• 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 precise, and less chance for user error are all pluses in my book The same reasoning applies even more strongly if you are using the knife to peel small things, like little potatoes or grapes When using a curved paring knife, the curve of the blade and the curve of the object you are peeling run in opposite directions, so almost none of the food actually comes in contact with the blade, requiring you to dig deeper and remove more flesh than is necessary Those of you who are used to using santoku knives in place of chef’s knives will immediately recognize these advantages The 3-inch Kudamono Hollow-Edge Paring Knife from Henckels ($50) is one of the cheapest decent knives of this kind you can get, with the added advantage of having a hollow-ground granton edge You can get the 3-inch Sheep’s Foot Paring Knife from Wüsthof for the same price It lacks the granton edge, but it is slightly heavier, sturdier, and feels better in the hand If you want what I consider to be the ultimate paring knife, tack on another $5 to get yourself the same Wüsthof but with a granton edge That’s the one my knife kit packs A 10- to 12-Inch Serrated Bread Knife I’m far less picky about bread knives than I am about chef’s knives For one thing, I don’t use them often For cutting soft breads like burger buns or sandwich bread, my chef’s knife is more gentle than a bread knife In fact, just about the only thing I use my bread knife for is cutting crusty bread, like a baguette or a rustic Italian loaf If you never eat these, you have no need for a bread knife That’s why I ... book The same reasoning applies even more strongly if you are using the knife to peel small things, like little potatoes or grapes When using a curved paring knife, the curve of the blade and the. .. will immediately recognize these advantages The 3-inch Kudamono Hollow-Edge Paring Knife from Henckels ($ 50) is one of the cheapest decent knives of this kind you can get, with the added advantage of... granton edge You can get the 3-inch Sheep’s Foot Paring Knife from Wüsthof for the same price It lacks the granton edge, but it is slightly heavier, sturdier, and feels better in the hand If you want what I consider to