Equipment Review: Petty Knives


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With a blade that’s halfway between that of a chef’s knife and that of a paring knife, a petty knife or utility knife is the perfect blade for medium-size kitchen prep …

40 replies
  1. Paul M
    Paul M says:

    Sharpness out of the box isn’t really a factor that should be considered, what it’s going to be used for, how sharp it gets, how easy it is to sharpen, edge retention, how easy it is to maintain, manoeuvrability, ease of handling, safety of grip, how comfortable it feels and longevity/ construction/quality are the criteria to assess any knife.

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  2. calvin013
    calvin013 says:

    Wow…. your quality is so out of whack anymore. No mention of WHAT your friggin' test ended up showing for other blades. The final choice is such a non-starter that it begs the question… "How much did they pay to sponsor this piece?"… I won't believe that the three obvious front-runner blades in there didn't deserve a mention. I do think it's interesting as well that you're trying to pass off "Petty" as being a real term by just…. showing that it's already been a term and you're just running with it. 40 years of high-end cutlery experience… never heard THAT term before. Not that i'm the 100% encyclopedia… but I'd say that 1 time in 40 years won't stand up for a reasonable confidence interval. Sadly… ATK is no longer on my list. From the gadgets that you pass of as real tools to the cut-rate quality in skillets and appliances… it's time to move on. Hope you can get my attention when you decide that quality matters again.

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  3. Mark Chow-Young
    Mark Chow-Young says:

    They've finally discovered Tojiro? For the longest time they didn't include the brand in knife reviews despite the quality and value ….albeit they have increased in price quite a bit over the last 15 years

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  4. Jay Boal
    Jay Boal says:

    I have a Shun Classic Utility Knife (more a petty knife blade profile), which I received as a gift, that I basically never use. Partly because it has the Damascus-style steel which is just too pretty to dirty up with use. 🙂 I think this exact knife was one of the ones in your test lineup but you never mentioned it. Would have been interested to hear your thoughts on it.

    While it was (and is) super-sharp, I find that its in-between length makes it neither here nor there, neither short enough for paring nor long enough for how I normally use a knife. Also its shallow blade height makes it difficult to use for chopping/slicing.

    A 240mm Gyuto (Japanese Western-style chef's knife, so a relatively thin, hard steel blade with a curved edge for rocking) is my go-to knife for probably 95% of knife work. Its blade is thin and sharp enough to pinch-hit for a petty in most use cases, and its blade is thin enough that at almost 10 inches in blade length it is significantly lighter overall than a typical German-style (e.g. Henckels) 8" chef's knife, so it's easy to handle for delicate tasks. Also its bigger handle makes wielding it with force easier.

    On the rare occasions when I need a different knife, I almost never reach for the Shun. Never really considered using it for boning though; I always thought that its super-thin blade and hard steel would make it likely to chip even if I wasn't trying to cut through bones.

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  5. Tito Tim Travels
    Tito Tim Travels says:

    I love watching vids about knives, but will never need to buy a new one. I have had my Sabatiers since 1983, and since I am already 57… the knives will outlive me ha ha. When I was younger I preferred my utility knife (never heard of a petty knife, since I never used Japanese knives), but as I cooked more, I used my 10" chef's knife for almost everything. I have just started regularly using my utility recently and really like it.

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  6. Scot Wilson
    Scot Wilson says:

    I'd be curious to see how 6 inch chef's knives fit in this lineup. (Or is that just another term for petty knife?) I have a Wustof Ikon 6 inch chef's knife and I think the blade is thicker/heavier than most of the knives they discussed here, but I don't know if that's what determines which falls in which category.

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  7. teitake
    teitake says:

    Anybody catch her saying "Toh-hee-roh"?
    Why is she pronouncing Japanese knife maker in Spanish pronunciation?
    It's Tojiro. Should be pronounced "tow-ji-row."
    J is voiced in Japanese.

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  8. Einund Siebenziger
    Einund Siebenziger says:

    Guess these (actually quite large) small knives are for those who do not feel comfortable with full-size chef's knives. I would not know what to do with them, since for cutting on the board I use a 20-cm (8") chef's knife, for cutting above the board (cleaning, trimming) an actual small knife with a 9-cm (3.5") blade.

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  9. Ken Shaw
    Ken Shaw says:

    6" is the small end of chef's knives. They're just saying to buy a small chef's knife and to spend a lot of money on it.

    Considering that they have chosen the Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's Knife as their winning chef's knife and it costs less than their bargain petty knife this was a flat ridiculous test. I think they even found the 6" version the winner at that size and it is also much cheaper than $70.

    For shame ATK.

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  10. Mayday Garden
    Mayday Garden says:

    I use my 30yo 6" Henckles nearly every day. I've always called it a utility knife, never heard of "petty". When I saw the title I thought I saw "pretty" knives. One of my favorite go-to tools, a rose by any other name.

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  11. shopwithaaron
    shopwithaaron says:

    As a Xmas present 2 years ago my dear twin sister sent me a Cooks knife from Global…I think the blade is 7" and my very favorite go to!!! So easy to Steel and easy for my moderate kitchen skills!

    Reply

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