TojiroDP Petty/Utility Knife

This is my first experience with Tojiro and this Petty/general purpose knife doesn't disappoint. When I need to add a new blade in the kitchen, I'll be adding to the DP collection. Very nice quality if you prefer Japanese style knives.I'm not a chef, but I am an avid knife user/collector with experience using many different types of knives and steels both in the kitchen and in the wilderness. This is a nice 5.9" blade in laminated VG-10 steel. In my experience, laminated VG-10 is highly corrosion resistant and typically sharp and easy to maintain. The core steel is typically fairly sturdy while the outer steel is softer so that it's easier to sharpen. In theory, the dead center of the cutting edge is the stronger V1-10 while steel that is on the exterior that tapers to the cutting point is the softer laminate. I've used VG-10 laminated steel in three different Fallkniven knives, various Spyderco folders and of course this Tojiro. Overall, it's a steel ideally suited for kitchen use and it's well-implemented in this Petty.The knife is very sharp out of the box and holds an edge fairly well for such a fine-edged blade. It does get a bit sharper with some high grit water stone care. The knife is sturdy enough for most tasks, but does have some flex to it as one would expect from a utility knife in this size. If you require something more solid, look to the larger Gyutos, Santokus or Nakiris. The handle is well-made and it's somewhat blocky on the corners and IMO makes for a more secure grip.This knife is perfect for slicing vegetables where a larger chef's knife is not desired, for trimming undesirable fat off pork and chicken and preparing fruits, etc. I use this knife more than any other knife I have in the kitchen as I prefer it's size and fine edge to the thicker, chopping sort on my larger knives.This is my favorite knife and runs up there with Global in my book. The Globals are also expensive and the handle, though cool in my book, isn't for everyone. This is a great Japanese design that couples the asian style blade with more of a western style handle if that makes sense. A few other brands that I've owned or had a great deal of experience with include Global, Henkels, Messermeister and Victorinox.PROS:- Very sharp OOB- Clean, elegant design- Excellent fit and finish- Safe, comfortable handle- Size and sharpness make it ideal for a wide assortment of tasks- Great corrosion resistance- Relatively easy to resharpen, esp. on waterstones- Blade height offers good working room between fingers and cutting surface for a knife this size- Comes with a decent blade sleeve (though a magnetic wall plate would be a great way to show off this knife's beauty)CONS:- Some will find it expensive- Back of the blade has basically an 90* point to the cutting edge and it's extremely sharp and closer to the finger than on a deeper chef's knife- One should really use a quality water stone to maintain proper edge angle and keen sharpness. Electric and Accusharp-style devices will ruin theintended blade geometry. This is only a con if water stones are unfamiliar to you.

Sharpe. Works great. Goid size

I've owned many high end knives over the years. I have my go-tos for everyday prep that, until I bought this knife, I would've sworn I'd always choose. I now find myself grabbing this knife more than any other medium blade. It's wonderfully sharp out of the box as well as nicely balanced and lightweight. I have arthritis in both thumbs and gripping most knives is painful very quickly. I can do all the cutting, chopping, and prep work for a stir fry with little to no pain with this knife. It's given me back my joy of cooking!

Hot dog this is a nice knife. It's sharp as heck too. But, much like any beautiful thing, it requires much maintenance. This knife requires sharpening, tender love and care, and once you wash it you best dry it immediately. If you don't the chef will gently remind you. He'll probably say, "This knife has to be dried immediately or ....." There's an end to that sentence, but you'll probably tune out before it's finished. If you're looking to have just a handful of knives I'd say get this one and a rosewood handle Victorinox and you'll be set.

Fantastic knife. It is lightweight and balanced. Out of the box, this knife is extremely sharp. I was able cut extremely thin slices of tomato with ease. The blade cleans up extremely will. The knife handles in the Tojiro DP line are extremely slim and the overall knife is light especially compared to german knifes as well as the Shun classic line. It has taken a little time to get used to, but I am finding to truly enjoy using this knife. It is also nice to know that this is a relatively inexpensive knife/ knife family. It really is a pleasure to use.

In addition to this DP Petty/Utility knife I have the Tojiro DP Gyutou - 8.2 inches. They are replacing a Victorinox Chef’s Knife and a Victorinox Boning Knife.Both Tojiro knives are the sharpest knives straight out of the box that I have ever seen, and both are capable of making thin cuts. I make beef sandwiches from medium rare New York Strip steaks and beef jerky from eye of the round. I make deli style paper thin cuts on both the New York strips and ripe tomatoes for the sandwiches. The jerky needs cuts to be just slightly thicker than paper thin. These knives make those jobs easy.These tasks were previously performed with the Victorinox knives. This work was difficult when I first got the Victorinox knives. I discovered that I had been sharpening them to a 20 degree bevel on each side. I then discovered that the best bevel for extra sharp kitchen knives is 15 degrees on each side.I obtained Chef’s Choice 15 Trizor XV EdgeSelect Professional electric sharpener that is designed to create and maintain a 15 degree bevel on each side. After converting theVictorinox knives the work became much easier for all my food cutting chores. The only downside is that the Victorinox knives need to honed often to keep the edge razor sharp. The Chef’s Choice 15 Trizor does that maintenance very well.I wanted the knives to stay sharp longer than the Victorinox knives. The obvious solution is to get knives with harder steel and a 15 degree bevel. Tojiro DP knives has solved that problem for me. I’ve only had these knives for a short time, and only time will tell if they stay sharp for a long time as I expect. In time I edit this post with the results.These knives will need honing and sharpening at some point in time. It is imperative to keep the bevel on each side at 15 degrees. That requirement leaves very few options for which tools can get the job done. The overwhelming opinion is to use a sharpening stone with or without a guide. You must be very talented or very lucky to maintain a constant 15 degree bevel on both edges with a stone.Even a stone with a guide can’t be depended upon to produce a 15 degree bevel because the guide is attached to the spline of the knife and produces different bevel angles for different blade widths. The wider the blade, the smaller the bevel angle, and since that width changes along the length of the blade, that bevel angle will change if the guide is repositioned along the length of the blade.The only solution for a constant and accurate bevel is a tool that measures the bevel angle from the cutting edge and has guides to maintain that angle. There may be others, but the Chef’s Choice 15 does that. One of its outstanding features is that stage three is a honing function and will act on the blade like a barber’s strop.If you take care of these knives they will last a very long time.