Essential Knives?

[ivnj]

If you can only have 5 knives in your collection, what type would that be?

Mine would be:

-240mm Gyuto
-120mm Petty
-180mm Tall Nakiri/ Cleaver
-300mm Yanigibas
-Steak Knife

 

[esoo]

As a home cook, I find this works
- 250mm workhorse weight gyuto (ZKramer Essential)
- 180mm laser bunka (Kotetsu)
- 90mm paring (Miyabi)

Yes, I could use more specialist blades, but that handles everything I throw at it.

 

[SeattleBen]

Chef knife/gyuto
Increasingly cleaver

As someone who used to cook for money and doesn't now this gets me almost all the way for home use. If pressed I could make do with only the chef knife. Adding a petty might make my life occasionally easier but I've also sold or given away the petty's I've owned.

 

[Andrew]

I'm with Seattle Ben... I have lots of knives in the drawer, but for 90% or more of the things I do a 240 gyuto is perfect, and what I reach for.

I almost never use a petty, and the other more specialized knives I own are mostly used for fun if I'm being honest. That said, I'd not want to give them up!

 

[LucasFur]

1. 240 gyuto
2. Petty that can double as a steak knife.
3. Peeler.

As a home cook ive tried suji's/ santoku's / bunka/ petty's/ nakiri ... all get basically zero use. Knife skills reduce the need for multiple types of knives. But if i only had a gyuto i would put a tough edge on it to withstand bread and pumpkins.

 

[panda]

4 gyutos and a suji

 

[Paraffin]

4" Paring knife, Western soft stainless for all-purpose abuse including opening packages
115mm Japanese Petty, carbon steel, small-scale veg prep
190mm Japanses Petty/Mini-Sujihiki, carbon steel, used only for raw protein
165mm Nakiri, carbon steel, large scale veg prep
Bread Knife, stainless

All of that gets regular use in our home kitchen. It leaves out a few specialty knives, like an old Wusthof cleaver for bones, a new pair of cheap Chinese cleavers for chopping pork, and a 180mm nakiri I pull out for larger veg like cabbages. I've got a 210mm gyuto that is rarely used because I'd rather alternate between petty knives and nakiri for the kind of food I cook. I never deal with anything large enough to want something like a 240mm or 270mm gyuto where that blade shape is optimal.

The surprise for me in that lineup is the 115mm Petty. I bought it mainly to have a matched set of Yoshikazu Ikeda knives, but I'm using more than I thought I would for fine-slicing small items, like chili ribbons for garnish.

 

[LucasFur]

All of that gets regular use in our home kitchen.

LOL 165 Nakiri and a 180 Nakiri /// 4" paring and a 115mm petty, i love it.

You might be the type of guy that when asked "essential cars" would probably answer: 1. a Vespa (for a pop to the shops) , 2. a motor cycle (nice day crusing), 3. a Convertable coupe (to go out with wife for dinner),4. a Pickup (for yard work), 5. a 3 row people carrier (bring the kids to hockey), and 6. an Off-roader (for those time you go hunting). But really a SUV does decently fine for it all.

 

[Jon-cal]

If my current block is any indication, I’d probably have 5 240 gyutos haha

 

[SeattleBen]

Add a bread knife.

 

[Ruso]

2x240 gyuto
1x210 gyuto
1x180 gyuto
1x150 single bevel yanagi/petty

 

[Ryndunk]

12" carbon sabatier (chicken spines, lobsters, hard squash, etc)

240 gyuto
300 yanagiba
180 deba
150 petty

 

[Migraine]

I've not used enough knives to understand wanting 3-5 different gyutos. Can someone explain?

 

[Gjackson98]

300mm laser gyuto (or suji)
270mm WH gyuto
240mm WH gyuto
180mm laser gyuto (or petty)
+
CC for chopping bones

 

[Gjackson98]

I've not used enough knives to understand wanting 3-5 different gyutos. Can someone explain?

IMO Gyuto is the combinations of awesomeness in between western knives and eastern.
Its basically an all around knife that can be used for any tasks and purpose.
Different profile Gyutos can be used as special purpose knives.

 

[LucasFur]

I've not used enough knives to understand wanting 3-5 different gyutos. Can someone explain?

Oh ... I can help in this one ... Ownership nearing 20 at the moment. -- Annd a little off topic BUT
For me they fall into different categories, all in the quest to FIND THE BEST. Learning painfully there is no best.
1. Different steels with different purposes 2. Different sharpenability 3. Feeling on board. 4. Makers and who you gravitate to the most. 5. Grid differences, and how they affect performance. 6. Weight and where it is on the knife 7. spine thickness and long term comfort. 8. handle material 9. Visual appeal 10. sentimental values. 11. Honyaki. LOL

 

[Paraffin]

LOL 165 Nakiri and a 180 Nakiri /// 4" paring and a 115mm petty, i love it.

You might be the type of guy that when asked "essential cars" would probably answer: 1. a Vespa (for a pop to the shops) , 2. a motor cycle (nice day crusing), 3. a Convertable coupe (to go out with wife for dinner),4. a Pickup (for yard work), 5. a 3 row people carrier (bring the kids to hockey), and 6. an Off-roader (for those time you go hunting). But really a SUV does decently fine for it all.

Hah! Some truth in that. I do like using specialized, task-specific knives instead of the do-it-all approach with a gyuto. One of the advantages of a home cook instead of a pro. If I worked in a commercial kitchen where speed and efficiency was more important, it might be different.

 

[esoo]

I've not used enough knives to understand wanting 3-5 different gyutos. Can someone explain?

The 180mm Bunka I have (close enough for this discussion) has a wickedly thin edge. It's wonderful cutting up stuff like a mirepoix, but there is stuff you don't want a knife that thin to touch. So I've got a larger heavier gyuto to go through those items.

 

[NBrewster]

This seems like a trick question since the first thing I learned on this forum was that it's impossible to do anything properly with less than 10 Gyutos

 

[Xenif]

150 Stainless Petty
Some boning/butcher/garasuki thing
180+ Nakiri
240 Workhorse Gyuto
Chinese BBQ Chopper or Similar Bone Cleaver

Yeah most of us can probably do most tasks with a 240 gyuto, but whats the fun in that?

 

[M1k3]

240mm laser Gyuto
Cleaver
240mm wh Gyuto
9" Western Chef's for guests
210-270mm Gyuto or Suji

 

[F-Flash]

1.240mm workhorse gyuto
2.150mm stainless petty
3.250mm lower profile gyuto for slicing
4.good peeler
5.something awesome, just to Be cool

 

[Godslayer]

a good sized thicker spined gyuto, probably 240-270, something smaller and shorter 150-180mm petty and thats it for essential, if I get some non essential but super useful blades, a good veg peeler, a good breadknife for sourdough and a good slicer would all be welcome additions but i can cook just about anything with just the top two

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

My five:
240- 270 gyuto - primary knife
210 - 240 gyuto/deba - heavy duty
120 - 150 petty - utility
130 - 150 sabaki - deboning, breaking down a chicken, hard cheese.
210 - 270 serrated - bread

 

[McMan]

This seems like a trick question since the first thing I learned on this forum was that it's impossible to do anything properly with less than 10 Gyutos

^^ Truth!

 

[McMan]

270 gyuto (workhorse)
240 gyuto midweight
150-165 petty (TF)
90 paring (stainless)
8" Sabatier beater

 

[mfishsauce]

240 gyuto
150 petty
270 bread knife
210 stainless beater

 

[pleue]

260-270 gyuto
150-180 honesuki/garasuki
180-210 nakiri
180 deba
270 yanagi

 

[Nemo]

All of the knives are essential! [emoji6]

 

[Stx00lax]

For work I currently run (Lao food):
1. 240 akifusa pm gyuto
2. Watanabe pro 180 nakiri
3. 150 Wakui petty
4. Kiwi beater
5. Wakui 270 suji

At home all I really need is a 210 gyuto and offset bread knife. Currently gesshin kagekiyo blue 1 gyuto and a good old victorinox offset bread knife.