Hi,
Choosing a chef knife may be easier if you figure out a) which blade style best matches the way you use a knife, and b) whether you want one that follows the German or Japanese approach to knife making.
The four most common blade styles are German, French, Asian, and Japanese.
· German style blades have a wide heel, deeply curve edge - from the middle or “belly” to the tip of knife; meant to be used in a rocking motion. The tip and forward part of the blade acts as a fulcrum, and remain in contact with the cutting board. Rocking is safe, easy to learn, and quite effective, but having the edge in constant contact with the cutting board does dull it rapidly.
· French style blades are more triangular, with flatter or gently curved edge and pointier tip; designed for “draw slicing” (pulling from heel to tip) and “push cuts” (pushing forward & down) where the entire blade is elevated and reposition for each cut. Yields more accurate, uniform cuts.
· Asian style blades (aka vegetable cleaver) is rectangular, comes in various thickness (thin, med, thick, etc.), really excels at "chopping" (straight down), but is not very good at slicing and requires different handling techniques.
. Japanese style blades (aka Santoku) is a short (~180mm) chefs’ knife with a blunted nose; meant for tiny kitchens or applications where a larger, pointed tip knife causes more harm than good.
German chef’s knives are quite heavy, have thick & soft (~52-56HRC) tempered German style blade that is sharpened at 20° per side. They are capable of handle heavy-duty tasks (like cutting through fish & poultry bones), withstand misuse (dishwasher, sink drop), but the thickness of their blade makes them wedge and bind in dense foods (carrots, apples, etc.), and heaviness is ponderous, and fatiguing to use over long periods of time. Their softer tempering makes them more opt to ding than chip on hard impact, easier to sharpened, but easier to dull and come untrue (require frequent honing) and unable to support acute edges.
Japanese chef’s knives (aka gyuto) are very light, and have thin & hard (~58–65HRC) tempered French style blade that is sharpened at 15° per side or lower. They cannot handle the hard use / abuse of a German blade, but does everything else…better. A thinner blade is much effective at everyday tasks (boneless meats, fruits & vegetables, herbs, etc.). Their harder tempering makes them more opt to chip than ding on hard impact, harder to sharpened, but can take more acute edges and stay sharper – longer.
In a nutshell, if your want a knife that can do butchering and general prep tasks – go German. However, if you willing to reserve butchering task to a stouter knife, and want a knife just for general prep tasks – go Japanese.
If you’re still unsure and have a Sur La Table close by, grab a bunch of carrots and ask to try different knives. I’m not sure if the Miyabi knives (vg-10 versions) are in your price range, but check them out. They are made by Henckel and combine the German (fit and finish, ergos, etc.) with Japanese steel. IMO, they are quite nice and you’ll be hard press to find something in its’ price range that is as good and locally available.
