll out the other (except the first one you have to cut both sides).

 

[marlinspike]

Ok, here is what I'm narrowed down to if anybody wants to give thoughts

Takada no Hamono Silver #3 Suiboku Petty 135mm Rosewood Handle (Extra Thin) | Tosho Knife Arts | Tosho Knife Arts

Epicurean Edge: Japanese and European professional chefs knives (epicedge.com)

Epicurean Edge: Japanese and European professional chefs knives (epicedge.com)

And Raicho | R2 | Petty 120mm - Coutelier (couteliernola.com)

 

[adam92]

+1 to Ashi ginga petty

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I can only say that I love my Akifusa gyuto.

 

[damiano]

Despite all the logical reasons for wanting a stainless here... I do love to use my Robert Herder 10 euro carbon paring. And have been for years and years. Holds its edge forever, sharp in a minute, and while the steel reacts to the citrus it doesn't impact the flavour at all. And then the steel is also clean again in 5 seconds.

I really want to upgrade to a more 'serious' knife, but it's hard to justify given the Herder's performance. If I were to 'upgrade' I'd go for the aforementioned Ryusen Blazen petty.

That said, I sometimes use my carbon Munetoshi petty (165mm) for cutting fruit, did so yesterday making a pear tart. Works very well indeed.

 

[Greenbriel]

I've been supreming oranges with a $30 fish filleting knife, but this thread has me wanting to try the little 120mm W#2 kogatana when I get home, seems like it might work well. Cheap solutions!

CKTG item in case link is obfuscated - okwh2kuko12.html

 

[JaVa]

If it really is the splurge piece and you want something a bit special, that Yoshikane sure is nice and the steel holds well with acidic fruits too.

Akifusa will be just as good for the job for a lot less $ and with even better edge retention, absolutely a great knife you'll be happy with, but just (quite) a bit less special.

 

[Ggmerino]

Need to see the choil or thickness for those options. The thinnest possible is the way to go. Love silver #3 and that Raicho is very pretty. Still recommend the Ryusen R2 petty above all these due to the pointy tip and extreme thinness.

 

[coxhaus]

I love long knives but to cut the segments of half a Grapefruit takes a small knife. I can't control a long blade. I use around a 4-inch knife for this. I also have an old grapefruit stainless knife from long ago with a curved tip. It does not cut as well as my Wusthof paring knife so it has its trade off to which I use.
I am eating a grapefruit tonight.

 

[ModRQC]

Not beautiful but you'd have nothing else to say against it in such use...

 

[Justinv]

My personal opinion of the options here and your desires is to aim higher. Get a custom. Or get one of these and rehandle it. The Raicho with a custom handle should be superb, but may cost more than a custom.

 

[marlinspike]

I ended up going with the Raicho no Ren in 120mm from Tower. The size is perfect for what I wanted. It's probably a bit expensive for what you get, or at least for what it seems you get sincedamascus seems fancier, but the finishing is all perfect on it, which is something I really appreciate. Why the suggestion to rehandle though? The handle is really perfectly done, and I think the pakka aspect goes well with the steel being stainless.

One thing that made me go for it was learning more about the maker, and as strange as this sounds that he cares about the packaging. He actually even responded to my messages asking for some advice about how to maintain the edge (it's 80/20 apparently). For me, this kind of personal touch is important because part of the reason I wanted it to be a special knife, more than just I do this all the time, is one of the things my baby and I do together a lot is eat citrus fruits.

 

[Justinv]

Thanks for sharing. Handle is personal preference. If you like figured wood you could replace it. If you like durable and no maintenance then keep the pakka handle.

 

[marlinspike]

Thanks for sharing. Handle is personal preference. If you like figured wood you could replace it. If you like durable and no maintenance then keep the pakka handle.

In this case, each corner of the handle has been rounded just the right amount and the spacers are fit perfectly. Not the fanciest looking handle, but the fit and finish I couldn't bear to remove it.