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" It does. With a great knife in hand, you&amp;#039;ll realize how easy food preparation can be. And you can manage with just one \u2014 an all-purpose eight-inch chef&amp;#039;s model. The workhorse of the kitchen, a chef&amp;#039;s knife has a wide blade designed for slicing, chopping, and mincing that&amp;#039;s rounded so that you can use a rocking motion for chopping. The tip of the blade is thin and flexible enough to work around bones; the hefty rear of the blade (the heel) can chop through a chicken back. Even the flat of the blade is useful \u2014 for crushing garlic or pounding cutlets. Chef&amp;#039;s knives come with blades measuring from six to 12 inches long. An eight-inch size is ideal for home use, as it can chop a whole bunch of parsley or slice through a large roast without feeling unwieldy. The best knives are high-carbon stainless steel \u2014 so they&amp;#039;re easy to sharpen and clean \u2014 and are either forged from molded and hammered steel or stamped, which means they&amp;#039;re cut out of a sheet of metal. Forged knives, heavier and more expensive (ranging from $75 to $100) than stamped ones ($40 to $50), have a bolster or shoulder between the handle and the blade, which makes them feel easier to control. It&amp;#039;s how the knife rests in your hand that&amp;#039;s most important: The handle should be easy to grasp and seem in balance with the blade. Though you want to avoid an uncomfortably heavy knife, some weight is necessary for chopping, crushing, and pounding, so don&amp;#039;t choose one that&amp;#039;s excessively light. Trust your first instincts on whether the knife &amp;quot;works&amp;quot; for you: Our testers returned to their initial favorites at the final count.  BEST ALL-AROUND  W\u00FCsthof-Trident of America Classic Series 4582/20 $94; available at department and specialty stores.  All but a lone tester ranked this among their top three choices. Moderately heavy, it &amp;quot;feels just right in the hand&amp;quot; and was deemed &amp;quot;perfect&amp;quot; at performing task after task, from cutting ribbons of basil to cubing beef for stew. Phone: 800-289-9878 BANTAMWEIGHT WINNER  Lamson &amp;amp;amp; Goodnow Lamsonsharp $112.50 The lightest of all the forged knives (7 to 8 ounces), this is the one for cooks who want the control of a fully forged knife but feel more comfortable with a lighter weight. Has an attractive rosewood handle. Phone: 800-872-6564  Site: lamsonsharp.com COMFORTABLE GRIP  Edgecraft Chef&amp;#039;s Choice Trizor Professional 2000/00 $159.95 With its contoured plastic handle, this knife was singled out for comfort, providing a good grip even when wet. Thanks to its weight (almost 10 ounces) and a slightly longer blade, the knife made quick work of mincing parsley. And it was sharp enough to cut paper-thin slices of tomato. Phone:  800-342-3255  Site: cutleryandmore.com  TEST-KITCHEN FAVORITE  Friedr. Dick Premier Plus Forged Chef&amp;#039;s Knife 10-8144721 $112.95 Judged the &amp;quot;must buy&amp;quot; by our recipe testers, who put all the knives to heavy use and found this one stayed sharp longest. It cut acorn squash &amp;quot;like butter&amp;quot;; the long blade chops more food at once.  Site: Friedr. Dick   BUDGET CHOICE Chicago Cutlery The Walnut Tradition 42SP $12.99  The only one of our picks that&amp;#039;s stamped out of a sheet of steel. Testers were surprised it did an excellent job, in spite of its light weight (only 5 3/4 ounces). They rated the blade extremely sharp, and the walnut handle felt secure when gripped.  Phone: 800-999-3436 Site: shopworldkitchen.com HIGH-TECH HANDLE Zwilling J. A. Henckels Five Star  $129 Features an ergonomic plastic handle that most of our testers loved, although a few felt it was too thick. But everyone found its blade supersharp from the tip to the heel. It minced garlic in seconds, sliced flank steak extra thin for stir-fries, and cut green onion clean through.  Site: macys.com and zwilling.com for other retailers HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP Chicago Cutlery Legacy Forged  $92 Razor-sharp and heaviest of all our contenders, at 10 1/2 ounces (average weight is 8 ounces), it was equally great at mincing herbs and slicing hard vegetables, where weight is an asset. But some testers found it too hefty, noting that it squished rather than cleanly sliced ripe tomatoes. Its laminated wood handle is thick and durable \u2014 good for those with larger hands.  Phone: 800-545-4411  Q: I cook a lot. What other knives do you recommend? A: We&amp;#039;d pass on a paring knife and choose the 1 1/2-inch-longer utility knife that&amp;#039;s small enough to peel fruit, but handy for cutting cheese or mincing a clove of garlic. A serrated bread knife is the best way to slice a loaf because it cuts through the crust without crushing the inside. It slices tomatoes easily too. You need a boning knife only if you often butcher large cuts of meat or whole poultry, or fillet fish. For smaller items, like a chicken breast, use your utility knife or the tip of your chef&amp;#039;s knife. When it&amp;#039;s time to slice the turkey, a carving knife is the best tool.  Four from the W\u00FCsthof-Trident: 1) Utility knife Classic Series, $59; 2) 4&amp;quot; boning knife, $78; 3) 8&amp;quot; bread knife, $100; 4) 8&amp;quot; carver/slicer, $102.  Q: Is it true that serrated knives never need to be sharpened? Do you recommend them? A: Yes, and we suggest them if you don&amp;#039;t want to sharpen knives. Serrated blades don&amp;#039;t slice as smoothly as fine-edge blades, but cut better than dull ones. We tested 10 8-inch serrated chef&amp;#039;s knives, and two stood out: a) Classic Chef from Chicago Cutlery ($6.99 at shopworldkitchen.com); and b) EverSharp from J. A. Henckels International ($19 at amazon.com).  Q: How do I keep my knife sharp? A: Nothing&amp;#039;s more important than keeping your knife sharp. How does the blade become dull? Every time you use your knife, a microscopic portion of the edge is bent. By passing it over a sharpening steel before each use, you unbend the edge and won&amp;#039;t need to sharpen (actually grind away metal) more than once a year. Pull your knife lightly across the steel at a 20-degree angle, covering the entire blade and alternating sides. When your knife no longer feels sharp after &amp;quot;steeling,&amp;quot; bring it to a professional sharpener. Your butcher can recommend one.  If you don&amp;#039;t steel your knife, it will dull quickly. You can use just about any sharpening tool, except for the sharpeners on electric can openers (which get so hot, they can detemper and ruin the blade). Chef&amp;#039;sChoice sharpeners hold your knife at the proper angle to create a new edge ($14.95 to $19.95 for manual; $59.95 to $369.95 for electric). Available at cutleryandmore.com.  Q: Can I wash my knives in the dishwasher? A: Though knives won&amp;#039;t be destroyed by cleaning them in the dishwasher, it&amp;#039;s not a good practice. As they rattle around, they can nick dishes, glasses, and the plastic racks, and can become dull from contact with these surfaces. Plastic handles may be discolored by detergents; wooden ones are damaged by soaking. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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