Utility Knives

The utility knife is the one most cooks reach for without thinking, the everyday all-rounder that lives in the gap between a small paring knife and a full-size chef's knife. Too big a job for a paring knife but not worth getting the chef's knife out? That is the utility knife's territory: slicing a sandwich, trimming vegetables, portioning smaller ingredients, cutting fruit, all the quick tasks that make up most of a day in the kitchen. In Japanese knife-making this knife is closely related to the petty, and the two names describe much the same tool, a keen, nimble blade built for everyday versatility. Our range spans makers including KOTAI, KAI, MAC, Miyabi, Suncraft, Kasumi, Tamahagane and Zwilling, as single knives and in sets.

What defines a utility knife is its in-between size. Typically 12 to 16.5 cm, it is long enough to handle jobs a paring knife cannot, yet short and light enough to stay far more nimble than a chef's knife. Japanese utility knives are ground thin and sharpened keenly, usually to around 15 degrees per side, so they slice cleanly through everything from tomatoes to cooked meat. Most have a straight edge for clean slicing, while some are offered with a serrated edge, which excels on soft-skinned produce and crusty rolls. With a double bevel as standard, they suit left and right handed cooks alike, and we also stock dedicated left-handed options.