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Adam_M

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Hi!
I'm looking to try a Watanabe blade, and I could also use a petty, so I'm thinking of combining the two desires. I"m most interested in his steel/HT, and I acknowledge there could be less than perfect F/F on the handle in particular.

Can anyone share opinions of the knife?
 
The steel (Blue #2) and heat treat is awesome, as you’ll read basically everywhere on the forum. Quite hard, but easy to sharpen. I’ve been lusting after a petty myself: I’ve tried 180 and 240 gyutos. The F&F on the handle doesn’t need to be bad... just make sure you’re not ordering a plastic ferrule. If you’re ordering direct, there are multiple upgrade options.
 
On the tall side of 150mm pettys. Kinda like a mini-one of his gyuto. Grind is excellent, mine has concave slightly on the left side, and convex on the right side, so food release is good. Good balance of food release and thinness. Good straightness, fit and finish. . . but i got a buffalo d shape handle. Steel is actually pretty darn good in all regards, just know its on the harder side of things. Distal taper was ok, tip could be maybe a bit thinner. . . it's a pretty good knife.
 
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Adam_M said:
The reputation for the steel and HT are precisely why I want to try one!
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Ah, I see. I interpreted what you said in the OP as "I'm most interested in learning about his steel and heat treat." Haven't tried a petty, but they look awesome. Again, don't worry about F&F with an upgraded handle. Also, I personally don't like the look of his kurouchi finish, or at least I didn't like it on the 180mm gyuto I tried. If you want him to send you a polished version, you can order that too. I think it was like $40 extra or something. Or you could get a Toyama 150 petty if they come back in stock at JNS.
 
Good choice!

Here‘s some pics of my Watanabe knives (incl 2 petties) and some of my Toyama knives (incl 1 petty):


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If I don’t forget I’ll make pics of Watanabe and Toyama and compare dimensions.

Another petty worth noting is any Mazaki 180 petty. What a gorgeous knife!
 
Daddy yo yo: I've got a Mazaki Gyuto and it's my favorite knife, I'm absolutely sure the petty is right there with it. If I wanted to go with the "safe" choice and get something I know I'd like, that knife would already be in the mail. This is a curiosity thing. And yes, my original post excluded Toyama, but given their ...similarity... with Watanabe, I've also checked them out, with the assumption that it would offer the same experience. Just didn't see any in stock.
 
I have a 150 Wat pro petty and it’s great. Like a smaller gyuto profile, not super thin but cuts really well. I swapped the plastic ferrule handle for an extra handle I had on hand from a rehandled knife. Wat’s handle upgrades always seemed kinda pricey, imo.
I also have a 150 Takamura petty in R2 that I use when I want a really thin knife or want full stainless. This combo takes care of almost all my petty needs.
 
Yeah, pricy indeed. The ebony/corian on that piece above was 1400 yen [emoji51]. But it’s worth it to me, for so many reasons.
 
Gregmega said:
Yeah, pricy indeed. The ebony/corian on that piece above was 1400 yen [emoji51]. But it’s worth it to me, for so many reasons.
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that 210 wat looks amazing just curious though what do you use a 210mm petty for ive been curious about that mid range of petty/sujis 210-240mm ones for some time now
 
aszma said:
that 210 wat looks amazing just curious though what do you use a 210mm petty for ive been curious about that mid range of petty/sujis 210-240mm ones for some time now
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Literally everything. Mostly protein fab and line knife (cutting meats á la minute, etc). Good in between size for even in-hand work, it kinda can tackle everything between a long suji can and a pairing knife once you’re comfortable with it. (I’ve seen a master chef perfectly flute mushrooms with a 12” Sab in seconds, so anything is possible when the tool becomes your hand...)
 
childermass said:
So you got that kurouchi Suji, such a beautiful knife.
I was long thinking about if I should replace my 240 non kurouchi wat Suji with this.
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I did. Picked it up at the NY knife show in November when he was here. Worth every penny too. Used it today for prep and it still ridiculously sharp.
 
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