Utility Slicer

Utility Slicer

Smart Kitchen Knives for the Smart Apprentice Chef

All the professional features that even apprentice chefs look for in their knives are integrated in most high-quality kitchen knives. Since experts believe that a knife's work is better accomplished in designs that can handle specific tasks for ease and cutting perfection, these tools are created with heavy-forged blades and forged bolsters to cover the full range of kitchen tasks they face day by day.

The following knives and their functions are what I find most useful to the apprentice chef. These knives are also reasonably priced that almost sell like hotcake.

Boning Knife - is used to remove bones of fish, meat and poultry. This type is not as thick as butcher and other kitchen knives purposely for precision boning. This knife has a very flexible blade suitable for separating meat from the bone.
Bread Knife - this usually has a 9- inch blade that easily cuts bread without squashing the loaf with its sharp, scalloped blade. The serrated blade is suitable for cutting something that's soft on the inside and tough on the outside.
Chef's Knife - is the most popular of all. This versatile knife is either short or long and is used for various purposes. It has a wide triangular blade which tapers to a "center tip". For a chef, kitchen tasks would not be complete without a chef's knife.
Filleting Knife – this knife has a very flexible thin blade use to fillet a fish. It easily moves along the backbone of the fish and evenly slice the skin away from the flesh.
Ham Slicer - specifically has a 10-inch blade designed for slicing through unique texture of ham.
Larding Knife - this features a thin and slightly rounded blade ideal for inserting strips of fat or bacon into meat before cooking. It's also known as a little knife for cutting onions and herbs.
Oriental Cleaver - this is called the chopper and dicer of vegetables, herbs, meats and fruits.
Paring Knife - is perfect for hand-held tasks as it provides utmost control perfect for peeling fruits and vegetables, all detailed cutting, such as slicing garlic cloves and shallots, cutting shapes or vents into dough, and scoring designs on food.
Slicer/Carver - this kind has a thinner and longer blade designed to carve paper-thin slices of meats, fruits and vegetables in a precise manner. Slicing knives may also have serrated blades, mainly used in the separation of the meat when cutting.
Utility Knife – is the universal knife capable of performing a variety of kitchen and other daily tasks.

Since most knives in the market today are expensive, do they help an apprentice chef perform kitchen tasks easier compared to using cheaper ones?

Expensive knives are quality knives. Made from only the highest grade materials, these knives are specially built to last a lifetime, tough and sharp enough that neither blades nor riveted full tang slab handles are likely to take any noticeable damage. If you want efficiency in your kitchen tasks, then even with a few additions of these premium quality knives, you'll have every knife you need to become a full-pledged chef.

About the Author

Terry Retter Your Smart Kitchen. The online site for quality cookware, bakeware, cutlery, appliances and related kitchenware at reasonable prices. Specializing in Fissler Perfection and Profession Knives, Paderno Knives, Graters and Mandolins for quality cutting needs. Sign in for the Chef Wannabee Newsletter for cooking tips and big discounts. Terry Retter, Managing Editor - Chefwannabee.com.

Different types of kitchen knives?

I've tried google but I'm only getting the basics. Here's what I have so far:

paring
grapefruit
chef
butter
main
boning
bread
steak
chopper
pastry
carving
utility
fish
kitchen scissors
pastry
egg slicer

Any more? Thanks in advance!

You've got pretty much all western knife types in your list and few entries in other answers, so I won't duplicate entries.
Now, if you want real variety you have to go with Japanese knives.

Santoku is a correct name, santuko is incorrect westernized alias. Means knife of the three virtues, but even Japanese can't agree what are those three virtues. In general it's the same purpose as the chef's knife, for household kitchen, you'll never see pro chef in Japan using it. Shorter than gyuto (Japanese chef's knife), but more versatile than Nakiri, japanese vegetable slicer.

Sashimi knife, also called a sushi knife, is the western name for the Yanagiba, and I guess Fugubiki too. Long, single bevel slicers for raw fish and soft meat.
Although, similarly shaped, double grind edge Sujihiki is more widely used for meat cleaning and slicing.

As for the rest, I have collected over 100 different Japanese kitchen knife types here - http://www.zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/usetype/all/index.shtml descriptions,photos(mostly), etc

Some of it is extremely specialized like carrot knife or cabbage knife which has bent tip.

Also, chopper and meat cleaver are the same thing.
Chinese cleaver can be either vegetable knife or meat chopper. Same rectangular shape, but thickness is different. In japan it's called chukabocho.

That said, at home one can get by with 3-4 knives.
3-4" Paring, 8-10" chefs and serrated bread knife. If you work with a lot of bony meat, add boning knife. Otherwise, long slicer is always an useful addition.