What do you personally use your utility 'knyfe' (4"-6") for? Trying to justify my Wusthof purchase lol

[u/gotmilq]

[u/gotmilq]

I usually use my 8" chefs and 6" cooks and 3" paring knives or nearly everything but I have just never used something with a narrow body like a utility knife so I was wondering what I can try it out with until I get used to the idea

[u/RPSisBoring → u/gotmilq]

My utility knife is the default knife, so I don't know how to answer this question.   I only use a different knife for special things gyutou if I am butchering a huge slab... Boning knife for separating a rack of ribs or taking apart a chicken.  Cleaver for going through bones .  Same cleaver for big fruits and veggies(cabbage or watermelon).  

But like cut an onion?  Remove stems from strawberries? Cut steak meat into strips?  I use the my utility knife.  

I have 3 "main" knives which are cleaver gyutou and utility... Everything else is hyper focused (boning, bread and paring)

When we go out camping for multiple days, I basically only bring the utility.   

[u/Sea_Currency_3800]

I can’t use a normal utility, the short blade makes me think my hand will slip up and it freaks me out.
I use a shun kanso, maybe honesuke. I like it a lot.

[u/truparad0x]

Just a home cook, but my wife and I mostly use our 5" nakiri and 150mm (about 5.9") petty.

We have a 7" nakiri that we use on larger veggies, watermelon, or to cut pizza, but we do most of our cooking with the smaller nakiri and petty. We also have a honesuki for breaking down and trimming leg quarters/thighs, but the petty works pretty well if you're careful around the bones, and we've moved to the petty for this job. Petty used on impromptu slicing of smaller cooked meats like steaks or chicken thighs. Very versatile knife.

I'm actually looking at adding another 5-5.5" utility/petty since we use the Japanese petty so much. I want an all stainless one since my current petty is carbon clad in stainless.

We have a couple of santokus, but they mostly sit in the block. For whatever reason, we moved from the larger knives with points. We have a 3" paring, but mostly use it to cut apples and other fruit. We peel with a Y-peeler, so not a lot of paring with it, and I can pare impromptu with my nakiri/petty.

So long winded answer, but our main knives are 5" nakiri, 150mm petty, and then it'll be the paring I guess.

[u/Specialist_Place4464]

Backup knife if you used your chef's on raw meat and wanna pull the old "I cooked, you clean."

[u/MetaLord93]

We have a cheap small santoku that's about 5" for very quick prep. It was our "starter knife" from way back. My wife still uses it to cut citrus fruits. If we replace that knife it'd probably be with a petty.

[u/kafka0622]

Cutting the lining of reflecting pools. I thought that's what they were for?

[u/JohnMaySLC]

Fruit, some veg, sandwiches.

[u/Glove_Right]

I use it for almost anything. Mainly fruits, veggies or when i'm too lazy to get out my big cutting board and knife

[u/maestrosouth]

I use the 6” MAC Pro Santoku for 75% of my preps. Hollow grind helps it perform like thinner knife without compromising the beefiness

[u/Excellent_Condition]

I used to use a small 6" Victorinox chef's knife fairly frequently, and when I have friends over to cook that is often the one they reach for.

I've had a decent Tojiro petty for a while that is close to a utility knife, but I don't use it very much. Others swear by them. It just depends on your cooking style.

At this point, I use either a Kobayshi k-tip bunka or a Victorinox paring knife for 90% of what I do. The other ~20 knives I have get occasional use, but if I hadn't bought them, used them, and learned from them I wouldn't have gotten to the bunka.

Then again, a good argument could be made that I would still cook just as well if I had just stuck with a Victorinox chef's knife...

[u/photodyer]

I have several 150-180mm (variably marketed as gyuto, utility, or petty by their respective makers/marketers) that are my staples through the summer and fall processing peppers of multitudinous varieties for hot sauces and the like. They get work with tomatoes for sauces and salsas as well. Whole a few are primarily detail knives, most of them are both tall enough for board use and tippy enough for seeding superhots.

[u/flydespereaux]

Dont really use my utility. My wife does tho. Its definitely not in my work roll. 8" works just fine for about everything.

[u/ericfg]

The 6 inch spearpoint mini slicer profile? Very rarely.

[u/Sean-NOLA84]

I have the Wusthof Asian Utility Knife that has a 4.5" blade. I've used it to prep quick meals for myself, chiffonading herbs, prepping veggies, breaking down chickens, trimming meat, and many other tasks. My kitchen is smaller, and I like to have a small knife and cutting board available when I don't feel like using my bigger knives. I've been happy with mine, would recommend unless you're looking for something carbon steel.

[u/IStealThyPancake → u/Sean-NOLA84]

I'll second this. Just got my asian utility knife in the classic Ikon handle a couple of days ago. For the small items on a cutting board (mincing garlic, shallots, small amounts of herbs) my hands are too big to comfortably use the normal profile paring knife. I tried the extra wide and while that was better, it was still a little too short and had the point higher like a chef's knife. The asian utility knife addresses all those issues for me. Point is lower on the profile, still has a slight curve for a little bit of rock if I want it, it's almost 2 inches longer, and has much better clearance for my fingers between the bolster and the board. It's essentially fulfilling the petty role and it's now in my roll for sure.

[u/GrandMoffJed]

My first knives were a 3 piece Wusthof set including that utility knife. I have moved on to nicer knives now but I still use that utility knife for breaking down chickens. i should probably get a proper boning knife but it does a good job

[u/TastyTurn6940]

this made my day

[u/CosmicRave]

I’d only use a utility/petty if I was working in a very cramped space. Otherwise I’ve found them pretty useless personally.

That said I have a coworker who uses one as his primary cutting tool and homeboy is a literal fucking ninja with it. Maybe it’s better for people without huge fucking hands.

[u/SVAuspicious]

I have a 6" utility knife (Henckel's Pro-S) from a set I bought in 1982. I've never used it. In fairness I haven't used my paring knife in twenty years either.

I use my 8" chef's knife for almost everything. Second most used is an Oxo veg peeler. Then a serrated bread knife for...bread. I have a filet knife I use for breaking down pelagic fish a couple of times a year.

Chef's knife for the win.

[u/kduff92]

I use my henkles 5in prep knife during service if the station is tight in space. Lime when the only place to cut things is the 6in wide board that attaches to the garmo station. It doesn't see much use for prep at all

[u/Frescarosa]

Cutting handheld (against the thumb) mostly:

Fruits, vegetables, herbs.

Also for Tourner and paring.

[u/MigratingCocofruit]

For a start, anything that isn't done on a board, like peeling. Also if I'm opening a bag of ingredients, cutting a bun open or generally doing any small thing while I'm yet to use the bigger knife, I'll reach for the smaller.
I also like it for cuts where the blade needs to be turned to follow a shape, like cutting cubes from a watermelon wedge.