Questions for the chefs?

Any Chefs out there that can Answer Questions about knives, please?

• I love cooking. 50 years old and dreamed of being a chef instead of an Engineer. Cook all the time, did my first Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops with Honey-Balsamic Sauce the other night, but am Curious about Chef's Knives. I have never had a decent set of Knives, bought a 9" Cutco Knife from a Co-Worker that sells them on the side. Cost me just over $100 and I like it. What are the knives I see on the Cooking Shows? They are usually in a bag that is slotted and Rolls up? How many knives are there in those? What size and shapes are they? What Quality/Brand/Costs are they and where can a Novice/Amateur look at them? I know that is a lot to ask, but I'd really appreciate the benefit of your Knowledge. Oh, and what kind of Schooling Training would I need to enter the Culinary World at a higher than Minimum Wage Level? lol at my age and "station" I really can't start a new career at the bottom, especially when living on Engineer Salary.

• Answer:

  I'm not a chef, or even a culinary student. I'm like you, and am self taught. Chefs use all sorts of different knives, the brand really varies chef to chef. There's Shun (used by Alton Brown), Wushtofs, Carter's, Global, Henckel...those are some of the big names in knives, usually made out of titanium or carbon. When I was a kid my mom won a set of cutco knives in a raffle. 10 years later whenever I cook at her house, I always gravitate towards the cutcos because they're much better than whatever ilk knives I got on sale at JC Penney. The bag that is rolled up is just a standard knife-carrying bag. Most of the brands I listed above sell their own bags. I've also seen Wushtof's sold as a set in the roll bags. What I'd recommend is, instead of buying a set, buy just the few individual knives you need. The most useful are: Paring knife, boning knife, chef's knife and/or santoku. Buying a large set usually leaves you with knives you will never use.