What's Your Ideal Travel Knife Kit? Here's mine + stone.

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I love the look of the Hardmill rolls I see people have, but they don't seem to take 270's, and I like to bring a 270 suji, even with a minimalist setup. I have a Tojiro canvas roll that is super minimalist but a little bigger. For a bigger roll, I have a Valentich, which fits a 300 suji and some tools without turning into a suitcase itself.
 
I love the look of the Hardmill rolls I see people have, but they don't seem to take 270's, and I like to bring a 270 suji, even with a minimalist setup. I have a Tojiro canvas roll that is super minimalist but a little bigger. For a bigger roll, I have a Valentich, which fits a 300 suji and some tools without turning into a suitcase itself.
Good point. A 270, is problematic in mine, barely fits—causing me to travel with smaller knives. Hardmill don’t look well made.
 
Hardmill don’t look well made.
The Hardmill bags are very well made.
Bernal sell them and get favorable feedback all the time.
They are also well designed e.g. knife handles actually fit in the slots...

My compact roll is 17”.
You can fit longer knives, but they are not as protected, unless in a saya.
8499D084-71AE-41A2-8514-941FF18083CE.jpeg
 
The Hardmill bags are very well made.
Bernal sell them and get favorable feedback all the time.
They are also well designed e.g. knife handles actually fit in the slots...

My compact roll is 17”.
You can fit longer knives, but they are not as protected, unless in a saya.
View attachment 147265

Can you fit a 270? It doesn't look like from what I've seen of the specs
 
Can you fit a 270? It doesn't look like from what I've seen of the specs
It would depend on the overall length of the knife and any saya or cover.
16” fit inside the roll, but if you look at my picture a 20” knife can fit with less protection.
 
This is my typical kit. I also try to take tools I need that might not be at an Airbnb or friends home. Sometimes I replace the carbon petty with a HAP40 honesuki or a stainless paring, depending what I think I’ll need.
I usually take a small hinoki board just in case…
View attachment 143676
Kaeru 210mm gyuto
Misono 150mm petty
Zakuri 210mm petty
Tojiro 235mm bread
View attachment 143675
Tools: pepper mill, Ti chopsticks, microplane, GIR spoontula, ceramic rod, small whisk, offset spatula and Khun peeler.
Good seeing your kit, reminds me to bring along a microplane and pepper grinder on my next trip!
 
That's very cool. I've been wanting a new knife roll. My current is wonderful, but only has 5 slots—good for a minimalist kit, but lately I've been traveling with more than it can carry. Looking at the rolls from A Proper Apron Co, Darkhardt, etc.

You can always get a custom made roll. I had one made by Lindsay @LPMotifs on instagram and I am very happy with how it turned out. I had an excellent experience dealing with her. Maybe you can have a look.

https://www.instagram.com/lpmotifs/
 
The Hardmill bags are very well made.
Bernal sell them and get favorable feedback all the time.
They are also well designed e.g. knife handles actually fit in the slots...

My compact roll is 17”.
You can fit longer knives, but they are not as protected, unless in a saya.
View attachment 147265
I'd like to revise my earlier statement about Hardmill knife rolls. I just ordered one yesterday. Needed a new roll, looked around, and Hardmill checked all the boxes.
 
Latest travel kit, got a Hardmill roll a couple days ago. Taking a trip with this in a few weeks, sorted out which knives and tools I’ll be taking.
Dig the design of this roll, good materials. My other leather roll is fine, but wanted one with more pockets.
DA06A1D0-096C-4D8A-A945-F8315EBA450B.jpeg

0C53FD6A-53C9-4FE4-816A-D709AECAF78D.jpeg

06B5F765-CED0-4705-B1F6-13422CAC4245.jpeg
 
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Traveling with some heavy hitters! Shig, TF, Yanick, Shihan. It’ll be a fun trip for sure
Cheers! I used to travel with knives that I’d not be too bothered if they got damaged, or lost with luggage. But, the last few years I decided to take some good ones—visiting family one of the few opportunities to cook for large supper parties; working with lots of ahi; etc. Also travel with my Hasegawa board, which fits the suitcase and offers additional protection for the knife roll.
 
I used to travel with knives that I’d not be too bothered if they got damaged, or lost with luggage. But, the last few years I decided to take some good ones—visiting family one of the few opportunities to cook for large supper parties; working with lots of ahi; etc. Also travel with my Hasegawa board, which fits the suitcase and offers additional protection for the knife roll.
I agree with you. I don’t travel with my most prized possessions but I also don’t travel with knives I don’t enjoy using. If the trip involves a lot of cooking, using a subpar knife really is a downer. What stone(s) are you bringing?
 
This is my typical kit. I also try to take tools I need that might not be at an Airbnb or friends home. Sometimes I replace the carbon petty with a HAP40 honesuki or a stainless paring, depending what I think I’ll need.
I usually take a small hinoki board just in case…
View attachment 143676
Kaeru 210mm gyuto
Misono 150mm petty
Zakuri 210mm petty
Tojiro 235mm bread
View attachment 143675
Tools: pepper mill, Ti chopsticks, microplane, GIR spoontula, ceramic rod, small whisk, offset spatula and Khun peeler.
Where can I pick this roll up?
 
The Hardmill bags are very well made.
Bernal sell them and get favorable feedback all the time.
They are also well designed e.g. knife handles actually fit in the slots...

My compact roll is 17”.
You can fit longer knives, but they are not as protected, unless in a saya.
View attachment 147265
Does your compact roll fit 4 knives comfortably, snugly? I have a full sized Hardmill, thinking about getting a compact one.
 
My travel kit (left to right):

- Long stainless tweezers
- Mac PKF-60 vegetable knife
- Kai Shun Kaji KDM006 chef's knife
- Victorinox Swibo Boner
- Mac Bread Knife 270mm
- Mac Scissors KS-85


IMG_4117.jpeg
 
Depending on trip duration and how much cooking is envisioned, I have a small, medium and large travel kit—the medium and large kits are what I typically travel with.

2B5BBDCB-2664-4635-A94B-8F3840D5334C.jpg

SMALL KIT. 2 knives; 2 spoons; and a pair of scissors—bare minimum. This was for the Aussie trip.
8A7A261F-1F0C-47C2-9ED0-018876AB6C89.jpg

MEDIUM KIT. Minimalist, all I need, but desperately miss having a yanagi when traveling to Hawaii.
A7F380A7-5D4F-4015-AEB0-5BC377068E85.jpg

LARGE KIT. My sweet spot, really not much larger than the medium kit when in a suitcase—totally useful having an alternate gyuto if cooking a lot for 3+ weeks.
7EAEFA1B-BA20-4174-998C-94DCED43D9D6.jpg

Tool pack; life saver; essentials when traveling.
 
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Depending on trip duration and how much cooking is envisioned, I have a small, medium and large travel kit—the medium and large kits are what I typically travel with.

View attachment 175392
SMALL KIT. 2 knives; 2 spoons; and a pair of scissors—bare minimum. This was for the Aussie trip.

Thanks so much for this thread! I love seeing what you and everyone travel with. What's that Western knife?
 
Thanks so much for this thread! I love seeing what you and everyone travel with. What's that Western knife?

Western in the small kit is a 180 Takamura gyuto I won at an MTC raffle. Knife case is a padded, zippered case that came with a knife I ordered from JKI.
 
Really nice thread to follow. I just bought some Shihan blade protectors for when I need to travel with my knives. They seem pretty cool. Generally speaking, I try not to travel with my carbon (also they are not legal in professional kitchens here in Italy). The knives I usually pick to take with me at work are: Takamura R2 petty, Kaeru Stainless Gyuto, Heiji semistainless Sujihiki, Kanehide Bessaku Honesuki and a small Okeya Ko-deba in Gin3 (I mainly work with meat, with the exception on mackerels, which are traditional ingredienti here).
 
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