Has Culinary Cutlery Skewed my Sense of Blade Lengths?

SanLuisObispo said:
When I began cooking as an adult, I used a very thin, carbon steel Chinese cleaver. It worked well and I still have it in my block. I received a good 10" chef's knife as a gift and began using that and after awhile, it was tough to go back. It was that knife that introduced me to longer knives.

I'm sure I could dice an onion or tomato right now, a lot better and faster with a 10-12" chef's knife, than a Chinese cleaver or a shorter chef's knife. What I would like to try is a Japanese veg cleaver -- a nakiri. It might be the best of both worlds. I've never seen the advantage of a santoku? I have a 7 incher. I usually hand it to someone helping out at a big BBQ, who has no knife skills.
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Bah. I have cleavers, chef knives, Nakiri and many more. I find my particular santoku is a go to, and probably the fastest to dice an onion. Maybe I have no knife skills...
 
SanLuisObispo said:
Swords make it very easy to slice-up a large sheet cake. People grin when I pull and old sword out, and then nod approvingly when I'm able to dice-up the cake in a few minutes.
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One can portion out a sheet cake with a butter knife in less than a few minutes.

And, one bit of advice, when one pulls out an oversized knife in front of people the grinning and nodding may not mean what one thinks it means.
 
There's much more to it than length... (Yeah, that's what she said !)
For example, your Magnum Tanto will be a poor kitchen knife. Fun, sure, but a gyuto of same length will be more efficient, lighter and more versatile.
 
SanLuisObispo said:
Swords make it very easy to slice-up a large sheet cake. People grin when I pull an old sword out, and then nod approvingly when I'm able to perfectly dice-up the cake in a few minutes.
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Interesting. Because when I use my sword for my cupcake, people shake their heads disapprovingly and some run.
 
danbot said:
Interesting. Because when I use my sword for my cupcake, people shake their heads disapprovingly and some run.
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Well, admittedly that is a little overkill. Try lining up a dozen cupcakes and then slicing them with your sword. I'll be they get it then.
 
marcinek said:
Are you asking about the perception of knife length, or what is the best kitchen knife for a job.

If you stop changing questions a couple posts into a thread, then we might be able to better answer you.

And if you are asking about kitchen knives we have a whole subforum dedicated to it.

But it wasn't what you asked in your opening post.
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Oops, that might have been my fault to go off topic a little. I was responding to eveled's comment about longer blade = more fatigue.

SanLuisObispo said:
When I began cooking as an adult, I used a very thin, carbon steel Chinese cleaver. It worked well and I still have it in my block. I received a good 10" chef's knife as a gift and began using that and after awhile, it was tough to go back. It was that knife that introduced me to longer knives.

I'm sure I could dice an onion or tomato right now, a lot better and faster with a 10-12" chef's knife, than a Chinese cleaver or a shorter chef's knife. What I would like to try is a Japanese veg cleaver -- a nakiri. It might be the best of both worlds. I've never seen the advantage of a santoku? I have a 7 incher. I usually hand it to someone helping out at a big BBQ, who has no knife skills.
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That's interesting that you started out with a 7" cleaver. Perception wise, if you started out with a fairly large knife, most knives will likely feel shorter or smaller.

I think you'll find that most nakiris are smaller than you'd expect (most are around a 7" blade length).
 
I like to keep one good 8" kitchen knife around the house, but its rarely needed. My 3.5" paring or 5" utility knife are used for everything on a daily basis, shorter blade means better handling and control.

A 14" would feel like a machete to me. I think you just have really big kitchen knives.
 
I find myself going the opposite direction in the kitchen. I rarely use a knife any more, if I need to cut something I give it the old judo chop and bam! I have perfectly halved the food. It's really next level, not for amateurs or the faint of heart.
 
danbot said:
I was just thinking...the pizza wheel slicer you replaced with that straight slicer...if it was a 3" diameter wheel, then that's a 9.4" slice in one revolution which is quite long, but it feels really short! :thumbsup:
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The problem is topping displacement due to the rolling action...none of that here:D
 
unwisefool said:
I find myself going the opposite direction in the kitchen. I rarely use a knife any more, if I need to cut something I give it the old judo chop and bam! I have perfectly halved the food. It's really next level, not for amateurs or the faint of heart.
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I'm with you to some extent. When making fruit salad I find a combination of krav maga and one inch punches works nicely.

As for cake, it depends. For something based on dacquoise I prefer a leuku usually oosic handled. Something genoise-based, I prefer my 12-th century Seljuq Khanate era shamshir, or a cake knife/spatula/server. Convexed, naturally.
 
I do my pizza Forged in Fire style.
I drop it on the floor a couple times, pull it in and out of the oven repeatedly, and hang if from the ceiling before cutting it.
 
eveled said:
I’m the opposite. I use pairing knives for food prep, hardly ever use my chefs knives. It’s made me appreciate shorter blades for field use.

The longer the knife is, the more leverage it has on your wrist and grip. Making it more fatiguing with no added benefit. I notice a difference after dicing a bag of peppers and onions.

It may be technique I tend to slice rather than chop, but if you think about it that is closer to how you would use a knife outside of the kitchen.
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I agree with shorter blades. They are handier and more nimble.

I've also found over the decades, that a blade of 3.5 to 4 ~ 5 inch is handier for peeling game critters of any size found in the "Americas". (North America, Central America, and South America)
I don't know for sure, but a longer 6 to 10 ~ 14 inch blade might be better for peeling some African critters, such as the elephant, or other thick skinned critter like the Black Rhino.
A 4 or 5 inch filet knife is "big enough" for cleaning and (if applicable) fileting pretty much any freshwater fish too.
Admittedly for Sturgeon, Spoonbill Catfish, and/or other 100 to 800 pound (or more) fresh water fish, a 12 inch filet knife may be better. :D

Concerning your emphasized by bolding comment:
Really?!? I was unaware of that. In over 60 years of going afield for cycling, hiking, fishing, hunting, and camping, I've never chopped (or batoned) with my knife.
Chopping is what axes, hatchets, and tomahawks were invented for. :D
 
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The problems of blade length will all go away when they perfect the Light Saber.

Some years ago I threw a Legend of Zelda themed birthday party for my wife. She's a gamer. When the cake came out I also brought out a replica Master Sword that she cut it up with.
I wish I'd thought to line up 20 cupcakes though. That would've been epic!

Choose the right blade for the relevant task and the world falls into symmetry.
 
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