Knives I use daily: 8" chef's knife. 3" paring knife. Everyone should have these two. You can do 95% of what you need a kitchen knife for with these two pieces.
Knives I use occasionally: 8" carving knife. 5" utility. The carver gets used on large poultry and whole hams, mostly. The utility knife is kept wicked-sharp and mostly slices tomatoes. You only need a serrated tomato knife if you have dull knives.
Knives I never use: Boning knife. Vegetable cleaver. Never met a task for the boning knife I couldn't do with another one - YMMV, but probably not. Cleavers are the tools of butchers and Chinese cooks - I was taught to slice, not chop, so straight edges on knives annoy me.
I would recommend spending your dollars on a good full-tang forged 8" chef's knife with an obvious bolster from a reputable manufacturer (Chicago, Wusthof, Henckels, etc.), a paring knife, a honing steel, and a serrated bread knife. Store 'em on a magnetic holder, spend a few bucks on a set of Spyderco Sharpmaker stones, and learn to maintain the edges.
IMO Cutco, while they have their loyal fans, are ridiculously overpriced for what you get. Cutco charges more for a stamped sheet-metal blade than you would pay for a serviceable forged piece elsewhere.
Knives I use occasionally: 8" carving knife. 5" utility. The carver gets used on large poultry and whole hams, mostly. The utility knife is kept wicked-sharp and mostly slices tomatoes. You only need a serrated tomato knife if you have dull knives.
Knives I never use: Boning knife. Vegetable cleaver. Never met a task for the boning knife I couldn't do with another one - YMMV, but probably not. Cleavers are the tools of butchers and Chinese cooks - I was taught to slice, not chop, so straight edges on knives annoy me.
I would recommend spending your dollars on a good full-tang forged 8" chef's knife with an obvious bolster from a reputable manufacturer (Chicago, Wusthof, Henckels, etc.), a paring knife, a honing steel, and a serrated bread knife. Store 'em on a magnetic holder, spend a few bucks on a set of Spyderco Sharpmaker stones, and learn to maintain the edges.
IMO Cutco, while they have their loyal fans, are ridiculously overpriced for what you get. Cutco charges more for a stamped sheet-metal blade than you would pay for a serviceable forged piece elsewhere.
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