In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most western cooks.
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A chef's knife generally has a blade eight inches (20 centimeters) in length and 1 1⁄2 inches (3.8 cm) in width, although individual models range from 6 to 14 inches (15 to 36 centimetres) in length. There are two common types of blade shape in western chef's knives, French and German. German-style knives are more deeply and continuously curved along the whole cutting edge; the French style has an edge that is straighter until the end and then curves up to the tip. Neither style is inherently superior; personal preference will dictate the choice.
A Japanese gyuto (牛刀 ぎゅうとう), gyūtō), literally meaning 'beef knife'. Is the Japanese version of a French (aka Western) chef's knife.
The Santoku Knife is basically a Japanese style chef's knife. It's smaller lighter sharper with a different blade shape.
The Chinese chef's knife is completely different and resembles a cleaver.
A modern chef's knife is a multi-purpose knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular. It can be used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts.
When it comes to owning and using a Chefs knife there is no right or wrong. Yes cutting techniques and styles may vary, but it's all down to personal preference.
Physical characteristics
Chef's knives are made with blades that are either hot-forged or stamped:
The blade of a chef's knife is typically made of carbon steel, stainless steel, a laminate of both metals, or ceramic:
Handles are made of wood, steel, or synthetic/composite materials.
Edge
The edge may be ground in different ways:
In order to improve the chef's knife's multi-purpose abilities, some owners employ differential sharpening along the length of the blade. The fine tip, used for precision work such as mincing, might be ground with a very sharp, acute cutting bevel; the midsection or belly of the blade receives a moderately sharp edge for general cutting, chopping and slicing, while the heavy heel or back of the cutting edge is given a strong, thick edge for such heavy-duty tasks as disjointing beef.
Technique
Technique for the use of a chef's knife is an individual preference. For more precise control, most cooks prefer to grip the blade itself, with the thumb and the index finger grasping the blade just to the front of the finger guard and the middle finger placed just opposite, on the handle side of the finger guard below the bolster. This is commonly referred to as a "pinch grip". Those without culinary training often grip the handle, with all four fingers and the thumb gathered underneath.
For fine slicing, the handle is raised up and down while the tip remains in contact with the cutting board and the cut object is pushed under the blade.