Pros and cons of tall blades

[Xunzi]

Am I right that a tall blade have the following pros/cons:

Pros: Easier to scoop up food, provides more real estate for non-dominant hand knuckles, all else equal provides more weight so will be more stable and drift less when cutting big things

Cons: More drag/resistance, all else equal poorer food release, less nimble for precision cutting

If this is right - wouldn't it make sense to have taller blades for big things (cabbages etc), shorter blades for small things (tomatoes etc). All else equal of course.

Apologies if I'm asking something obvious here.

 

[r0bz]

imo the tall blade rocks better

 

[btbyrd]

Drag and food release depend more on geometry and grind than blade height per se. Takeda gyutos and cleavers, for instance, are very tall but have excellent food release because of the geometry.

It can/does make sense to have multiple knives for different purposes. I tend to prefer taller knives for most tasks, but, as you say, they are generally speaking less nimble. So for certain precision cutting tasks, I'll reach for a shorter gyuto like a Takamura (or a petty).

 

[blokey]

More height also gave some room to play with geometry, also technically should last longer.

 

[Xunzi]

Drag and food release depend more on geometry and grind than blade height per se. Takeda gyutos and cleavers, for instance, are very tall but have excellent food release because of the geometry.

It can/does make sense to have multiple knives for different purposes. I tend to prefer taller knives for most tasks, but, as you say, they are generally speaking less nimble. So for certain precision cutting tasks, I'll reach for a shorter gyuto like a Takamura (or a petty).

I see - and why do you generally prefer taller blades - because they're more stable?

Also, it seems to make sense to me with gyutos (including the ability to rock because of the profile) while I'm more unclear when it comes to bunkas/santokus or even nakiris - they have a flatter blade and overall shorter in length - but some come really tall...

 

[btbyrd]

I like taller knives for most tasks because they provide more clearance when cutting taller and denser items and because they are useful to scoop up product. I care less about the scooping aspect now that I've worked a bench scraper into my food prep routine. I don't have a hard preference for tall knives though, but I'm not a huge fan of short knives. My 210 Takamura is only 45mm tall, which makes it useful for precision cutting and makes it work well on a small board where space is at a premium, but I do feel like my knife hand gets too close to the food I'm cutting sometimes. I chose the Takamura gyuto (a classic laser) over the Gesshin or Ashi Ginga (another classic laser) because the latter is only 42mm tall. Shorter knives also tend to have flatter profiles and less of a belly... something I don't necessarily mind, but when you combine that with the short blade height, it can make the knife feel more like a suji than a gyuto.

 

[Choppin]

I like having both taller and shorter gyutos.

Besides the pros already mentioned, taller blades are useful for taller produce (surprising, I know) like cabbage, leafy stuff, large yams, etc. It also allows for blades heavy and thin at the same time, giving that cleaver-ish, fall-through-food quality without the wedging issues. Toyama comes to mind.

Shorter blades are also better for tasks where a narrow tip comes in handy, like coring vegetables (e.g. bell peppers) and trimming / skinning protein. They also feel nimbler whereas tall blades feel more hefty and powerful.

I guess it depends on the task. Personally I grab a taller gyuto for bull veggie prepping and a shorter gyuto for utility / slicing / protein / smaller tasks.

 

[Ochazuke]

I see - and why do you generally prefer taller blades - because they're more stable?

Also, it seems to make sense to me with gyutos (including the ability to rock because of the profile) while I'm more unclear when it comes to bunkas/santokus or even nakiris - they have a flatter blade and overall shorter in length - but some come really tall...

I'll also add that the classic bunka tends to fit Japanese home chefs' kitchens and styles of cooking better.

- Living spaces tend to be much smaller compared to ours, so cooking space is also smaller. Long knives aren't really used at home.
- The average person is usually buying sozai from the local super, maybe slicing a couple tomatoes for a salad, and grilling a pre-cut piece of fish filet in the oven (if they're in to cooking). Just like in America, a lot of people don't really cook anymore. They might have one knife, and a bunka is more useful than a petty.
- They tend to push cut more than we do (hence height helping).
- They use less big, dense ingredients than Western kitchens.
- They don't really rock as much as westerners do.

Bunka and both their length and their height really make sense for a lot of Japanese kitchens.

 

[Xunzi]

I'll also add that the classic bunka tends to fit Japanese home chefs' kitchens and styles of cooking better.

- Living spaces tend to be much smaller compared to ours, so cooking space is also smaller. Long knives aren't really used at home.
- The average person is usually buying sozai from the local super, maybe slicing a couple tomatoes for a salad, and grilling a pre-cut piece of fish filet in the oven (if they're in to cooking). Just like in America, a lot of people don't really cook anymore. They might have one knife, and a bunka is more useful than a petty.
- They tend to push cut more than we do (hence height helping).
- They use less big, dense ingredients than Western kitchens.
- They don't really rock as much as westerners do.

Bunka and both their length and their height really make sense for a lot of Japanese kitchens.

That makes a lot of sense. Personally, however, I've not been attracted to the really tall bunkas as my feeling is it would compromise nimbleness which is why I reach for the bunka in the first place...

 

[zizirex]

53/54mm I think is the max height for 240 gyuto.
Taller than that, I think is just an excuse to cover up your lousy knife skill.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Ugh... This is one of those times when I'm kinda be "that guy" and come in with the...it depends.



What does that mean to me? I guess it comes down to part ingredients, part mood, part specific knife.

Here's three of my favorites:

- Manaka: 210x52
- Akifusa: 180x43
- Watanabe 180x60

I can grab any one of these for most jobs and feel comfortable height-wise. For sure, added height adds weight but it isn't always substantial and as noted it can allow for more geometry variety.

I've had knives in various heights and as long as they are reasonable, for me, the length and edge profile are much more important.

There's days when I grab any one of these (or another selection) and am convinced it is my favorite. Then the next day grab another and feel the exact same way.

I can only generalize that shorter in length and height is more nimble and can be great for quick, precise, and/or less intensive jobs. Taller height can bring more substantiality to the party but that's length and knife dependent. Taller and longer generally does mean more substantial and with a gyuto often means better rocking as you have more profile to work with.

I know that helps almost zero, and it's a question I've asked myself many times, but I've only so far been able to narrow it down this much for myself.