Shun Premier Utility Knife 16cm (6.5")

A petty knife is a small Japanese utility knife, typically with a blade between 120mm and 180mm, designed for precision tasks like peeling, trimming, and slicing fruits and vegetables. You need one when your main chef’s knife feels too large for detail work, think deveining shrimp, cutting garnishes, or any in-hand peeling where a bigger blade gets in the way. Its slightly longer and slimmer profile than a Western paring knife gives you more control for intricate cuts without sacrificing the nimble feel you want for small jobs. If you regularly find yourself reaching for a smaller blade for finishing work, a petty fills that gap cleanly.

A petty is not a replacement for a gyuto or santoku. It lacks the blade length and belly for efficient chopping, rocking, or breaking down larger proteins. If your work is mostly bulk prep, like dicing onions or slicing roasts, a petty will feel slow and underpowered. It also won’t handle heavy tasks like splitting bones or prying, so treat it as a precision tool, not an all-rounder.

The petty’s role in a Japanese kitchen is as the smaller counterpart to the gyuto, built for tasks where a full-size blade is clumsy. At Knives and Stones, the petty category covers a range of steels including VG10, White#2, Swedish Steel, VG5, SG2, and MV, from makers like Sakai Takayuki, Masamoto Sohonten, Ryusen, Nigara, Hatsukokoro, and Sentan. Most are double-beveled, and the blade length runs from 120mm to 180mm, which is what gives it that balance of reach and precision. For more on how this fits into your knife kit, see the Knives and Stones Education Centre.

Petty knife lengths vary by maker: KAI's guide defines a petty (ペティナイフ) as a small knife with a narrow blade measuring 150 mm or under. Its table gives 90 to 150 mm, and it describes the shape as a smaller gyuto with a pointed tip.

We list petty knives from 70 mm to 165 mm, including lengths above the limit used in KAI's guide.

KAI, the company behind Shun, says VG-MAX builds on the VG10 formula with more carbon for strength and durability, additional chromium for wear and corrosion resistance, and increased tungsten, which it says makes the steel very fine-grained so the edge can be extremely sharp.

KAI attributes corrosion resistance and strength to molybdenum, and impact resistance and carbide formation to vanadium. KAI uses VG-MAX in its Shun Classic and Premier series.

Shun Premier is made with a VG-MAX steel core clad in Damascus, and KAI calls VG-MAX Shun's own formula for edge retention, durability and corrosion resistance.

KAI's European site lists the series as made in Japan.

KAI says the hammered finish (tsuchime) makes the blade stronger, and that added strength allows a thinner grind.

KAI's European site adds that the hammered surface helps food come off the blade, thanks to the air pockets it creates.

Yes, KAI launched its premium knife line Shun in 2000. KAI traces its history to 1908, when Saijiro Endo began making pocket knives, and the company was established in Seki, Gifu, in 1920.

Seki Magoroku is also a KAI brand. KAI says it carries the craft and spirit of the swordsmith Seki no Magoroku into modern knifemaking, fused with KAI's own technology, and its top tier is the Master Line.

Imayo (いまよう) is a series inside KAI's Seki Magoroku line. KAI describes it as a high-hardness blade body that takes a three-step edge, set up for sharpness that keeps going for a long time. It is one of the series on the Seki Magoroku knives page.

KAI's knives page lists Imayo alongside the all-stainless 10000ST and 匠創, the stainless three-layer 茜, the 10000CC in carbon steel, a 32-layer Damascus and the Master Line 要.

On KAI's Seki Magoroku knives page, only the 10000ST seamless all-stainless series is stated as dishwasher-safe. The same page says it can be boiled for disinfection as well.

KAI does not state dishwasher compatibility for the other series, Imayo included, so wash and dry those by hand. The 10000CC uses carbon steel.