I've cut down to just the One Knife after living in Japan. There, lots of families tend to just have one good knife for kitchen use; a
Santoku.
A
Santoku is a chef's knife that is a bit shorter. Because it is a bit shorter and lighter than a full chef's, its quite good for fine things including using the point. If you have one knife, you will know its feel and balance intimately, and as such you will also become more capable with it. Your muscle memory evolves to it. The same is said for things like cricket bats, hockey sticks, rifles, cameras and lenses, etc. You become expert. I only have one knife to sharpen, one to clean. Its very easy to clean such a good knife between jobs while cooking (just put under running tap for a few seconds and wipe with your dishcloth). As you don't even put the knife down, or think about which knife to use next, and have a simplified kitchen with less decisions, you move faster. The knife is always clean, kept clean and dry, and doesn't end up in a pile of dirty knives for hours waiting to be cleaned (this is how knives go bad...).
As its one knife you can spend some money. I got a
Global brand fluted Santoku. I had thought that I would miss a bread knife, but it turns out that with the flutes, as long as I keep it sharp (I do, with a recommended ceramic water sharpener), its great at cutting bread! If I made my own bread that I had to slice, perhaps i would buy a dedicated bread knife, but cheap bread knives usually last forever and do a fine job.
As others have said, good quality knives, sharpened properly, last forever. I sharpen once a week usually, which is plenty.
I also have some steak knives that I got second hand from my grandfathers house. Cheap steak knives are just fine. Get some second hand from somewhere.
If I had more money at the time when I bought the Santoku, I might have bought a fancier one. When my daughter grows up and moves out, I might give her my Santoku and buy another nicer one. Or just buy her the nice one; she'll inherit it anyway. This
Dalstrong Santoku is utterly gorgeous. Turn heads when people come to your house, and explain your Santoku minimalist moustachian philosophy!
I think going to a single knife like this, is also a great way to introduce moustachian style minimalism into your life, or at least help it develop.