Among my full sized knives, I now only use my chef’s knife.

[Mosca]

It’s the one I started with. It’s a good one, brand doesn’t matter. Since I bought it, a few years ago, I’ve added a santoku and a nakiri. Same brand.

Both the santoku and the nakiri are really nice knives. And, for a few years, I’ve picked one randomly when I’ve been cooking, often the santoku but sometimes the nakiri, especially when I’m chopping a lot of vegetables.

About a year ago I chose the chef’s knife, and then just kept choosing it. And now I’m thinking about removing the other two knives from my strip. Yeah, they look different. But they really don’t do anything that the chef’s knife doesn’t. And they don’t do anything better, or even different. They just look different.

Chef’s knife. Paring knife. Boning/fillet knife. That’s it for prep. Then I need a bread knife and a carving knife for serving. Everything else is nice, but not necessary. All the other knives don’t solve choices, they create choices.

[Mark V]

I have decided pretty much the same thing, but I do like the weight and feel of the santoku better than a chef's knife. I use the santoku for most things now, and bring out the chef's knife when I want a rocking motion for cutting herbs etc.

[Jfrosty27]

Yup me too on the chef’s knife. Actually, me too on your preferred range of knives. The others just sit in the block.

[Michael_in_TX]

Using a chef's knife is awkward for me, simply as I've been using a 7"-santoku-style knife for over two decades. The rocking/chopping motion of a chef's knife feels weird to me, but, obviously, the slice/cut-through motion of the santoku feels natural.

Like you, I have a bunch of other knives. (I think we all have to go through a knife phase at some point?) I rarely touch them. I do use a paring knife from time to time, but it also somewhat rare. (I can see if I had an 8" or 10" chef's knife I probably would use the paring knife a lot more.)

At my University I know some culinary instructors. Sure, if you're aiming to be a professional, 3-4 knives may make sense, but they've told me stories of students rolling in with small almost luggage carts with knives. You don't need that many!

[58limited]

I have a lot of knives and I use most of them but I bought Sam The Cooking Guy's version of a Nakiri knife and it has become my daily driver, followed by my Misen chefs knife.

[rickgregory]

Yeah, a chef's knife is a good all-arounder. I often use one of my 165mm (6") petty knives for smaller things. I like the nakiri but it's mostly useful when I'm plowing through a lot of veggies.

[shify]

Same. Just can’t get used to a santoku knife and pretty much use my chefs knives 99% of the time. Paring knife for small fruits and the boning knife for de-boning. Santoku sits in the knife rest in my drawer all forlorn wanting to be used but always passed by.

[jfmorris]

I’m using a santoku mostly as I found we had one in the back of a drawer, and I put a good edge on it myself. Was going to buy a chefs knife, but don’t see it doing anything better than the knife I already have. With the carving, filet, boning and other options, I really just need one 8 inch knife for chopping and cutting during prep.

[tstalafuse]

I am mostly using a 6in boning knife for trimming and a scimitar knife for slicing. I have a very nice razor sharp 12in carving knife, but for some reason I find it very hard to use.

[jfmorris]

I only use my 12" slicer when carving brisket or prime rib, and it stays hidden away in its edge guard the rest of the time. It's overkill for smaller hunks of meat, and ironically, I have a 10" serrated bread slicer I find myself carving with sometimes...

[LA Pork Butt]

I mostly use a chefs knife or boning knife. My wife pretty much uses any knife she sees first.

[Starsky]

I found that a lot of knives are unnecessary for the type of prep I do. We used to have a knife sharpening shop down the road. I went in one day and he had a box of used restaurant knives on the counter. I picked up a chef's knife and a large filet style knife for $3 each. They hold an edge and are still my go to knives

[hoovarmin]

Same. I've had a German made 8 inch chef's knife since 1995 that still holds a fantastic edge and I would rather use it than any other knife in the kitchen.

[Skip]

My Chef's Knife is pretty heavy so I've been using 2 sizes of Santoku Knives along with a Paring knife and a Boning knife. I also use a Slicer on occasion. It's just what a person gets used to and what feels right IMO. Do what works best for you.

[DaveD]

Still learning the ins and outs of the Mercer set we recently got. The 8" chef's is a great knife, but it's just a bit too large for a fair number of things, at least for me. I've got a 6" utility knife arriving today, in fact, the one size that the Mercer set didn't have. Our previous el-cheapo knives included a couple of 6" blades that are very convenient for many things, so I expect I'll be dividing my time between those two going forward...

[Pobeque]

I use my 11" chefs knife for probably 90% of the tasks I need to do. I have a petit/paring for small cuts and a slicer (sujihiki) I use to trim clean meat and slice cooked meats