Pros: A very sharp blade, comfortable handle, and easy
maneuverability.
Cons: The blade is tough to sharpen, and at 6½ inches,
it’s too small for many kitchen tasks. It’s got neither the
heft of the Misono nor the granton edge and solid feel
of the Wüsthof, but it’s a great knife by most standards.
A 3- to 4-Inch Sheep’s Foot Paring Knife
For many years, I used a classic curved 3-inch paring knife
from Wüsthof, and at first glance, the shape of the classic
paring knife seems to make sense. A big curved chef’s knife
is for cutting, hacking, and chopping large things, so to cut,
hack, and chop small things, you’d want to use a small
version of a chef’s knife, right? Thing is, there’s a
fundamental difference between how you use a paring knife
and how you use a chef’s knife—so why would you want
them both to be the same shape? The real problem with the
common paring knife is the curvature of the blade. With a
chef’s knife, this curve is designed to allow you to rock the
knife for mincing. But for a paring knife, it makes no sense:
nobody is rocking a paring knife.
The key to a good paring knife is precision, and that
means having a superthin blade and the ability to make cuts
with minimal hand motion (the more you have to move your
hand, the more uneven the cut becomes). A flat sheep’s
foot–shaped knife is ideal for this task. With a sheep’s foot
knife, it’s possible to make contact with the cutting board
with nearly the entire length of the blade while the tip is
firmly inserted into the food: the straightness of the cut is
defined by the straightness of the blade. Quicker, more
