One Knife to Rule Them All

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SuperM

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Hello all,

I'm sure a similar topic has found its way on the board in the past but I have to ask this question?; If you could only have one knife in your kit what would it be and why? An all around workhorse or something lighter, custom or no? Pictures if at all possible would be awesome as well :)
 
Only one knife? Sort of a silly question, but I'll play. Keep in mind I don't do this for a living, I'm just a plain old home cook.

L. R. Harner 8" line knife. Why? It can do it all. (And look good while doing it.)

 
Only one knife? Sort of a silly question, but I'll play. Keep in mind I don't do this for a living, I'm just a plain old home cook.

L. R. Harner 8" line knife. Why? It can do it all. (And look good while doing it.)


Can't wait till i get mine from Lefty... Butch's work is awesome.

I couldn't possibly decide between what i own, have used, or want... I have too many favorites to choose just 1.
 
Kato (you just missed one that was on the bst thread for almost two weeks and sold yesterday).

Or

Takeda 240.

Both sharpen easy, more so the Takeda.
Both are great lookers.
Both are amazing cutters.
Either can be had for under $500. The Takeda is often found under $300.
 
There must be loads of good candidates, most of which will be gyuto unless you like chukabocho. Of the few I've tried, it's an obvious rec but I'd second the fellow above on the Kato.
 
Fujiyama gyuto.

I've yet to use a single knife that excels at every single task as well, and is as nicely finished...
 
NoChop!'s High Grade Carter gyuto. Or a Bloodroot Blades gyuto. But out of the kit that I currently have it would be my rehandled Yoshikane Kasumi 250mm.
 
Only one?

Chinese cleaver. Not sure whether I'd pick Hattori FH, DT ITK, or Shige. Probably the DT.

There sure would be times I'd wish I had something else on-hand to use though! (thinking of deba and yanagi/kiritsuke actually :) )
 
me too! i would opt for a badass Cleaver. which one? dunno.

i do too much heavy lifting, like hack open coconuts to not make my single knife part axe. and everytime i use it to transfer diced things to a container by scooping it with the big cleaver, i ask myself why i dont use it more often.

i have a cheapo cleaver right now. from taiwan.
 
Still think the best knife I ever used is a Marko 250 gyuto in 52100. Perfect for me in everyday use in a pro kitchen
 
Absolutely a chef/gyuto knife, 8-10" in length, Sabatier profile w/nice distal taper. Carbon steel.

The short tip allows for detail/fine work/boning/etc.
The shorter height overall (Sabatier) has better slicing characteristics.
The aggressive distal taper naturally allows for more steel behind the heel for heavy work and a thin tip for the aforementioned fine stuff.

I really could get by with just this one knife and while I do usually use my chef's knife 90% of the time, I am glad I have my bread, paring, boning and slicer for when I need them.
 
Gesshin Ginga, white #2 steel, 210 mm petty. Holds edge like no other & can be used for a multitude of tasks from carving protein to dicing onions. :my2cents:
 
Only one.... For everything
Don Nguyen vintage sabatier Gyuto-hiki
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Depends on the style of cooking I guess. If I was cool with serving only bone-in meats, then a cleaver for sure. I'm happy to fillet most fish and debone poultry with a cleaver, though trimming silverskin would be a pain and I would go near any old school stuff like ballotines (sp?),

If I was to do more butchery like above, I'd probably go a 180-200 petty. Dunno about brand or steel, never used one.

Cheers,
Josh
 
At the moment of the knives I have I would say my 270 gyuto from Mario. Tip works like a petty, long enough to slice with, nimble enough to do most work.
 
2013-11-19233444_zps6d25dbd1.jpg


I think every time someone starts a thread like this my pick will be something different. This time I'll say my 260 Mario gyuto. Like Mignooch said, the tip is great for details and the blade length/height is great for fabricating and prepping. I was doing a little thinning behind the edge on it today and I'm always amazed at how pointy it is!
 
Only one?

Chinese cleaver. Not sure whether I'd pick Hattori FH, DT ITK, or Shige. Probably the DT.

There sure would be times I'd wish I had something else on-hand to use though! (thinking of deba and yanagi/kiritsuke actually :) )


me too! i would opt for a badass Cleaver. which one? dunno.

i do too much heavy lifting, like hack open coconuts to not make my single knife part axe. and everytime i use it to transfer diced things to a container by scooping it with the big cleaver, i ask myself why i dont use it more often.

i have a cheapo cleaver right now. from taiwan.


I'm with you guys on this one, as the old saying goes: 1 billion Chinaman can't be wrong.

Either one of these would do nicely

864f627670c8c41f077d04042309e7b8.jpg


4cb155f1.png
 
What's the cleaver on the bottom, Chef? Finish is cool, kinda looks like water.
 
There are way to many great craftsmen around making such a choice complicated. But with a 1 knife only I would get 180 gyuto or funayuki.

I would do much better with a 2 knife combo though (210 gyuto and 130-150 petty)

EDIT:
But there were (very happy) times in my life when a knife like this was all I needed:
10w.jpg
 
What's the cleaver on the bottom, Chef? Finish is cool, kinda looks like water.

It's a carter.

There are way to many great craftsmen around making such a choice complicated. But with a 1 knife only I would get 180 gyuto or funayuki.

I would do much better with a 2 knife combo though (210 gyuto and 130-150 petty)

EDIT:
But there were (very happy) times in my life when a knife like this was all I needed:
10w.jpg

Oh yeah, thanks, I almost forgot...the only knife needed for anything.

e6a22db57dd3f23e49d845c96d82a988.jpg
 
Serrated bread knife. :happymug:

Actually I don't have any idea. Any of my knives (Chinese cleaver, 210mm gyuto, nakiri) could probably serve as an "only knife" for my limited cooking repertoire. Today it'd be the gyuto, tomorrow the nakiri, and then the cleaver for those days when I just want to get stuff done and not think about how awesome my knife is.
 
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