spaceconvoy
Senior Member
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.