What's Your Shallot Slayer?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Mazaki bunka 180 or Toyama nakiri. Depends on if I feel the need to do any tip work or not
I really wish I got the bunk-toku instead of the nakiri but I was in my nakiri phase... Followed shortly after by a cleaver phase and then a gyuto phase. Now I'm in my "maybe I should re-home some these knives so they can live a happy life" phase
 
😂
 

Attachments

  • 126-r2b.jpg
    126-r2b.jpg
    33.3 KB · Views: 7
Been thinking about that guy for a minute, prefer the KU finish and burnt chestnut but a Yoshikane SLD 150 can be had for a little less money and it's probably a little thinner...I know, I know, just get both.

I have the 180mm version of this and it is categorically awesome. One of the best purchases I've made this year
 
Kiwi Nakiri no.7 :D maybe because I'm lacking ~15cm petty

This knife amazes me. Also, it's bear opener of choice! And cooking in friend house knife of choice! And "I'm too lazy to open knife roll" knife of choice!

But to tell you the truth, usually I don't bother switching knife, even if it's 270mm gyuto.
 
Last edited:

Looks lovely. I‘ve been eyeing up the similar Sumiro petty, but still on the fence.

Strangely Cuttting Edge had a similarly finished series of Konos a year or so back (here), albeit they were advertised as SLD. I kind of assumed that they were an early version of the Nihei-sourced Sumiros, but I’m beginning to wonder if they were actually SKDs from Yoshi(Proper) now

I really don’t need a specific shallot slayer - I have too many undersized Sakai lasers that are good enough, plus a fine selection of petties - but I’m putting this Kono top of this exciting new category for the moment
 
Looks lovely. I‘ve been eyeing up the similar Sumiro petty, but still on the fence.

Strangely Cuttting Edge had a similarly finished series of Konos a year or so back (here), albeit they were advertised as SLD. I kind of assumed that they were an early version of the Nihei-sourced Sumiros, but I’m beginning to wonder if they were actually SKDs from Yoshi(Proper) now

I really don’t need a specific shallot slayer - I have too many undersized Sakai lasers that are good enough, plus a fine selection of petties - but I’m putting this Kono top of this exciting new category for the moment
This was brought up in another thread I am too lazy to look for at the moment. But tosho had some skd and sld that looked similar. Mine was sold as skd and was lead to believe it was yoshi. That is an under-educated opinion nobody @ me for the love of god. Whatever it is it gets and stays sharp and the geometry, even for a 150 petty, is on point. I jumped on the 150mm went it first went on the site but a little fire burns inside me because they (tosho) later introduced the 180mm version. And all the cool kids know 180 is better than 150.
 
This was brought up in another thread I am too lazy to look for at the moment. But tosho had some skd and sld that looked similar. Mine was sold as skd and was lead to believe it was yoshi. That is an under-educated opinion nobody @ me for the love of god. Whatever it is it gets and stays sharp and the geometry, even for a 150 petty, is on point. I jumped on the 150mm went it first went on the site but a little fire burns inside me because they (tosho) later introduced the 180mm version. And all the cool kids know 180 is better than 150.

To be fair, the only thing that stopped me buying the Sumiro petty was that I was hoping for a generous 165 - I’d even pestered Cutting Edge to get them based on some shots from Tosho or CKTG - and was a little underwhelmed when they got ‘only 150s’ in, which gave me the excuse to sit on my hands a little

150 is probably a good size for a Sanjo petty tbh. Unlike the 165mm Azai I brought over from a certain Swiss retailer at great expense as my largest petty yet, only to find it was actually only a shade over 135 when it cleared customs. And who cares what steel if it cuts like that?
 
After some thinning at the tip, my Kohetsu (Tadafusa) SLD 180 Gyuto is ready to replace my 180 Mazaki petty for shallots, garlic, whatevers, etc.

I had reprofiled the edge near the tip, and never thinned it. Then forgot about it, and later wondered why it wasn’t cutting as well as it should.
 
Last edited:
For me, I like the bunka shape for shallots: the pointy tip, flat profile, and knuckle clearance make them perfect for the task. That said, I've never bought a bunka, but I did convert this Kyuzo nakiri a few months ago and it's definitely my best shallot slayer.

20210617_212616.jpg

(Shallot slayer, posing with what's definitely not a shallot.)
 
Munetoshi 165 petty mostly

I have a Toyama 150 petty that is really perfect but it’s in the “too nice for the mag bar” drawer and I have to make an effort to dig it out.:rolleyes:
 
Making my breakfast this morning involved an avocado, garlic, lemon, and a shallot. While I very much like the Tadafusa 180mm gyuto I using for the task, I realized that while it handled the shallot and garlic alright, it didn't just zip through it.

So, what's your shallot (and similar stuff) slayer?

Usually whatever chef's knife I have on the board for shallots—typically a 225 gyuto. Prefer to have the minimum number of knives in the kitchen for any given prep, 1 or 2 max. Aside from bringing out the deba for breaking down fish; yanagi/suji for sashimi; the chef's knife/petty combo gets me through most stuff.
 
An optimal shallot dicing knife should be thin enough so initial longitudinal and horizontal slices do not separate, so the product maintains its shape before the final cutting step; short enough to optimize control of the tip; a very sharp tip; a relatively flat profile behind the tip, and minimally reactive metal so as not to discolor or alter the taste of allium products.

My current pick: Konosuke HD2 petty 120 mm
 
Maybe this should go into the confessions thread, but I sometimes use my Yoshimi Kato V10 petty for things like shallots because I feel like I should, but occasionally use the beast of a Kisuke Nakiri and it just feels way better. Sort of end up using it like a Chinese cleaver for this type of task, and it works.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top