Quest for the perfect in-hand paring knife

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spaceconvoy

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Most knife types have enough selection to find exactly what I want, but I've been frustrated by paring knives for a while now. Here's a comparison of the ones I've tried, maybe it'll save someone else some time and money. First I should explain my preferences so we're on the same page.

My ideal blade length is around 80mm, which puts my thumb comfortably at the tip without stretching, but I can live with the more typical 90mm. I want the knife to be as light as possible, giving a scalpel-like feeling of control when used in-hand. I'm bothered by exposed heels and handles without a thumb ridge/bolster to keep your hand from slipping up the blade. The tip should be as pointy as possible and centered along the axis of the knife, so coring isn't awkwardly angled.
BFD26DDC-95AE-41D7-BAED-858958A23C9A.jpeg

8511F364-A9F8-4630-B590-FB97853A1BD6.jpeg

This is a bit subtle, but notice the angle of my thumb, comparing the Shun classic on top to the Herder K1 below. The Shun feels natural, while the Herder forces my thumb to be awkwardly extended. The Herder's lower tip is half of the problem, but the other half is the curved handle. I've found I prefer straight handles, because curved or angled ones shift the axis of the knife relative to your grip.
A5AAA178-3359-4310-9475-0C1F794FA498.jpeg

Here are some notes on the ones I've bought this past year, from left to right:

Messermeister Olivia - I like the comfort of the partial bolster, but the handle is overall disappointing. The sloped angle below the bolster combined with its unexpected heaviness makes it awkward for in-hand work. It's also terribly thick behind the edge, like an axe.

Herder K1 stainless - You can see from the rust spots it's not particularly stainless, which is good in terms of steel though not what I was expecting. The grind is awesomely thin, but that's where my praise ends. Despite soaking it in camellia oil, the handle developed a gap at the heel and the pins feel sunken now. Maybe one of their denser woods wouldn't be so bad, but this "ice birch" is trash. The combination of low tip and angled handle makes it the most awkward for thumb position. I should have bought the K1M but wanted to try this type of tip, and the K1M tip isn't pointy enough to begin with.

Le Sabot carbon - I like this blade a lot, just as thin behind the edge as the Herder but with a narrower pointy tip and more ideal length at 84mm. The wood is stabilized and seems impervious to water, but the density makes it a bit too handle-heavy. Its smooth finish and the narrow, almost circular cross-section of the handle combine to give it the annoying tendency to roll around in your grip. And the exposed heel puts the nail in the coffin for me, which is a real shame given how much I like the blade.

Le Sabot stainless - The edge is just a thin as the carbon, and the handle is nicely lightweight with a good surface texture for grip. That's not a weird reflection, the geometry of the blade really is a bit wonky, seems like it was made in a different factory. Really wish it had some type of bolster or thumb ridge, and the pins weren't annoyingly raised. I haven't sharpened it but I suspect the steel isn't very good either.

Opinel Parallele - In terms of length, weight, and balance, this is the ideal in-hand paring knife for me. Unfortunately the blade ruins it, very thick behind the edge and garbage X50-type steel. You can see I started thinning it, hoping to overcome its shortcomings, but the steel makes me feel it's not worth the effort. Such a perfect handle though.

Shun classic - So many people recommend this I had to try it despite my misgivings, but I should have trusted my gut. The blade is too big for an in-hand knife, and the handle is extremely heavy. You can't remove the end-cap because it's part of the fastening system for the tang, I tried. I can see this being a nice small paring knife for board work, but it's a no for me dawg.

Solution:
ADF9546F-F569-411C-9715-C60822C35BC5.jpeg

I was so annoyed by each knife's shortcomings that I decided DIY was the only option - combining the perfect blade of the Le Sabot carbon with the perfect handle of the Opinel Parallele. Everything about it is awesome, and totally worth the effort.

This is a work in progress and I still have to decide how to finish the "pins." The steel was easy enough to dremel when dealing with the tang, but my drill bits aren't working on it. It's so small and lightweight I'm tempted to just fill the holes with more JB Weld and call it a day, since it'll live in a drawer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and may all your ideal-knife dreams come true.
 
The tip should be as pointy as possible and centered along the axis of the knife,
Yep. 'Spear Point' is optimal as far as functionality goes. IMHO
I don't get 'Sheep's Foot' profiles. I've had one for years and use it very infrequently.
The 'Bird's Beak' shape I will use for peeling but it is very hard to sharpen without a lot of attention.
 
I wonder if a spine like this would make the knife any more comfortable in that hold?
BYF6LPp.png
 
Interesting, you'd think that the rise is too far forward to make much of a difference on that example. I rounded mine over due to the finger proximity, but they didn't seem to need to in that design.
 
I wonder if a spine like this would make the knife any more comfortable in that hold?
BYF6LPp.png
Interesting idea, I see where you're going with this. I think you've observed how the index finger typically hangs loose apart from the others, used for stability against the product. The lump could be helpful, but I see two issues: The neck seems too narrow to me, and I've found I prefer having a wider area to grip, like the Opinel. Also, I've noticed I tend to angle my grip to bring the tip further up and shorten the length my thumb has to extend. I'd shift the middle finger divot on the top of the spine slightly towards the tip, instead of symmetrical like you have it now.
E8ACE02A-5B1C-4965-AD47-47E0945C1FC7.jpeg
5E064F53-DD37-4552-A998-A426A1C937B5.jpeg

The top photo is my natural grip, the lower photo is me trying to grip the handle perpendicular to the spine, and you can see how that forces my thumb to extend further.
 
The most important thing to me in a paring knife is that it must not have an exposed heel. With a heel, I'm at risk of cutting myself every time I choke down on the knife or move the blade towards my palm, such as when peeling an apple.

I posted about this previously here. That Wüsthof paring knife is still in my favourites list. No nasty heel to get in the way, and easy and safe to choke down on.

I'm also really fond of this tourné knife, which I find myself using several times a week.
 
My favorite parers are the ZKramer and the Hattori Forum. The HHH always caught my eye, just haven't been lucky enough to snag one.
 
When the topic is a chef's knife on a cutting board, it's usually fairly simple for an expert to make an objective and useful analysis or critique of someone's techniques and methods - in short, with a chef's knife, "You're doing it wrong, that's why you don't like your knife" is a possibility. I think that possibility pretty much goes out the window with paring knives. So many little details matter with paring knives - palm width, angle of thumb-spread, length of each individual finger, blah blah blah... along with habits developed with the first few paring knives the person got familiar with - it's a good thing there are so many different sizes and styles of paring knives, because it seems like a theoretical impossibility for everyone to agree on which one works best.
 
Only see this now but it's funny to see someone shared my 'problem' of finding a paring knife that doesn't really suck. I haven't really come to a satisfactory (and affordable) solution either.

-Regarding the Herder; I agree the mittelspitz are more convenient. You could consider getting the cheap 'standard' mittlel spitz (not from the K-series) to tryu that out. It should be about your size and in its original state it doesn't have an exposed heel. Handle is a bit on the thin side for my taste though, and the steel of the cheaper line is nothing fancy.
And sadly I just noticed today that my own K5 is starting to develop the same issue at the heel with the wood developing a gap. I think it's safe to say that it's basically a design flaw. There's no bolster of any kind, and the small potruding part of wood is just asking for trouble. Even after dunking the whole handle in a can of mineral oil overnight and trying to spare it while washing the knife, I'm still getting this problem within about a month of using it. It's ridiculous.

-With the Opinel I had hte same dissapointment in how thick it was. The strange thing is that their folding knives are actually ground much better. Far thinner behind the edge. I had expected much better... it wouldn't surprise me if they outsourced them.

-I have mixed feelings about the Wusthof mentioned before; I like the handles since there's a bit more to hang on to, but compared to a Robert Herder they're still on the fat side.

-In general I agree that while sheepsfoot blades might be nice for peeling they're just not as universally useful. Good luck coring anything with them.

Personally I just wished Robert Herder got their act together on the handles. They have great blades, but the handles are definitly a weakpoint with room for improvement.
 
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Since I switched to stainless I went back and ordered another Opinel Parallele. Yes, they're outsourced to a factory in Portugal according to the box. This one seemed to be thinner behind the edge, but still not great. Only took about fifteen minutes on 120 grit sandpaper to get it to where I want. We tend to obsess about grinds here, but that's actually one of the easiest things to change about a knife.
 
My ideal blade length is around 80mm, which puts my thumb comfortably at the tip without stretching, but I can live with the more typical 90mm. I want the knife to be as light as possible, giving a scalpel-like feeling of control when used in-hand. I'm bothered by exposed heels and handles without a thumb ridge/bolster to keep your hand from slipping up the blade. The tip should be as pointy as possible and centered along the axis of the knife, so coring isn't awkwardly angled.

I like my blade for in hand work to be exactly like that, very thin, beak or very straight and pointy are both acceptable to me, don't like exposed heels either but I'd rather have a heel on a sharp and thin knife than the opposite.

Have you ever considered a smaller blade ?
if so, this knife has been a revelation for me and I've done a LOT of hand work,
Misono Molybdenum Peeling 50mm (2")
it is thin and precise feels soo good to work with it, I have one of those that I modified to a pointy tip and another is still a beak. love them

If you are interested in 90mm this looks very good, I will probably order it soon. Does have a heel but on a knife this cheap I wouldn't mind fixing this myself I am sure the result would be great.
GESSHIN 90MM PARING KNIFE
 
... it's funny to see someone shared my 'problem' of finding a paring knife that doesn't really suck. ...
I'd venture to guess that there are hundreds of paring knives that you'd be forced to admit are nice enough knives (i.e. ones that are good enough quality not junk). Just that too few of them are the shape and size to work the way you'd like them to work. (Add to that the fact that many people seem to find their "paring knife soul mate" in a cheap piece of junk, because all the nice ones were the wrong size or shape.)

I have small hands, plus nobody will ever be paying me to cook, so I often just give up and find a solution that doesn't involve a paring knife.
 
The Shun parer you've pictured is the Shun Premier. I found it to be a pig. The oft recommended Classic is this one:

Shun Classic Limited Edition Try Me Paring

You may not like it any better but I do.

If you're going for $100+ parer, the most available "good" one is a Harner. I like Del's parer but don't know that he's making them anymore and they go fast on the bst market. Best ever in hand parer (to me) is Randy's Wharncliff (sp?).
 
I'd venture to guess that there are hundreds of paring knives that you'd be forced to admit are nice enough knives (i.e. ones that are good enough quality not junk). Just that too few of them are the shape and size to work the way you'd like them to work. (Add to that the fact that many people seem to find their "paring knife soul mate" in a cheap piece of junk, because all the nice ones were the wrong size or shape.)

I have small hands, plus nobody will ever be paying me to cook, so I often just give up and find a solution that doesn't involve a paring knife.
I probably overstated it by saying they suck, but it's just that anything on the lower end of the budget scale usually left me unsatisfied on at least 1 aspect. Herders have great nice thin blades but the handles suck. Most typical western stuff has nice handles but is too thick behind the edge. I'm sure there's probably some 'perfect' ones out there, but a lot of them go for far more than I'm willing to spend on a knife that I frankly don't use all that much. I peel with a speed peeler and 90% of the time I do almost all prep with just a gyuto.
Considering the dissapointments on the lower end of the price scale I would be willing to pay a bit more, but I'm rather hesitant to continue this trial-and-error process in a higher budget range. Especially when a lot of them, at least on pictures, already look too thick and overbuilt to 'work'.

Hand size is probably my main problem. If I had smaller hands I probably wouldn't be complaining so much about the handles on the cheap Herders being on the small side. What does kind of surprise me is how Wüsthof tends to win the majority of those 'consumer test' type of things. I like the handles and they're not bad, but when it comes to cutting performance I'm not exactly overwhelmed by them. Feels like most of those testers never held a thin knife in their life.
 
The Shun parer you've pictured is the Shun Premier. I found it to be a pig. The oft recommended Classic is this one:

Shun Classic Limited Edition Try Me Paring

You may not like it any better but I do.

If you're going for $100+ parer, the most available "good" one is a Harner. I like Del's parer but don't know that he's making them anymore and they go fast on the bst market. Best ever in hand parer (to me) is Randy's Wharncliff (sp?).
E25D3B29-3569-49D4-86D0-92C7C9F759EC.jpeg

It's a classic Shun with a blonde handle, and I like the balance a lot more since I took off the metal endcap. Also looks nicer after removing the labels and refinishing with sandpaper to reduce the visibility of the cladding layers. But now I realize the round handle is a problem for me, feels like I can't get a good grip on it when doing in-hand work. I'm going to try a Nogent-style stainless Sabatier next, which should have the blade-heavy balance and rectangular handle cross-section I'm looking for.
 
I know Global knives aren't exactly highly regarded round here but I've used a Global parer for years. This is about the only example where the handle design is actually useful, the knife fits in your hand really snugly as the handle is so slender
 

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It's a classic Shun with a blonde handle, and I like the balance a lot more since I took off the metal endcap. Also looks nicer after removing the labels and refinishing with sandpaper to reduce the visibility of the cladding layers. But now I realize the round handle is a problem for me, feels like I can't get a good grip on it when doing in-hand work.

Okay. Not seen one with a blonde handle before. A good part of the reason the classic "Classic" works for me is the "D" handle on it. Just noticed you're in Fl - let me know if you would like to try one of the one's mentioned above. I've toyed with a Nogent for awhile but have not gotten around to one.
 
Most knife types have enough selection to find exactly what I want, but I've been frustrated by paring knives for a while now. Here's a comparison of the ones I've tried, maybe it'll save someone else some time and money. First I should explain my preferences so we're on the same page.

My ideal blade length is around 80mm, which puts my thumb comfortably at the tip without stretching, but I can live with the more typical 90mm. I want the knife to be as light as possible, giving a scalpel-like feeling of control when used in-hand. I'm bothered by exposed heels and handles without a thumb ridge/bolster to keep your hand from slipping up the blade. The tip should be as pointy as possible and centered along the axis of the knife, so coring isn't awkwardly angled.
View attachment 102287
View attachment 102272
This is a bit subtle, but notice the angle of my thumb, comparing the Shun classic on top to the Herder K1 below. The Shun feels natural, while the Herder forces my thumb to be awkwardly extended. The Herder's lower tip is half of the problem, but the other half is the curved handle. I've found I prefer straight handles, because curved or angled ones shift the axis of the knife relative to your grip.
View attachment 102286
Here are some notes on the ones I've bought this past year, from left to right:

Messermeister Olivia - I like the comfort of the partial bolster, but the handle is overall disappointing. The sloped angle below the bolster combined with its unexpected heaviness makes it awkward for in-hand work. It's also terribly thick behind the edge, like an axe.

Herder K1 stainless - You can see from the rust spots it's not particularly stainless, which is good in terms of steel though not what I was expecting. The grind is awesomely thin, but that's where my praise ends. Despite soaking it in camellia oil, the handle developed a gap at the heel and the pins feel sunken now. Maybe one of their denser woods wouldn't be so bad, but this "ice birch" is trash. The combination of low tip and angled handle makes it the most awkward for thumb position. I should have bought the K1M but wanted to try this type of tip, and the K1M tip isn't pointy enough to begin with.

Le Sabot carbon - I like this blade a lot, just as thin behind the edge as the Herder but with a narrower pointy tip and more ideal length at 84mm. The wood is stabilized and seems impervious to water, but the density makes it a bit too handle-heavy. Its smooth finish and the narrow, almost circular cross-section of the handle combine to give it the annoying tendency to roll around in your grip. And the exposed heel puts the nail in the coffin for me, which is a real shame given how much I like the blade.

Le Sabot stainless - The edge is just a thin as the carbon, and the handle is nicely lightweight with a good surface texture for grip. That's not a weird reflection, the geometry of the blade really is a bit wonky, seems like it was made in a different factory. Really wish it had some type of bolster or thumb ridge, and the pins weren't annoyingly raised. I haven't sharpened it but I suspect the steel isn't very good either.

Opinel Parallele - In terms of length, weight, and balance, this is the ideal in-hand paring knife for me. Unfortunately the blade ruins it, very thick behind the edge and garbage X50-type steel. You can see I started thinning it, hoping to overcome its shortcomings, but the steel makes me feel it's not worth the effort. Such a perfect handle though.

Shun classic - So many people recommend this I had to try it despite my misgivings, but I should have trusted my gut. The blade is too big for an in-hand knife, and the handle is extremely heavy. You can't remove the end-cap because it's part of the fastening system for the tang, I tried. I can see this being a nice small paring knife for board work, but it's a no for me dawg.

Solution:
View attachment 102281
I was so annoyed by each knife's shortcomings that I decided DIY was the only option - combining the perfect blade of the Le Sabot carbon with the perfect handle of the Opinel Parallele. Everything about it is awesome, and totally worth the effort.

This is a work in progress and I still have to decide how to finish the "pins." The steel was easy enough to dremel when dealing with the tang, but my drill bits aren't working on it. It's so small and lightweight I'm tempted to just fill the holes with more JB Weld and call it a day, since it'll live in a drawer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and may all your ideal-knife dreams come true.

I would suggest trying a cobalt drill bit. I do not know if this will work for carbon but I have had to drill stainless which is a pain. Though the cobalt is better, I have used just a normal bit also. First you need lots of cutting oil both on the bit and in the hole. Heat is your enemy for drilling. For stainless, very very slow drill speed with high pressure. When the combo is right, you will see spirals of steel coming out. Make sure the bit is sunk deep into the drill so the bit is stiffer and less prone to snapping. Be careful at the very end because often the bit will grab and lock as it starts to go through the metal. As such your work piece needs to be clamped well, and you will have to futz a bit with speed and pressure to get through the last bit. As I said, I do not know if this will work on the carbon. You could always drop in on one of the knife making forums and ask also. Remember, drill just a bit then oil oil oil.
Edited - wear safety glasses
Good luck,
D.
 
Wow, you are really picky lol. I personally like the wüsthoff ikon with a thinned blade. I have big hands and the handle is super comfy for a parer imo. My fav at work.
These small knives are thinned pretty fast, too, so I wouldn't worry too much if you are fine with putting in 30 min of work on the stones.
 
What about something like this? Its a little longer blade wise, but should be able to be trimmed down. 1095 carbon steel.
blade-rip-04_1.jpg
 
Thanks JAS, I just started making this style of handle. I was reading the original post from the OP and wondering how many boxes this paring knife would check. No bolster so no check for that box. The blade is very thin, especially on the lower pictured knife. I used 1/16” thick 1095 and pushed it to about 63rc so the steel is pretty hard. The handle is pretty light since it’s mostly wood but heavier than an all wood handle. The tip is basically centered on the blade although I didn’t do that on purpose. One thing I do on all my knives is round over the spine. I find that especially useful on a paring knife, much more comfortable to use. I don’t think that was one of the boxes though.
 
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