# Japanese paring & petty knife advice



## feldspar (Aug 9, 2012)

Hey Guys,

Been lurking for a while in the Cooking Knives forum and would like to ask some advice I haven't seen covered specifically.

I'm looking to upgrade my home blades starting with my paring knife. I currently have two: a Chroma 301 and a Henkle (I think it's a Henkle, the printing wore off years ago). The Chroma has a great handle, fits my small hands well. However I'm disappointed with the softness of the metal. I believe it to be in the HRC 52-54 range. Henkle is ok, decent edge with a pointy tip but with a heavy large handle and thick blade I don't care for.

I would like a nipponese style paring knife for off board cutting (slicing peaches, stemming strawberries) and a petty knife for on board work (cubing mangos, removing connective tissue/skin from chicken breasts, slicing small peppers). From what I've read here these are my best options:

Misono Molybdenum Paring Knife (56-58 HRC)
http://korin.com/Molybdenum-Paring-Knife

Masamoto VG Petty (58-59 HRC)
http://korin.com/VG-Petty

Blazen BL-2P Paring (62-63 HRC)
http://japanesechefsknife.com/RyusenBlazenSeries.html

1. Are there other small paring / petty knives I should be considering?
2. How do you guys like the japanese handle vs. the western handle?
3. How important is HRC value?

I have a little experience with waterstones and plan to get a good 3 stone set per the extensive advice I've seen there, thanks for that.

I don't mind investing in good knives even though it's just for home work.

Thanks


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