Takamura VG-10 Petty 150mm (5.9") Hammered (Tsuchime)
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Specs
Brand : Takamura Cutlery
Style : Petty (Paring Knife)
Blade Length : 150mm (5.9")
Weight : oz ( lbs)
Special Feature: Tsuchime (hammered)
Blade Steel Type : VG-10*
Handle material : Resin-Treated Compressed Wood
HRC : 61
Bevel Angle Ratio : 50/50
Spine Thickness: 1.8mm
Cover : Not included
VG-10*
Takamura Hamono is best known for their High Speed Powdered Steel (R2) offerings, but they are also experts at other common stainless knife steel including the ubiquitous VG-10. These knives feature a Tsuchime (hammered) finish which is both aesthetically pleasing and adds a modicum of food release. Takamura's expert grind and heat treatment means less wedging on tall, dense vegetables and ease of maintenance and sharpening over the life of the knife. This is one of our favorite knives for those looking to foray into Japanese knives and is sure to spark a desire to cut and cook more.
Echizen hammer forged knives are known to have a thick spine but thin edge, and by recreating this classic silhouette with VG-10, Takamura Cutlery has managed to produce exceptionally steady knives that slice through food effortlessly.
Petty (Paring Knife)
The word 'petty' is colloquialized from the French word 'petit' and among knives refers to a relatively broad set of utility-oriented knife shapes and sizes. These knives will commonly take the profile of a smaller chef's knife or gyuto and are ideal for small, detailed tasks such as fine brunoise, mince and chiffonade, and peeling. There is no hard-defined rule of what defines a petty versus a paring or a chef's knife but generally, these will be considerably shorter (from spine to edge) than a chef's knife/santoku/nakiri as well as shorter (from handle to tip) than a slicer. A good size range would be from about 100-210mm and up to roughly 30mm tall. Some will group petty knives and paring knives, but we think a meaningful distinction can be made between the two. Generally, a paring knife will be considerably shorter to perform paring tasks in-hand more nimbly. A good guideline while searching for a paring knife is to hold the knife in your dominant hand and extend your dominant thumb; you will want your thumb to reach and ideally extend beyond the tip very slightly so that you can take full advantage of the tip for more detailed paring work. This is not to say that you cannot pare with a longer knife and it will depend larger on your comfort level.
Caution
Takamura knives have a core metal sandwiched between a different Steel Type so changing the bevel angle will alter the structure of the blade and it will lose its sharpness.
