I used to think a 20 cm /8” chefs knife was all I would need, then bought a 23 cm Wüsthof Classic Ikon and thought that would be more than enough.
I then worked with these lengths for many years until I - by accident - stumbled upon a 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate chefs knife and its sibling the 26.5 cm carving knife and immediately adapted to their size without any problems whatsoever.
I do think the 30.5 cm chefs knife will be overkill for my small home kitchen, but you never know.
When I later on bought the 23.5 cm Mac Ultimate I thought it felt rather small compared to my 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate.
I still enjoy using my smaller 20 cm chefs knives and my 17/18 cm Santoku and Nakiri, but as you say, I could easily go on with just my 26.5 cm Mac Ultimate Chefs knife and a paring knife.
I am also a fan of larger knifes. But for me the upper limit is 240mm and I would consider 230 perfect for me.
What some never realise is that a 240 can be lighter and feels more nimble when pinch grip is used. Compared to a 20 cm German stainless used with a hammer grib.
And you are absolutely right that when you get used to bigger knives. Its hard to go smaller.
The size of your kitchen should not dictate the upper limit on knife size unless it is so small as to preclude an adequate cutting board. Ingredients needing to be broken down, sliced, chopped, etc. are going to be the same size, save someone with the space and budget to buy sides of beef or whole halibuts. Those would be too big for my kitchen as well, but I would like to be able to get things that way for special occasions and large parties. For day to day, however, I prefer not having to freeze excess. Of course, sometimes portioning and freezing is necessary. Done properly, it does not unduly and adversely affect many things. I recently learned that it actually enhances tofu.
Of course. The reasons frequently given against chef knives longer than 6-8 inches make me shake my head: My hands are too small; longer is too heavy; small people need small cutlery; the tip is too far away; they’re expensive to sharpen… The list goes on…
It’s the cutlery version of “alligator arms” when the check comes.
From R to L, the oyster, the laser chef, the heavy chef, the offset sandwich, and the fillet.
The chefs and sandwich are parts of a larger, matching set I made as demos with stabilized curly koa. The others are bread, skinner, sheep skinner, parers, and a couple turners. There are 6 steak knives I haven’t gotten around to finishing.
