What Is a Petty Knife? Uses and the Best Small Japanese Knives

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Updated July 2026 · 8 min read · UK Japanese knife specialists

A petty knife is the small, nimble Japanese blade that handles all the little jobs your big chef knife is too clumsy for — peeling, trimming, segmenting citrus, slicing a shallot, tidying up a piece of fish. The name comes from the French petit, and the shape is essentially a scaled-down chef's knife: a pointed tip, a straight-to-gently-curved edge, and a blade usually between 120mm and 150mm (roughly 5 to 6 inches). It's the knife that lives in your hand between the bigger cuts.

If you already own a santoku or gyuto, a petty is the natural next knife — the specialist for precision work that a full-size blade makes awkward. Below we explain exactly what a petty does, how it differs from a paring or utility knife, and the small Japanese-steel knives worth buying in the UK.

What is a petty knife?

A petty (ペティ) is a small Japanese kitchen knife designed for detail work and light on-the-board tasks. Think of it as the bridge between a tiny paring knife and a full-size chef's knife: long enough to slice and dice a shallot or a handful of mushrooms on the board, but short and pointed enough to work in your hand for peeling, coring and trimming.

Most petties are double-bevel (sharpened evenly on both sides), which makes them comfortable for right- and left-handers alike and easy to keep keen on a whetstone. Blade lengths run from about 120mm up to 150mm; a few reach 180mm and start to overlap with a small gyuto. The knives we stock are forged from hard Japanese steel — VG10 or AUS-10 at around 60–61 HRC — so they take a fine, lasting edge that suits close, precise cutting.

What is a petty knife used for?

A petty is the everyday small-jobs knife. Typical tasks include:

• Peeling and trimming fruit and vegetables in the hand
• Segmenting citrus and coring tomatoes or strawberries
• Slicing shallots, garlic, chillies and mushrooms on a small board
• Deveining prawns, trimming fat and silverskin, portioning small cuts of fish or meat
• Slicing cheese, cutting sandwiches, and preparing garnishes
• Any fiddly, precise cut where a chef's knife feels oversized

What a petty is not for: heavy chopping, hard squash, or anything with bone. Those jobs belong to a chef's knife, gyuto or a dedicated heavier Japanese knife. A petty's thin, fine edge is built for control, not force.

Petty vs paring vs utility knife

These three overlap, and the names get used loosely, but there's a simple way to keep them straight — it comes down to length and where you use the knife.

Knife	Typical length	Where it works
Paring	75–100mm (3–4")	Mostly in the hand — fine detail
Petty	120–150mm (5–6")	In the hand and on a small board
Utility	120–150mm (5–6")	The Western name for the same in-between size

In short: a paring knife is smaller and made for in-hand precision; a petty is a bit longer and doubles as a mini board knife; and a utility knife is essentially the same tool under a Western name. Buy on the length and feel you want, not the label on the box.

How to choose a small Japanese knife

Length. 120–150mm suits most people. Go shorter (or add a paring knife) if you mainly do fine in-hand work; go towards 150mm if you want to slice and dice more on the board.

Steel. Our small knives are high-carbon stainless — VG10 (Haruta, Chikashi, Riku) or AUS-10 (Minato) — hardened to around 60–61 HRC. That gives you a keen, long-lasting edge with far less rust worry than reactive carbon steel.

Handle and balance. A small knife lives in your fingers, so grip comfort matters. The Haruta and Chikashi lines pair a light blade with a shaped wooden or resin handle; hold a pinch grip and the knife should feel like an extension of your hand.

Bevel. Every petty and small knife we sell is double-bevel, so it's ambidextrous and simple to maintain on a whetstone. There's no need to hunt for a single-bevel specialist for these jobs.

The best small Japanese-steel knives we stock

Four small knives we'd happily recommend, from the true petty to a nimble paring blade. All are high-carbon stainless, double-bevel, and made to hold a fine edge.

Small Japanese knives compared at a glance

Knife	Price	Best for
Minato 5.6" Petty	£69.99	The true petty — everyday small tasks
Haruta 5" Utility	£69.99	Versatile small all-rounder
Riku 5" Utility — best value	£59.99	Best value small knife
Chikashi 3.5" Fruit	£79.99	Premium detail and fruit
Haruta 4" Paring	£64.99	Fine in-hand precision
Chikashi 5" Utility	£91.99	Premium 5" all-rounder

Caring for a small Japanese knife

Small blades are cared for exactly like their bigger siblings. Hand-wash and dry straight after use — never the dishwasher — and store them so the edge can't knock against other cutlery. When the edge starts to drag, refresh it on a whetstone at about 15° per side; a 1000-grit stone sets the edge and a finer 3000–6000-grit stone polishes it. Because these are hard VG10 and AUS-10 blades, skip pull-through and electric sharpeners, which chew away too much metal from a fine Japanese edge.

Petty knife FAQ

What is a petty knife used for?

A petty handles small, precise jobs: peeling and trimming, segmenting citrus, slicing shallots, garlic and mushrooms, deveining prawns, portioning small cuts, cutting cheese and preparing garnishes. It works both in the hand and on a small board, filling the gap between a paring knife and a chef's knife.

What's the difference between a petty and a paring knife?

Length and use. A paring knife is shorter (75–100mm) and used mainly in the hand for fine detail. A petty is longer (120–150mm) and works both in the hand and on the board, so it doubles as a mini chef's knife for light chopping.

Is a petty knife the same as a utility knife?

Essentially, yes. "Utility knife" is the Western name for a knife of the same in-between size. A petty is the Japanese version, usually a little thinner and lighter, but they do the same jobs.

Do I actually need a petty knife?

It's not usually your first knife — a santoku or gyuto should come first. But as a second or third knife, a petty is one of the most-used blades in the kitchen, because so much prep is small, fiddly work that a big knife makes awkward.

What size petty knife should I buy?

120–150mm (about 5–6 inches) suits most home cooks. Choose the shorter end if you mainly do in-hand detail work, or nearer 150mm if you want to slice and dice more on the board.

Are these petty knives stainless or carbon steel?

All are high-carbon stainless: the Haruta and Chikashi blades use a VG10 core, the Riku is VG10, and the Minato is AUS-10 — all around 60–61 HRC. They take a keen edge and resist rust with normal care; just dry them after washing.

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