Day 17: Today's Pick — The Japanese Paring Knife That Ended My Search

I have, over the past six years, tested fourteen paring knives. (This sounds insane. It is mildly insane. There is a spreadsheet.) The list includes the $12 staple, the $40 German workhorse, the $90 carbon steel showoff, and the $14 OXO that everyone recommends.

The winner — by a meaningful margin — is a $58 stainless paring knife from a workshop called Tojiro in Niigata, Japan. It is the knife I reach for daily and the one I'd buy again immediately if I lost it.

What makes it different

Three things:

1. The grind. The blade is ground in a way that gets thin to the edge fast — meaningfully thinner than European-style paring knives. This means it bites into produce instead of crushing it. Cherry tomatoes don't squish. Strawberry hulls come out clean.
2. The balance. Center of mass is right at the bolster (where the blade meets the handle). The knife doesn't tip toward the blade or the handle. This means very little wrist strain on long prep sessions.
3. The edge retention. Stainless steel hardened to about 60 HRC. Holds an edge for, in my use, about a year of daily home cooking before I notice it needs honing. Light hone with a ceramic rod brings it back. Full sharpen once a year.

What it isn't

It is not a chef's knife. It is not a santoku. It is not a "cuts everything" knife. Paring knives are for small precise work: hulling, peeling, deveining, segmenting citrus, scoring dough, splitting a head of garlic. If you want a generalist Japanese knife, get a santoku or a gyuto and budget more.

What I do with it daily

• Hull strawberries
• Peel apples (when peeling, not just for slicing)
• Devein shrimp
• Split garlic cloves
• Segment grapefruit
• Score the bottom of bread loaves
• Peel ginger (this is the killer use case — it goes around ginger curves like nothing else)

Care

Hand wash, dry immediately, store in a knife block or magnetic strip. Hone monthly with a ceramic rod (the rod that came with my chef's knife is fine). Sharpen once a year on a 1000/3000 grit waterstone. If you don't own a stone, send it out — most knife shops will sharpen for $8.

What I'd do differently

If I were buying again, I'd add the matching petty knife (slightly larger, $72) for "paring but more." Tojiro's small knives are all good, and the matched aesthetic is satisfying.

How to actually buy

Tojiro doesn't sell direct. Korin (NYC), Knifewear (Calgary, ships internationally), and Japan Woodworker (Northern California) all carry the Tojiro DP series. The 90mm paring is the model I'm describing. If they're out of stock, the wait can be 12 weeks. Get on the email list.

Tomorrow: a particular handmade pottery brand that I keep buying mugs from despite owning too many mugs.