A Hockmesser is a knife with a single, slightly curved blade, and no side handle.
Instead, the handle is on the top; you press down as you chop. In this, it is similar to a single-bladed mezzaluna.
It is used in conjunction with a wooden bowl.
It is used in preparing gefilte fish; it is also good for chopping egg for egg salad, chopped liver, and chopping tomatoes, onion, etc.
Substitutes
Food processor, and it doesn’t take 30 minutes.
Language Notes
Hockmesser means “chopping knife.”
“Hock” literally can mean to “hit” or to “pawn”; “messer” means “knife.”