The Petty Knife Anatomy
The petty knife is a multiple purpose blade that is a little bit more petit than the Gyuto or chefs knife. Due to the length of the blade it is also a little flatter. The petty knife can be sued for anything however it most commonly used for fruit and vegetable slicing and chopping (an important process when you’re making your kids lunch for example)
The Petty Knife Handle
1. The Handle / E
Given this is a half tang handle or a "wa" handle it is light in weight relative to the blade. This helps move the balancing point further down the blade making the pinching grip the grip to use to give the wielder complete control of the knife.
2. The Handle Butt / Ejiri
The butt of the handle is often used to tap in the half tang into the blade. As a result a 45 degree angle at the butt of the knife is relatively uncommon. We have chosen an angled base both for the light weight and intricacy of the handle as well as the simple reason - it looks magnificent on the wall or in the hand.
3. The Handle Steel Section / Tang
The tang section of traditional Japanese knife is contained with thin the handle - not sticking in between the two handle pieces as seen on a full tang. This type of handle allows us to use a single piece of unique fused wood or burl. Once again there is a utility perspective - lighter weight, however much of it is created for beauty - a single piece of treasured wood.
4. Collar / Kakumaki
You will notice the collar on the photographed knife tapers toward the blade. Again this is relatively uncommon - as it takes a little longer to make. The tapering is the favoured shape for both Shannon and i as it makes it a little more comfortable for our pinch hold to glide up and down the blade as we undertake different cuts.
The Petty Knife Blade
5. Heel / Ago
The heel of the petty knife is not used much as you are typically using the petty for intricate slicing and chopping with the tip and edge of the knife. If you need to use the heel you probably need to use a bigger knife with a wider spine - like the gyuto knife.
6. Spine / Muni
The spine of the Petty knife is slim which is required to allow for intricate slicing. This also leaves the knife to be ultra light, which some love and some do not.
7. Belly / Tsura
When compared to knives like the Gyuto or Bunka knife the belly of the petty is very small (maybe that’s why my wife loves the petty knife).
8. Tip / Kissaki
The tip is a frequently used part of the petty knife. It is the preference when coring or taking small bits out of fruit and vegetables. Given the shirt length of the blade you can pinch very close to tip and do the most intricate work with this knife.
9. Edge / Hassaki
The petty has a very subtle curve along the edge to allow both rolling and chopping - depending on what you are cutting.
10. Cutting Edge / Kireha
The cutting edge (the part between the heel and edge) barely exists on a petty knife due to it’s short length.
More Petty Knife components to consider....
11. Double Bevel blade
The Petty has a classic western double bevel approach.
12. Weight
When trying to ship a Petty you will soon realize they are much heavier than most other Japanese knives (even with a half tang which reduces the weight of the whole knife).
Lastly, what leads you to the Petty...
The petty is my wife’s favourite knife. It’s lightweight, versatile and the best knife to hold when preparing the school lunch. It’s a great partner to hold alongside a Gyuto and Bunka which you can lean on for the heavier duties.
