# what would be your ultimate 3 or 4 knives? and why?



## ruscal (May 27, 2013)

i've got a pretty decent collection of knives now. and there are some things i like about some of them and some things i'm less keen on other ones.

i keep wondering if i was to start again from scratch, what knives would i buy based on what i now know about the various knives i've encountered.

i think my list would be something like:

* Konosuke HD Gyuto 240mm
* Gesshin Ginga 180mm Stainless Petty
* Mac Superior Bread 270mm
* Masamoto CT Series Sujihiki 300mm

I have the Konosuke SS Gyuto in 240mm. It's an awesome knife, but i'd love to see how the HD felt - both on the board and on the stones.

I have an Ashi 61HRC 210mm stainless petty, and a Masamoto VG 150mm stainless petty. The 210mm feels a teeny bit too long, and the 150mm feels a teeny bit too short. So i think a 180mm might be perfect. I think stainless makes perfect sense for a petty, at least for me. If i'm making cocktails in the evening i need a knife i can use to cut up lemons, and i don't want to have to wash it every time. And i love the profile on the Ashi petty.

I have the Mac Superior bread knife. It's awesome. Can't think of anything that might be better than it. Although i haven't tried the Tojiro ITK 270mm which looks comparable. And i haven't tried a Güde either.

I have a Konosuke Stainless 270mm Suji, and a Masamoto VG 240mm. I prefer the profile of the Masamoto. But both of them are a bit of a pain on the stones. I bet a carbon Suji would be much easier to sharpen. I haven't got any experience of the Masamoto CT but it seems like the best choice based on what i know i like.

So now that i've told you mine, it's your turn. 

If you lost all your knives today, and had to start again from scratch, what 3 or 4 knives would you buy and why? 

Oh, and i think for the purposes of this discussion we should assume that the knives you lost were insured, so you have a decent amount of money to spend on these new knives... Just so that cost isn't the most significant factor in what you would go for.


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## Lefty (May 27, 2013)

That's really really tough. I think my list would be something like:

ZKramer (or the real deal, if I won the lotto) 240 chef knife
Harner 180 Nakiri
Rodrigue 250 suji
My top-secret parer that Butch is making (or a remake of my wife's parer, by Rodrigue).

All carbon, except the parer.

**edit** 

Come to think of it, I could flip the maker's names around on my list, in any order and likely be happy. However, I'd keep the Harner nakiri and if my chef knife was by Pierre, I'd drop Kramer and add Carter as my suji maker.


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## Pensacola Tiger (May 27, 2013)

For the sake of the discussion, I'll limit my choices to available, off-the-shelf knives, since custom knives take time, and I need these knives now, according to your premise.

Gesshin Heiji semi-stainless 240 wa-gyuto
Suisin Inox honyaki 240 sujihiki
Gengetsu 180 petty


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## bkultra (May 27, 2013)

My current top four, I just love the profile of my Masamoto's. 

Masamoto Honyaki Wa Gyuto-240mm
Masamoto KS Wa Petty-165mm
Masamoto KS Wa Sujihiki-270mm
MAC Superior Bread Knife-10.5"


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## Lefty (May 27, 2013)

Oops. Need them now...?

Ok:

ZKramer 240 Chef knife
Carter 240-250 suji
Carter 6sun Funayuki
Sabatier paring knife


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## mhenry (May 27, 2013)

270mm Kono funy HD gyuto
270mm Takeda suji
180ish Carter kuro-uchi funy/gyuto
150mm Tanaka blue petty


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## euphorbioid (May 27, 2013)

Gesshin Heiji 270mm wa-gyuto
Watanabe 300mm wa-suijihiki
Shigefusa 180mm nakiri
Gesshin Ginga 180 wa-petty


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## JKerr (May 27, 2013)

Tough one, but I reckon my list would be something like:

Sugimoto oms#6 cleaver; IMO Sugimoto make the best all round cleavers and I would take my Sugi #6 or #7 over anything else I've used so far. Haven't tried the oms series but supposeably it's a little better.

Any Kau Kong style chopper; I use a double lion brand one at the moment. Like $19 from China town and one of the most useful knives in my kit. There's just some jobs that I will not use my good knives on (fish heads, splitting ribs, lobsters etc).

Sab Nogent 10' flexible slicer; good for trimming silver side and fast for small fish. Anything larger I'll just use cleavers for.

Takeshi Saji 15cm petty in AS. Love his knives and the shape of his handles, seems like a good choice for a lot of _in hand_ cutting. Or his Vg-10 or R2, I just prefer carbon.

List would probably change depending on jobs, but I reckon this would suit me well for where I am.

Cheers,
Josh


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## stereo.pete (May 27, 2013)

My top four are on order right now and they are...

+Marko 250mm Gyuto 52100: (The time this man spent working with Shigefusa knives and his attention to detail)

+Rodrigue 240mm Sanmai Gyuto Stainless with core of 52100: (I have followed his work since I've been into kitchen knives and his skills have grown tremendously, he also seeks feedback from people who know what they are talking about).

+Rader 240mm Gyuto in 52100: (He created my first custom knife so there's a special place in my heart for Mr. Rader, not to mention his skill level is top notch. When it comes to western style handles, IMO no one does it better than Mr. Rader.

+HHH 250mm Sanmai Gyuto Damascus with core of 52100: Randy is a "relative" newcomer to the world of kitchen knives but the rate at which he improves has absolutely amazed me. He and his son have an amazing passion for working with steel and their damascus is some of the best that I have seen. I have chosen Randy to make my first damascus knife. Randy's work in the realm of non-kitchen knives is also extremely impressive.

These will be the four Gyuto's to rule the world, at least my culinary world.

There are only two more that one day I would like to own but they are beyond my fiscal grasp. Those would be Bill Burke and Devin Thomas.


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## Colorado_cutter (May 27, 2013)

No, not the "ultimate" list, but what I'd actually buy:
Ashi Hamono cleaver, special lightweight, white #2 steel
Ashi Hamono petty, Swedish stainless
Mac bread knife
...and a cheap stainless Chinese cleaver and a couple of Forschner petties to keep people away from the other knives. And an Opinel #8 in carbon for various utility stuff...


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## labor of love (May 27, 2013)

JKerr said:


> Sab Nogent 10' flexible slicer; good for trimming silver side and fast for small fish.


I scored a vintage stainless sab 10" flexible slicer off eBay for $15 a couple of weeks ago.(professional or VTG I think) it is great, quite the multitasker. I guess it went for cheap because it was stainless instead of carbon, but the steel is really nice for the price. Our fish guy keeps stealing it from me!
I've been admiring that 180 ginga petty for sometime as well Ruscal. It's on the short list of a long list of stuff I want from JKI.


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## marc4pt0 (May 27, 2013)

Lost my knives and need to pick up my staple 4 on the fly?

1. Z Kramer 10" chef knife carbon
2. Z Kramer 9" slicer carbon
3. Konosuke HD Funayuki 270 (or ZK 8" chef)
4. Stephen Fowler 210 petty.

The ZK's I already have and will never let go of, the other 2 are ones I've been wanting to get...


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## turbochef422 (May 27, 2013)

Jmjones 200mm slicer. Best line knife I've ever used 
Mario 270 gyuto
Masamoto ks 165 petty
Shigefusa 240 gyuto


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## deanb (May 27, 2013)

270 Suisin Inox Honyaki Wa Gyuto
210 Suisin Inox Honyaki Wa petty
270 Devin Thomas AEB-L Suji
10" Z Kramer 52100 Chef's

These choices are based on the OP's premise that I'm starting over from scratch.


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## tk59 (May 27, 2013)

I love my Devin gyutos (pick a steel) and 300 suji (swr). Gengestu 240 semi stainless gyuto. Heiji 150 semi-stainless petty. T Leder 210 petty SB1. These are all knives I never modded. If you count modded blades, that would be very hard. Some of the nicest Japanese carbon blades (Ashi or Masamoto honyaki, for example) deserve consideration but frankly, they have little advantage if any over this list.


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## JohnnyChance (May 27, 2013)

A small pile of Devins would do just fine.


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## chuck239 (May 27, 2013)

tk59 said:


> I love my Devin gyutos (pick a steel) and 300 suji (swr). Gengestu 240 semi stainless gyuto. Heiji 150 semi-stainless petty. T Leder 210 petty SB1. These are all knives I never modded. If you count modded blades, that would be very hard. Some of the nicest Japanese carbon blades (Ashi or Masamoto honyaki, for example) deserve consideration but frankly, they have little advantage if any over this list.



Even the honyaki you are borrowing?? I think that would have to be up there on the list over a few of the other knives mentioned.


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## Von blewitt (May 27, 2013)

Kato 240 Gyuto
Shig 210 kitaeji Deba
Shig 300 kitaeji Yanagiba
Marko 225 petty/suji

And with the rest of the insurance payout I'd put a deposit on a house


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## pleue (May 28, 2013)

Just for fun, all knives I've never used but would love to try

Stainless
Suisin Inox Honyaki 300 Yanagi
Suisin Inox Honyaki 210 Deba
DT 270 ITK Gyuto


Carbon
Doi Blue #2 300 Yanagi
Konosuke Fujiyama Blue #2 210 Deba
Martell/Marko/Mario 270 gyuto?

Hard to choose between a 210 petty/suji/line knife and a nakiri, but the petty probably wins out


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## tk59 (May 28, 2013)

chuck239 said:


> Even the honyaki you are borrowing?? I think that would have to be up there on the list over a few of the other knives mentioned.


LOL. I was wondering where you've been. Yeah, it's a great cutter but I love the profile Devin uses, they cut nearly as effortlessly and the edge holding is fantastic. Although the Gengetsu profile isn't perfect, I still think it's my best cutter when I factor in food release. It's not a Glestain but it's pretty good. I just don't see a whole lot of reasons to go with simple carbon steels unless it's just the look of it. Anyway, I did say it deserved consideration... I've been using that swr gyuto I bought back from you the last few days. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy using that knife and it's not quite as nice a cutter as the pm stainless one.


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## mainaman (May 28, 2013)

240mm Kato
Yoshihide Suji
Yoshikane SKD 180mm Petty
MAC bread


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## NO ChoP! (May 28, 2013)

240 Masamoto KS gyuto
210 Suisin Inox petty
270 Kono Fujiyama suji
>5.0 sun Carter Funi


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## panda (May 28, 2013)

if i were to do it over again i'd have just gotten all victorinox and a set of nortons, call it a day and stay in blissfull ignorance. would save a ton of money.


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## JohnnyChance (May 28, 2013)

mainaman said:


> 240mm Kato
> Yoshihide Suji



I have both of these as well and can't argue with either selection.

If I couldn't have an all Devin kit (220 suji, 250 gyuto, 270 suji, 150 petty) I might go with the following:

240mm Gengetsu semi stainless (slight edge over Kato because of price and stainless cladding)
270mm Kato suji (never tried one but might be a nice substitute for my not so readily available and fantastic 270 Marko & Yosihide sujis)
210mm Konosuke Fujiyama Blue #2 petty/suji (have one in white #2 that I use constantly)
150mm Gesshin Uraku stainless petty (I use a Devin in 52100, could also go with another Gengetsu or maybe a Heiji)


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## WiscoNole (May 29, 2013)

Ginga 100mm stainless petty
Masamoto KS 165mm petty
Masamoto KS Honyaki 240mm gyuto
Watanabe Honyaki 300m sujihiki


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## Canadian (May 29, 2013)

10-12" slicer
9-10" chef's knife 
6" utility knife
3" paring knife

This is essentially what I have, but add a good bread knife since I do cut a a lot of European type breads.

Since I have a large fillet knife in my fishing kit, and I have a dedicated set of knives for breaking down and portioning large animals/game, I guess I could do withoute slicer--but it is nice for slicing cooked proteins.


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## ChiliPepper (May 31, 2013)

Quite a bit of love here for ZKramer and Gesshin Heiji... interesting...


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## jigert (May 31, 2013)

If I had time to wait I'd go:
Rodrigue 260 suji
Martell 240 gyuto
Harner 180 nakiri
Ealy parer

If I needed something right now I guess it would be something like:
Kono Fuji 270 suji
CCK 1303 cleaver
Gesshin ginga 150 petty stainless
Tojiro bread knife


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## K-Fed (Jun 1, 2013)

Don't use a petty or parer much these days... This is what my top knife list looks like at the moment.

DT ITK 270mm gyuto ( AEB-L )
Martell re-handled misono swede 240mm gyuto
Mike Davis sujihiki ( 1095 )
Fowler scimitar ( W2 )


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## chinacats (Jun 1, 2013)

Shig 240
Heiji 240 carbon
old Henckels parer
Forschner curved boner

I've already owned and sold the Shig--mistake and will replace. Getting ready to sell my Heiji (semi-stainless 270)--will replace with slightly different model. The other 2 are stainless, but do the job so well I can't see replacing even though i prefer carbon. Have a couple bread knives, but never use them and would likely never buy another--seems a good sharp gyuto does fine on all the bread I enjoy.


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## Salty dog (Jun 2, 2013)

Mizuno Tanrenjo 240 suminigashi Blue DX core gyuto
Masamoto 270 mizu honyaki sujihiki white 1 or 2, don't know, don't care.
Devin Thomas 12 inch Damascus scimitar AEB-L.

Besides a boning knife these are the only ones I really use.


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## bkultra (Jun 2, 2013)

Salty dog said:


> Mizuno Tanrenjo 240 suminigashi Blue DX core gyuto
> Masamoto 270 mizu honyaki sujihiki white 1 or 2, don't know, don't care.
> Devin Thomas 12 inch Damascus scimitar AEB-L.
> 
> Besides a boning knife these are the only ones I really use.



Shocked you don't have your Masamoto honyaki gyuto listed.


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## tk59 (Jun 2, 2013)

Nah. That Miz has been his baby for years.


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## Jordanp (Jun 3, 2013)

Heiji 240mm semi-stainless gyuto
Konosuke HD 210mm petty
Tojiro ITK Bread Knife
Yoshikane SKD 270mm sujihiki


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## banjo1071 (Jun 7, 2013)

Herder k2 Carbon 
Schanz Niolox/SB1 21cm Petty (aka Kenyo)
Koorat kento customsteel kitchendevil
DT ITK mid-tec AEB-L Gyuto
Güde alpha breadknife


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## JohnnyChance (Jun 9, 2013)

bkultra said:


> Shocked you don't have your Masamoto honyaki gyuto listed.





tk59 said:


> Nah. That Miz has been his baby for years.



Yeah and he did take a Masamoto honyaki for his suji selection.


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## Dusty (Jun 9, 2013)

Out of knives I've used or owned:

Yoshikane skd kasumi gyuto 270
Konosuke 285 yo suji
Ginga stainless 210 petty
Tojiro honesuki

Out of knives I would just like:

270 shig yo-gyuto
300 DT super wear resistant suji 
180 gengetsu petty
Gude bread knife. 

Nice wish list huh?


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