How many different knives do you use daily ?

[chefwong]

Just looking at the knive block sets on the market...kinda remind me of pot sets.

Knives as a whole is a very subjective thing, but I'm curious how many different knives you use on a daily basis.

For me, it's a Shun cleaver, Kyocera 5" Ceramic knife and parer.
Cleaver was what I grew up with learning how to cook as a kid...and it's just natural in my hands.

Granted I do use the the bread knife on those big sunday meals....
And did stray away for a brief stint and used a Santoku almost exclusively as well for a bit.
Never was a big fan of a chefs knife.

[lmure]

I use one knife for everything. It's a 5" Henckels Eversharp serrated utility knife. I paid $7.99 for it on Amazon, it comes with a lifetime warranty (which Henckels will actually make good on). We had to buy two of them because fights would break out in the kitchen over it.

[twyst]

2.

A 240 MM Gyuto and a 150 mm Petty.

I can do just about any task needed with just 2 knives. I dont slice bread often, so the only other knife in my kit that gets regular use is a boning knife.

[FrankJBN]

One. 30+ year old no name brand came in $20 butcher block 8" chef's.

Been using it so long, no effort to zest lemons, peel turnips. or butterfly breasts.

[celesul]

I use an 8" Kiwi knife (it seems a little bit like a combination of a Chinese cleaver and a chef's knife, and I've grown very fond of that shape) most of the time, but I often reach for a paring knife when cutting off gross bits of vegetables. (I prefer a peeler for actually peeling though, for speed and thinness of the peel). I use a bread knife less frequently, but I very much appreciate it when it's needed.

[PemaD]

2

501 F A Porshe - 5 inch blade. For just about everything.
Henkel paring knife

I do have a Ran short blade that I will occasionally alternate with.
My 9 inch blade is pretty much retired.

[AlexCV]

Daily:

8-inch victorinox chef knife
paring knives (a bunch, use whichever's clean)

Less frequent:

bread knife (8" henckels cheapo, hate it but it hasn't stopped cutting so living with it)
bonig knife, 3.75" victorinox poultry, way more handy then 6" one for home.

[Candy]

About 2-3. The one i reach for most is my Shun Ken Onion 7.5" Santoku. next is the Ken Onion 6" chef's knife. After that is a toss up, it just depends on what I am doing. having been a retailer in a cooking equipment store I probably have far too many knives but they all have a purpose. I really like my Kyocera micro-serrated knive for soft fruits and vegetables, I have an excellent Wusthof bread knife, assorted paring knives and bird's beak, slicers and other chef's knives. My cleaver is a good old Dexter I picked up in an Asian food and equipment store.

[Eiron]

Candy, glad to hear you finally added the 6" KO chef's to your collection. What do you think of it compared to the santoku? I know you've had much more time with the santoku, so you may not have formed a solid opinion on the chef's yet, but I was wondering just the same.

[big50_1]

A KUHN RIKON small santoku (or Wusthof paring knife), Wusthof Silverpoint 7" santoku and every-so-often, a Cutco Petite Slicer for bread. All work very well or I get rid of the knife.

[turnerm3]

I'm feeling quite inadequate as a newbie here.. just my wusthof chef's knife. The rest of the block seems useless at this point. Veterans, care to point me to other threads?

[Chemicalkinetics]

"'m feeling quite inadequate as a newbie here.. just my wusthof chef's knife. The rest of the block seems useless at this point. Veterans, care to point me to other threads?"

This is great. For a regular home cook, you should be using your Chef's knife (main knife) 90% of the time if not more. The rest of the time you may feel the need for a small paring knife. If anything, you action speaks the truth. Most of the knives in a knife block are not very useful.

[John Francis]

Daily: always a chef's knife and often a paring knife. Less often a bread knife. Lots of other knives in the drawer, but they don't get much use. Never used a cleaver or a Japanese knife and don't own any.

[iliria]

Personally I think one only needs three knives: utility, chef's or santoku and bread. Anything else is not a necessity but rather a luxury. Quite a lot of people tend to fall victims of hype (I did) and buy useless knives that they will probably use once or twice in their lives.

Some people think that even a bread knife is not a necessity but I believe it is if you bake a lot.

[Eiron]

Well, it's not about "needs," is it? ;-) If that's the case, you really only need a single knife. (My 8.3" Kanetsune gyuto/chef slices soft breads better than my serrated bread knife, & carves turkeys & roasts better than any slicer/carver I've owned.)

I threw out a collection of about 20 crap knives we'd acquired over a 25 yr span & now have about 5 nice knives & another 5 "decent knives to abuse." :-) Sure, there's duplication of function in there, but I rotate thru them all over the course of time. It keeps me appreciating the nicer ones I've got!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Well, you do need two knives, so one can be used to "balance" another one for a photo shot. :) (inside joke, people).

More seriously, it is nice to have a paring knife beside the main Chef's/gyuoto knife. It find it difficult to peel my apples with a large knife. :)

[Eiron]

Ah, see? I don't peel my apples; I eat the peel. Kiwis, though...

Then I guess the next question is, "Do we 'need' to balance our knives?"
Or is this, as iliria says, a luxury? :-)

[Chemicalkinetics]

"Ah, see? I don't peel my apples; I eat the peel. Kiwis, though..."

Actually, that is what I have been doing all my life until maybe a few years when friends show they can peel an apple with a paring knife, and I could not. So now, I just peel for the heck of it.

"Then I guess the next question is, "Do we 'need' to balance our knives?"
Or is this, as iliria says, a luxury? :-)"

I don't know. Apparently, you don't talk to anyone who does not balance the knives. So it really is a question "Do we *need* Eiron writes to us or is that a luxury?" :D

[Eiron]

"So it really is a question 'Do we *need* Eiron writes to us or is that a luxury?'"

:'(

[Chemicalkinetics]

That is my point. Because we "need" Eiron to write to us -- consequently, the second knife is a necessity (for the knife balance shot), not a luxury.

Thus, one knife is not enough. :)

[Eiron]

:-)
(you know I'm joking with you, right?)

And I talk to "unbalanced" people all of the time!
(that pretty much covers everyone I work with...)
:-D

[GH1618]

I eat the peel, but first I cut the apple in six wedges, then remove the core from each wedge. That last step is difficult with a chef's knife but trivial with the right parer.

[Eiron]

:-D Yeah, I cut them that way when I'm chopping one up for a salad. Lately I've been taking one to work every day as my afternoon snack. When I just eat an apple by itself I don't bother cutting it up at all.

[cowboyardee]

"More seriously, it is nice to have a paring knife beside the main Chef's/gyuoto knife. It find it difficult to peel my apples with a large knife."
________
What Chem - are you telling me you haven't mastered this little technique yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sywFP...

;p

I've also seen it done with a Chinese cleaver but I couldn't find that video.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Nope. Maybe I should practice that.

Yes, I have seen Iron Chef Sakai does this too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-xkL9DbwJc

Even if I can do it (which I cannot), I doubt I can bring a full size Chef's knife or Chinese cleaver to the company lunch room.

Most importantly of all, if I can peel an apple in one move without breaking the peel will get me married. :P

The technique shown above does not work for my situation. :D

"So in that way the knife is useful…my grandmother use to say that if you can peel the apple all at once without breaking the peel then you will get married very soon. Grandmothers knows these things"

http://www.kkswami.com/2012/03/its-so-simple-you-might-just-miss-it/

"To discover whom you would marry, you tried to peel an apple all in one go, without breaking the peel. If you succeeded, you threw the peel over your shoulder. The way it came to rest on the floor would give you the initial of the one you would marry. "

http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/celt...

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

1 an 8" Daddy-O (my Dad made it for Mom back in the 50's or 60's) I use it for pretty much everything from peeling to chopping. I have other knives, but that one is always out, and ready, so I use it.

[scubadoo97]

Depending on what I'm doing I will use a particular knife. For most things which include prepping vegetables I use a gyuto. Either my Tojiro DP 240 or my Tojiro 210 Shirogami. A Tojiro DP honesuki for breaking down meat and chickens. A Henckel 8" chef for cutting up a chicken once roasted, a Henckel paring and utility knife for fruit and cutting sandwhiches. A Tojiro DP 270 sujihiki for slicing fish or other slicing tasks. I have a couple of blue steel kiritsuke/santoku beater knife that sharpen well but appear more reactive than the Shirogami. Maybe it's not blue steel but that's what it was advertise as at the time. If I'm hacking bone I will use a cheap stainless cleaver that is kept sharp but can take abuse and not chip.

[tanuki soup]

When I first got excited about knives, I bought a good selection of Globals. I love the way they look, feel in my hand, cut, and hold an edge. But I'd estimate that 90% of the cutting in my kitchen is done with a Glestain 7" santoku (with two rows of really big grantons on the side) and a cheap plastic-handled Victorinox paring knife.

[i4details]

Victorinox 3/14" paring knife..Light sharp and cheap.I LOVE that homely little knife. Cutco sandwich spatula thing with a serrated edge. I hate dirtying 3 knives making one sandwich.
I use a Japanese carbon chef's knife that was a gift, probably a really expensive one, I bet... I can't read the name. I use a Shun santouka , a Henkle chefs knife and a Wusthof carver, and the dullest ever, henkle bread knife someone sharpened the serrated teeth off of.

[Chemicalkinetics]

"and the dullest ever, henkle bread knife someone sharpened the serrated teeth off of."

Ha ha ha. Sorry, that just sounds too funny.

[bushwickgirl]

Tis funny, and I wonder what it gets used on.

8" chef's and my little Henkel paring knife. That's all I normally need in the course of the day. Now and then, it's refreshing to pull out my dangerously sharp Henkel bread knife, hint, hint.

[Chemicalkinetics]

"8" chef's and my little Henkel paring knife."

That is probably good for most people. Sometime, I use a boning knife for deboning/breaking down a chicken. Not that I cannot use my gyuto (Japanese version of Chef's knife) do it, but then it will likely dull the sharper knives. I also have a bread knife, but I don't get to use it very often.

"dangerously sharp Henkel bread knife"

Heh heh heh.

[i4details]

My mom fileted her hand from wrist to knuckle (accidentally) with a "dangerously sharp" Henkle cleaver. Isn't that an awful visual? Sorry.
I have a pizza wheel that's probably the crazy sharpest thing I own, probably cause I never use it...oh...except for the mandoline which sits in a drawer ever since I grated my fingertips off with it. I'm scared of it.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I didn't mean to say Henckels knives cannot be sharp. I just thought it is funny that you wrote "and the dullest ever, henkle bread knife" and then my friend buckwickgirl wrote "dangerously sharp Henkel bread knife"

Get the humor?

[GH1618]

"sharpened the serrated teeth off of"

Who would do that? My oldest knife is an Olsen bread knife from 1967. It is a simple stamped SS blade with teeth, and a plain wooden handle. Nothing has ever been done to this knife, and it still cuts bread the same as it always has.

[i4details]

The Henkles were my first good knives. After sharpening them myself for a few years, I got the brilliant idea to take them to a"knife sharpening" kiosk in the farmers market along with a really good pair of dressmaker shears. I went along with my shopping la-de-da..and when I picked the nives up VOILA ...a toothless bread knife and a ground down miserable chefs knife, utility knife etcetera. There was no arguing with the guy. I took my injured knives and left. Believe me, I felt like stabbing him with them.

[knifesavers]

Ouch. Sorry to hear of that. I do run a booth at a farmers market down here in San Diego and hate to hear of stuff like that.

I have an assortment of reconditioned knives out front to show the way I sharpen edges for people concerned about the potential results.

As for the original question I would plead the 5th due to how many knives I have vs use in case my wife notices. ;)

Never more than 3 usually in any prep session but it could be any 3 of the many. Yeah that's the ticket..

Jim

[GH1618]

I got a bad job at a knife shop once, fortunately on a cheap knife, but it made me leery of letting anyone work on them. Now I have someone I trust, but I took one cheap knife with a nick in it first, to see how it would turn out. Never take all your knives, or even one good one, to an untried knife man, is my advice.

[knifesavers]

Good advice. Here are some knives I have in the recondition pile that have suffered greatly at the hands of someone.

Whatever method or device that was used on these should be banned!

The second from the bottom is it's "good" side.

I can do some to reduce it but they are scarred for life.

[scubadoo97]

Some should be put away for severe knife abuse. That's criminal

A novice could do better with a $30 stone, a couple of hours practicing and watching a few videos than these people did. Seriously it's so easy to do an adequate job

[Chemicalkinetics]

I agree with scubadoo and you. This is horrible.

[Eiron]

A friend of mine had that done to his serrated bread knife. It was a nice knife, too! When I saw it I had an odd sensation of amazement/horror/humor. He was disappointed in the job, but not enough to replace the knife. (!?) I told him (over a year ago) that I could turn it into a straight-edged slicer if he wanted, but he's still using it the way it is...

It's funny what people view as priorities, isn't it? ;-)

[j y l]

90% of the time I use either a thin chef's knife (Victorinox/Forschner 10" chef's) or a Chinese vegetable cleaver (Forschner). The bread knife gets used a bit (Dexter 10"). Sometimes I'll use a slicer or santoku just for variety. I never feel much need for a paring knife, though my wife uses it a lot. What I seldom use anymore is the traditional heavy, thick-spine chef's knife.

[Chemicalkinetics]

How is the Forschner Chinese cleaver? They are so inexpensive. I have a Dexter-Russell Chinese cleaver and it is pretty good. Easy to sharp and average edge retention. For a Chinese cleaver, it is better not to be too hard because it is all-purpose knife and will get abused a lot, so the edge will wear no matter what. Also, how is the Dexter bread knife? It is so tough to get hold of Dexter, I had to go to restaurant suppliers to get them.

[trixel]

Hiromoto Santoku, generic serrated paring knife, and a steak knife. I use scissors fairy often as well.

[cowboyardee]

Depends on the day for me. I could probably use my 240 mm Hiromoto gyuto for 99% of my knife tasks for the rest of my life. And about 2 out of 3 days, that's all I use, especially if I'm working fast.

But on the odd occasion, I like to bust out a few different knives, just for fun. I've got a nakiri that is super fun to use, just not quite as utilitarian or efficient as the gyuto. A thin cheap forschner paring knife gets some use, as well as a thicker white carbon steel paring knife that I keep face-shaving sharp. On these days, if i can find any justification for using my yanagiba, I do. The old Global chef's knife gets a spin (briefly).

I also break down a good deal of chicken, and I usually use a Tojiro Honesuki for that, to preserve the edge on my gyuto. And I have a couple hankotsus I use as steak knives on a semi regular basis. And a cheap bread knife for bread... sometimes.

I'm a bit of a knife nerd, if you couldn't already tell.

[bushwickgirl]

I'd say. Do you have any links for photos of these knives, or suppliers?

[scubadoo97]

I have the same honesuki and use it a lot for boning chickens. I also have Tojiro's 270mm sujihiki and love that for slicing fish. I have yet to get a yanagiba.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Well, your future yanagiba is going to cost you some dough.

[cowboyardee]

Lord, that's the truth. Take a look at korin's offerings - almost everything is $500 and up, half of it is well over $1,000. I have a kikuichi white steel 270 mm that I bought for a good price used a few months ago. After multiple sharpenings and hour-long grinding sessions, its geometry is almost back to that of real yanagiba. Thus the problem with buying a used yanagiba.

Bushwickgirl, here are some links.
The hiromoto - http://www.chefknivestogo.com/higykn24.html
The edge usually has a dark patina you can't see in that photo. A GREAT knife for the money.

The nakiri - http://cutlery.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?pf_id=05.100.20&s=JapanWoodworker
It's a cheap knife that's quite thick for a nakiri. I ground it down by hand until it was useful and performed well - excellent practice for sharpening and knife repair, but boy, was it a lot of work.

The honesuki - http://www.chefknivestogo.com/todputkn15.html

The hankotsu - http://korin.com/Molybdenum-Hankotsu?sc=22&category=52093

The thick, white steel paring knife - http://cutlery.japanwoodworker.com/pr...
Also required that I take down the edge angle a bit, but I left it thick.

If you're considering buying any of those knives, keep in mind that only the hankotsu and the honesuki are stainless. I especially love the gyuto and the honesuki and recommend them highly.

I had a tadatsuna yss 270 gyuto a little bit ago - gloriously thin and acute, extremely high-performance, lots of maintenance though. I had to sell it for financial reasons not long after I got it. Someday, I'm gonna buy that knife back. I swear I've had dreams about it since I sold it.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I suppose there are cheap $30 yanagiba. Afterall, most Japanese in Japan don't buy $300 yanagiba. However, I doubt scubadoo is going to buy a cheap yanagiba.

You sold a gyuto for finanical reasons. I presume you were short of cast instead of trying to make a profit (buy low and sell high). So you want to buy the knife back because you really need it or because it isyour redemption?

[cowboyardee]

Yeah, I was short of cash (car broke down, can't drive a gyuto to work).

Given my smallish but respectable collection, I guess you can't say I really need ANY knife any more. But I certainly miss it. I feel like I once used a lightsaber and someday I hope to again. So yes, it is my redemption.

[Chocolate_Penguins]

Why would you ever compare Tojiro knives and Misono knives? The quality is completely different. Tojiro knives are considered the beat-up knives in Japan, while Misonos are considered one of the most highly distinguished western knife makers in the country.

Not only that but what are you looking at to see only $500+ knives? Yanagi knives are expensive, yes. But I hope you know that not all Japanese knives stand equal. Even within the same brands, there are discrepancies on what is truly a great knife and what the considered the standard. This is because it's all hand made. Plenty of knife makers skimp out on quality, because people don't know the difference and it is cheaper. If you want your money's worth, make sure it's a trusted brand overall, not just cheap.

[Eiron]

Yikes.
Get to know your audience a little before posting...

[cowboyardee]

CP, I've read your post a couple times and I must say I'm not really sure what you're objecting to. Perhaps you misread my post or missed some of the context? I was just commenting on some of the knives that I had personally tried at the time, not really comparing different makers here. Notably, I still use the Tojiro DP honesuki and I still think it's a good knife for the money, reputation notwithstanding. I've used or sharpened a reasonable number of Japanese knives (though nowhere near as many as a few of the regular posters on the various knife-specific forums), and found that while price and reputation tend to correlate to quality in a general sense, there are a great many exceptions, and quite a few less expensive Westernized Japanese knives that are well made selling at fairly reasonable price points, produced by less prestigious brands.

At any rate, you're responding to a fairly old post. If you look around, you'll find that I've since discussed various Japanese knives in much more depth in quite a few other threads on this forum. You might find a more meaty post to pick apart in one of those other threads, if you're so inclined.

[Chemicalkinetics]

<Why would you ever compare Tojiro knives and Misono knives?>

You can compare whatever you want. Since I can compare Hulk to Ironman (Marvel), I am sure we can compare Tojiro knives to Misono knives.

< I hope you know that not all Japanese knives stand equal...>

In all seriousiness, that is a fairly old post. A few of us were just chit-chatting and having fun together. I understand that you have only started to post 2 hours ago. I think you are overreacting. cowboyardee, scubadoo, Eiron...others have been most helpful on the knife topics for years.

[Chocolate_Penguins]

Sorry, you guys are totally right. I just love my Misono knives and I definitely got what I paid for. I have Tojiro too, but I don't really understand how someone can compare the two. It's so vastly different.

Sorry again!

[cowboyardee]

Don't sweat it.

What Misonos do you have?

[Chemicalkinetics]

<I just love my Misono knives and I definitely got what I paid for>

Glad to hear that. Did you get yours before the price hike? I know there was a significant price increase about a year ago.

Don't worry. We all have said funny things here and there. You seem to be a very knowledge person in kitchen knives, so I am forward to learn much from you. By the way, it seems you are more of a Japnaese knife user than a German knife user. Am I correct about this?

[scubadoo97]

You can get a reasonable yanagiba for $150-250. Just haven't found the need to use one much. When slicing salmon for Nova lox or blocks of ahi for nagiri at home my sujihiki has performed well. Not as good as a single beveled yanagiba but well enough for me at this time.

[cowboyardee]

I got mine just as much (read: more) because i wanted to practice working on single bevel knives as because I actually could use a yanagiba. And, yeah you can get a reasonable one in that range. You just have to look a LOT.

Especially if you're a lefty.
:(

[scubadoo97]

I've not had the experience of sharpening a single beveled knife but from what I've been told and all I've read it's not any more difficult. I actually looks easier.

[cowboyardee]

I'd say it's simpler, not really easier. Since you've got that huge bevel to work with, there's not a lot of guesswork when it comes to angle to sharpen at. But that also means you wind up abrading a large surface made of hard, abrasion-resistant metal. For many, the actual edge is just a couple degrees more obtuse than the huge primary bevel.

Many of them have a double beveled edge for the first inch and a half or so from the heel (so you can use the heel for heavier work), which is not super easy to even notice.

Burr removal tends to be tougher, and arguably more important. Easy to leave a wire edge.

And a mistake while sharpening can be much harder to fix.

[scubadoo97]

I know we are getting off topic of the OP but have you tried rock hard felt for burr removal? I deburr with it between all stone progressions

[cowboyardee]

I haven't and I know that's where I probably need to go. I deburr with leather stropping and soft wood. If I deburr carefully between each stone, most of the knives I sharpen don't give me wire edge problems (I do my own and for a other friends/local cooks/foodies as something between a minor side job and a hobby). I don't use the yanagiba quite enough that my deburring problems have forced me into action, but I should probably buy some from dave at knifeforums, or elsewhere if you've got a good source.

Do you find the hard felt lives up to its reputation for burr removal? Do you strop on it or slice at it?

[scubadoo97]

"Do you strop on it or slice at it?"

Both. Dave now sells a rock hard felt block to slice on and the strip to do an edge trailing motion. Don't have to be as delicate as stroping. And yes the felt does really pull of burrs well.

[grayum]

Just one -- even though I have lots, I always reach for my 7" Henckels santoku, which I love and do just about everything with.

[bushwickgirl]

Truly Santukos are the way.

[steve h.]

i use a chef's knife most every day, same for a bread knife. a paring knife is a goto device, too.
i field strip most wine bottles with my ancient swiss army knife prior to gentler persuasion with more humane devices.

[taos]

Some days all I use is a spoon.

But when it comes to knives, the ones I use regularly are:

Henckels 8 inch Chef's Knife - About 15 years old. May be the Twin Four Star model? I love this knife.

Kuhn Rikon 4 inch Paring Knife - Two years old. Yellow. Came in a sheath that I don't use.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Everyone keeps talking about Kuhn Rikon paring knife? I think I keep seeing them on Marshall and Home Goods being sold at a very low price, like $7. Are they the one advertised as nonstick with very bright colors on the blade? Are they really good? They are so cheap.

[bushwickgirl]

My cheapy Calaphon Santuko and my Henkels 3" paring; after 25 years in food service, I gave up on chef's knives. The santuko is a pleasure.
I have a friend, disabled and in a wheelchair who has a piece of crap long thin finely serrated knife, like a salmon slicer, that she uses for everything. This knife is beat to shit. She puts the cutting board in her lap, slices apples thinly, chops veggies, dissects chicken and slices bread with this knife. She has other knives but never uses them.
The day this knife dies will be a sad day indeed.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Bushwick,

I think there is the disproportional gender preference when it comes to Santoku. Don't get me wrong. I know many guys like Santoku bonko, but there are definitely more females. It is believe that Santoku is a lighter and more agile knife, so females prefer a Santoku over the typical heavy German made chef's knife.

[bushwickgirl]

Chem:
Very interesting, very possible. I always liked a "lighter" knife, certainly shorter, 8' chef's compared to 10' and I don't necessarily have small (or weak) hands. but I always felt I had more control with a smaller, lighter knife. I just thought it was me. I never could handle a heavy 10' Wusthof, back in the day when they were. Control is everything.
Hm, could be a selling point. I wonder what knives culinary schools are pushing these days. We were given Dexter knife rolls when I was at J & W.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Bushwick,

I know definitely not just you. There is a trend of residental cutlrey getting sharper and smaller. In fact, I have been to Bed Bath Beyond and Williams Sonoma and the sale pople claim Shun knives are better than Wusthof. Of course, this does not prove Shun is better, but it does prove Shun and Global are being accepted. I cannot imagine any sale would told me a Japanese knife is better than Wusthof/Henckel ten years ago.

10" Che'fs knife is probably too big for most people.

Why does your culinary school push Dexter? I like Dexter-Russell. They are of good price, easy to sharp and maintain their edge ok (not great). Unfortunately, it is pain to shop for Dexter-Russell. I cannot find them in normal kitchen supply stores. I have to go to restaurant supply stores.

By the way, I am just a home cook and not a chef. So you are definitely the expert here.

[bushwickgirl]

Kinetics:
It was Dexter-Russel, which I thought, in my formative years, that they were good knives. I drooled over Wusthof. I had a little Dexter paring knife with a wooden handle for 20 years, loved the little thing. Like you said, they don't hold an edge but they were easy to sharpen. Maybe that's why J & W liked them for their students, you have to sharpen them all the time (lots of knife sharpening practice). I'm sure J & W got them from their restaurant supply people, probably for not much moola.
I remember the chefs I worked with back in the 70's and 80's all had big hands and bigger 'tude so it goes without saying that the knife would be bigger, too. Ha.
I like the sharper and smaller thing. This is a very good trend. I wish I could go into a professional kitchen now and see what chefs are using.
"A sharp knife is a thing of great beauty." Somebody said that.

[knecht]

Maybe, but I'm a average sized guy with quite a variety of blades to choose from and my most used cooking knife is a Wusthof santoku. Cooking for one of two it's just easy and agile.

[Candy]

I drive an Odyssey (3 St. Poodles make it a necessity) under the front passenger's seat is a drawer. In the drawer I have two of the KR knives. One small one and slightly larger that has two sides to cut with, serrated and a slicer. Also in the drawer is a small Epicurean cutting board and a collapsible Screwpull wine opener. The knives are good and i am ready for anything. You never know when you are going to encounter a good farmer's mkt, road side stand or a shop with some things you want to try right now!

[foodpoisoned]

Just one - Shun santoku. In fact, I rarely use anything else...an old Messermeister bread knife, cheap Oxo tomato, a no-name brand paring knife, and carbon steel cleaver are the only other knives I have and I barely touch them.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Santoku is a good knife. High five.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I would honestly say, on average... One. A Chinese cleaver by Dexter-Russell. Sometime, I do use my steak knives to open letters and packages, but if you are purely talking about cooking, I rarely use more than the cleaver.

[Matash]

Daily - paring knife and bread knife

[jeanmarieok]

3 Knives - my chef's knife, my paring knife and my pmapered chef bread knife.

[Soop]

I do:
Meat; Chefs knife
Veg; Santoku
Bread; Breadknife
fine work; paring knife

[steakwit]

I used a 10" carbon steel Sabatier for 20 years but busted it chopping a frozen fish-but now I like the Wusthof Grand Prix- they make the only SS kitchen knife that holds an edge, Wusthof 10" chef knife and 2 parers, one regular and the other with a reverse curve for the soft veggies, plus a serrated bread knife for those tuff bagels. All you really need is a good Chef's knife because the first 2 inches are a paring knife! anyway. My Pop-Pop said you can pound finishing nails with a sledge hammer but you can't drive railroad spikes with a trim hammer! Steakwit

[C4E]

I really love good knives and probably own ones that really aren't necessary, but that being said, I use my 8" Wustoff chef's knife the most. I also like my Santoku 6" chef's knife for veggies, etc. Next is probably my utility knife then the bread knife. I look for reasons to use all the other specialty knives I own, but like I said, I love knives!!!

[vanillagorilla]

The only knife I use daily is a 240mm Hiromoto Gyuto. I can do just about everything I need to with it.

If I'm going to be cutting just vegetables, I might take out my Tojiro Nakiri. If I'm filleting fish or boning out a chicken, a Forschner boning knife is the best bet.

Other than that, most of my other knives get used very infrequently. I rarely use a paring knife unless I'm going to be deviening shrimp. I have a slicer, but I find for everything but bread, my gyuto is better.

[mateo21]

My Yoshikane 240mm Gyuto, an amazing knife. Shun paring, utility and bread about daily (my SO uses the 6" chef). So, five... My filet gets used weekly (I buy whole chicken!) as does the slicer. The only knife I have that doesn't see at least weekly use would be my 4" mini-prep... which was free, so I can't complain :)

[jillp]

Jackp and I tend to collide when trying to use the same knives: 8" chef's knife, 6" santoku and 4" paring knife. I am beginning to think that we'd be better off to get rid of some things and duplicate others.

He uses the bread knife more often than I do, as well as the cleaver.

And I rarely recommend a set of knives. My thinking is that you should get the three best knives you can afford.

[BobB]

My wife and I were both long-time cooks when we moved in together, and although we managed to combine our respective sets of cookware, keeping only the best of both collections, we each kept our own knifes. Mine live to the left of the stove, hers to the right. It's all about what you're used to, I suppose.

I should mention in passing that deciding which items to keep from each of our already fully-stocked kitchens led us to some of the most intense arguments of our entire relationship! But we got through it, and in the end the culls ended up going to the daughter of a friend, who was just setting up her first apartment.

[pharmnerd]

Daily: 7" santoku; paring

At least once weekly: bread knife; steak knife

Rarely: carving

[Stuffed Monkey]

My 5 1/2" Santuko. I have small hands, am mostly cooking for one and I reach for it for almost everything. My full Wusthoff set (from culinary school0 sits in the knife roll under my counter. I'll use the 10" Chef and some of the knives only if cooking for a large group. There's also a very cheap very old paring knife that gets used for small jobs.

[Jacquilynne]

I used to sell Cutco in college (I know, I know) and while I don't have much of an opinion on them either way at this point, I do have a deep and abiding love for my trimmer. Or, rather, trimmers, since I bought a second one, so I wouldn't have to live without my first one while I sent the precious away for sharpening. Of course, now I've discovered that having 2 is really better than 1 and I can't really bear to part with either of them for sharpening, so my older one could probably really use it by now.

All of my other knives are only occasional use, though I do use my chef's knife (also Cutco, and apparently not as good as I might have told people they were when I sold them in college, because the tang snapped in half about a third of the way up the handle while I was using it to chop chocolate) a lot on days when I actually cook. I'm debating between sending it away for replacement vs. just buying a new one.

[Mother of four]

MAC chef knife! I probably could put away most of my other knifes, and not miss them! I use this one knife for almost everything.

[chuckl]

MAC makes an awesome chef's knive, i think it's called Mighty Mac and is very highly regarded. I have a MAC santoku that I rotate with a Shun and a Wustof for most of my chopping, and an 8 inch Sabatier chefs, as well as a 9-inch forschner. Less frequently I use a Wusthof paring knife and assorted slicers, including a couple of Sabatiers. If I have some chopping tasks that require versatility, I tend to stick with the shun because of its edge and its relative heftiness, but I could survive with any of them.

[UnConundrum]

No question I could survive with one or two knives, but I enjoy using the right tool for the job. That said, I seem to be migrating more towards my smaller knives. My Shigefusa santuko is probably getting the most use, followed by a toss-up between my custom Carter petty and my Hattori KD petty. My 270 Carter gyuto comes out only for mincing, and my 300 Carter funayuki only for carving... They don't get used much, but they're such a pleasure when the job is right for them :) While some others don't get used much at all, I'm not sorry that I own them by any means.

[CPla]

2, paring knife and chefs knife. I have a few others that get use from time to time like for filleting or boning, but in reality, I could survive with just the 2.
Henkels have a set, paring and chefs knife plus sharpening steel that looks really awesome. But I cannot bring myself to fork out that much money when I know that my el cheapo chefs knife can do exactly the same thing as long as I keep it sharp. So, I just look at it in the store everytime I pass, sigh, and walk away.

CPla

http://www.chefpla.com

[firecooked]

I could get by with 2: my 10" chef and paring. But most days there are 3 or 4 of our cheap Henkel (plastic handle) paring knives in the dishwasher, the above mentioned chef's and paring knife, and often a serrated bread knife, a Santoku, and the 7" chef's knife for hand wash... and maybe once a week the carving knife.

[RGC1982]

8 inch Chef's, 7 inch Santoku, 9" bread knife OR 6 inchd serrated (relegated to bagel service), and a paring knife are used regularly. Slicer is used less often, but used.

[Robin Joy]

In reality just a 7" chef's and a 3 to 4" parer/utility, but I do run three of the former and five of the latter (one serrated). Otherwise I never seem to have a clean one!
Plus a filleter, a carver, a flexible ham slicer, and a bread (an excellent Victorinox which sometimes doubles as a carver). I crave a Global Swedish Filleter ($$!), so I hope Santa is logged in and reading this!
I have literally dozens of others which come under the heading of "unnecessary expenditure", but I'm sure that I'm not alone in this.

[tim irvine]

i use my 10" Sabatier carbon steel chef's knife everyday. Maybe it is 40 years of familiarity, but I use it for things that a lot of folks would grab a paring knife to do, like coring a tomato, since it is already in my hand. I steel ti every time I use it and sharpen it 2-3 times a year. I also have a 2 1/2 Nogent caron paring knife I use a lot. My wife tends to go for the 4, 6, or 8 inch Sabaiter carbon knives cook's knives, depending on what she is cutting,. Since we bake almost all our bread, the bread knife, Henckels stainless, is out and in use daily, too. Great steak knives I bought at Ace Restaurant supply get a lot of use, too...very cheap and just like the ones they use in steakhouses with the big wide blades and rounded ends. Not a lot of roasts so it does not get regular use, but I love to carve with a 10" Sabatier carbon carving knife and a huge (8" tines) fork. .

[emerilcantcook]

8 inch chef knife, 5 inch utility, one tiny paring, and a cheapo serrated steak knife for slicing tomatoes.

I got a santoku a while ago, and there was some interest in it; but now it mainly sits in the block unless we are talking butternut squash.

[RShea78]

I do not think a day goes by that I haven't used 5 or 6 different knives. I use mostly different length chefs knives (7" to a 12") and boning knives. The least used knives are my paring and bread knives.

I also have a tip damaged 8" cooks knife that I use strictly for cutting down boxes for recycling.

On my wish list is to try out a santuko even though friends claim they are over-rated because they know I have a 12" commercial slicer.

[chazzerking]

a 10" Sabatier high carbon steel chef's knife, a bird beak Henkels parer, a victorinox 10 " serrated slicer, and a custom made Kramer damascus 7" santoku

[jakjak]

Wow, you all use so many knives! Everyday, I use one single knife, my 24cm Global chefs knife. Couldnt operate without it!

[bitsubeats]

nothing wrong with using just one knife. I used to use only one knife and it served me well. I even used it to peel cucumbers. However, I much prefer to use pairing knives when it comes to peeling (:

[Miss Priss]

I own many knives, but on most days use only two: a 10" serrated knife to slice bread for morning toast, and a 6" chef's knife for everything else. If I'm doing some serious cooking, I generally go for a 9" chef's knife. The 4" utility knife also gets fairly regular use for small tasks such as cutting fruit.

[mpalmer6c]

Most commonly used knife is an inexpensive 5-inch Forschner utility knife. I use a Global 8-inch carving knife for chopping, a 10-inch Chicago Cutlery chef's knife for things like splitting an onion, a 40-year-old butcher knife, and one of those overpriced German-made bread knives. Never have seen any use for a paring knife.

[swsidejim]

typically one, my 10" Wusthoff chefs knife, it handles most tasks, and allows me to move quicker without having to switch.

Occasionally I use a paring knife, a bread knife, and a meat cleaver, but not every day.

[Cary]

My 8" Chef's knife.

[cimui]

Ditto. I love/need my 8" Wusthoff chef's knife like a body part. It was my college graduation gift to myself and I really think I've used it every single day I've been at home, since.

(No bread knife because I'm a barbarian: I like to tear hunks from the loaf. The texture's so much better! And no paring knife because I seldom pare the veggies I use in everyday cooking. I just wash everything really well.)

[manraysky]

Same here. I use mine for 95% of everything I do. I use a serrated knife for slicing bread or tomatoes, and that's about it. I have paring knives that never get used, I can do everything easier with the 8" chef knife.

[Ima Wurdibitsch]

I used my brother's 8" Henckel Pro-S chef's knife one Labor Day and coveted it from that point on. At Christmas, he surprised me with one of my own. I held it in both hands, raised it high, and sang, "aaaaah-AHHHHHH!" It was like my own personal Excaliber. I use it all the time. In fact, when I travel for work to places that are close enough to drive, I bring it with me. Love.That.Knife.

A few months later, my ex's kids bought me several others (including a back-up 8" chef's knife) plus a block to store them in. A friend gave me a santoku.

Of all the knives, I use the chef's, the santoku, and the bread knife the most. I also have two serrated steak knives that were part of an inexpensive set that my mother had while I was growing up. I wish I could find more of them. They are perfect for slicing tomatoes and paring chores.

[bitsubeats]

10'' victorinox chef's knife and a green pairing knife I got from william's sonoma (green's my favorite color).

My boyfriend just got a new set of global knives and I can't wait to try those out. yippee!! I love new knives

[scubadoo97]

If often use a pairing and gyuto or kiritsuki on a regular basis. These are the most used knives. Others are more task specific.

[RealMenJulienne]

I use only two knives:

8-inch chef's knife
Heavy Chinese cleaver

The serrated bread knife makes an appearance for baguettes and such, but that's really about it.

[lcool]

I use 5 or more on a daily basis.None are from sets.All were either personal hands on choices or inherited/hand me downs that I finagled to be first in line for.We don't have a block except for steak knives.All the others are on magnet strips or in a custom knife drawer,designed,built by my father 40 years ago.

[BobB]

On a regular basis, four: 10" chef's knife for chopping, 8" slicer, 12" serrated bread knife (for bread only), and 3" parer. On occasion I also use a boning knife. Oh, and of course steak knives for eating, not prep.

I also own, but never use, a huge, heavy cleaver that belonged to my grandfather, who was a butcher.

[ThreeGigs]

6 inch Hattori gyuto is what I use most. 10 inch Wusthof super-slicer is the bread knife and gets as much use as the Hattori. Wusthof 7 inch santoku comes in third, followed by a tie between a Shun paring knife and a Shun 10 inch chef's knife. I've got a serrated parer that's only seen action a handful of times in the past year, mostly doing bar duty slicing lemons and limes.

[Maximilien]

2.

one small chef 6" knife and one small paring knife.

[dolores]

Funny question. And true on the pots, not as many are needed as the PR folks would have us believe.

I guess two knives on a daily basis. A Henkel steak knife for just about everything, a cheap steak knife for buttering, and the occasional large Henkel knife for slicing roasts.

What a hoot.

[irisav]

I think you do need quite a few pots. I mean I have 5 pots, a frying pan and a griddle pan and use them all the time. the smallest one is perfect for poaching eggs, the next up is a steamer, the next up for making soup for two although the next up which is a chasseur enamel lined cast iron affair has to some degree superseded this pot for soups ( and is fabulous for curries, braises, pasta sauces etc don't know how I lived with out this one!) and then a large stock pot for making stocks (obviously) and also for cooking pasta as ideally you need 1 L of water for every 100 g of pasta.

[Kelli2006]

I use approx 5 knives on a daily basis to prepare dinner. I have a 6" chefs knife, a santuko for veggies, and 2 different paring knives, plus a bread knife.

I have a much larger blade arsenal that overflows a block, but most of those do not see daily use.

[irisav]

At least three, of which nearly always includes my cook's knife and the paring knife - but I really couldn't do without the carving knife and the bread knife. Now that I think about the utility knife is really useful for chopping up vegetables that are too large for the paring knife but not suited to the weight/power of the cooks knife - like large potatoes.