Stainless Durable Petty for Chicken Bones, General Abuse

Hi All,

I've been enjoying using my Konosuke HD (laser) petty but I'm realizing that I really would like to also have something in a similar size (5-7") that is more durable, stainless, and puts up with abuse -- in other words, a petty where:

  - I won't cringe when my spouse uses it (she likes to use the shorter knives for everything)

  - I can use it for both jointing and breaking chicken without too much worry

  - Reasonably inexpensive (under $100 definitely)

  - Has a pakkawood or similar handle for ease of cleaning

  - Has some knuckle clearance, but isn't as high as a gyuto/chefs knife or so wide that you can't turn it in a cut a little

  - No bolster to make sharpening a pain

  - Long enough handle (I've got big hands)

I should mention I already have a Forschner semi-flexible straight boning knife that works fine on chicken.  It's just a pain to sharpen and isn't as useful for general work.  Also, I like the wa handles, but for a knife like this the handle would need to be stabilized wood or pakkawood or plastic so it wouldn't end up soaking up raw chicken juice.

So, maybe a Fujiwara FKM Honesuki?  Some other stainless petty?  Something else I'm missing?

Thanks for any advice.

For general use, abuse, chicken boning and breaking, I've got some concerns about both honesuki and petty choices.

My concern with the honesuki is that it might be too wide to turn in the cut easily and so thick that it wedges to easily when used for other tasks.  But it gives me finger clearance, durable edge, solidity.

My concern with a petty is that it may not be thick enough to hold up to cutting through chicken ribs and that it might not have quite enough knuckle clearance to be really general use.  On the knuckle clearance side, I do seem to make my other 6" petty work fine, though I end up doing a bit of work at the edge of the board.  The petty should let me turn in the cut a bit.  It's mainly the durability I worry about.

So, a stiffer, little thicker, durable petty, or a less wide, little thinner honesuki is really what I'm looking for.

(Yup, that's it, I want a wa-honesuki-petty...  Just take my little gyuto to the grinder and voila!)

Looks like Konosuke is starting to do a different heat treatment on their stainless knifes for Chef Knives to Go, called HH Stainless, bringing them up to HRC 61, like the Gesshin Ginga maybe?

So I could get the (available in a few weeks) Konosuke HH Stainless honesuki, which is less thick than almost all the others (2.2mm thick at heel vs. most other honesuki at 2.5-3mm thick at heel).  Breaks my "cheap and abusable" rule, but tempting.

Otherwise it's back to deciding between a Tojiro DP or a Fujiwara FKM petty or honesuki.  I'm leaning towards the Tojiro DP honesuki for the longer lasting edge with the somewhat harder VG10 and the ability to do breaking as well as boning.

Finding my spouse's knife left on the board covered with lime juice hours after being used is giving me motivation here...

Any comments on the Tojiro DP Honesuki as a general purpose abusable knife?

To chinacats: Mark Richmond, of Chef Knives to Go, said he was expecting some of the harder Konosuke HH stainless in a couple weeks.  He's already got a nakiri in the new stainless.

To Chefdb:  Good point.  I don't usually use my boning knife for breaking chicken (cutting small ribs, splitting breast) -- I use an old Wustoff that's been sharpened much more obtusely and functions as my "chef de chef."  My understanding of the honesuki, though, was that it is a bit thicker and designed to be able to stand up to this.  At least a set of users have said they use it that way.  I'd be fine just using it for jointing and doing breaking with the bigger guns.