There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Also make sure that the knife is balanced and feels good in your hand so that you work with the knife instead of against it.
I'm no expert but this works for me.
Go to a kitchen store where you can actually handle a bunch of knives, and offer to help at friends' houses to try their knives. Get a feel for what you want out of your main kitchen knife. Research the different shapes of blades, namely German, French, and Japanese, and the difference in using each type (rocking cuts with German knives, flat pushes or pulls with Japanese knives, etc.). When trying different knives, think about how you are comfortable cutting and work on your techniques.
Don't be afraid of larger knives in the 8-10in range for your main knife, and make sure you have a cutting board that is at least 1-2in longer than your knife on either side when laid at a diagonal in the middle of your board. Your knife and board are a system. For what it's worth, and without going into the ins and outs of material interaction with the knife edge and food and the retention of bacteria, a wooden cutting board is best.
When deciding on blade material, you have a couple of choices, including stainless, layered, and carbon steel. Stainless generally takes the most abuse, but I personally wanted a high carbon steel knife as my main workhorse because of the edge retention and ease of maintaining a razor edge, as well as the patina. Go for a full tang if possible. It adds to the balance and durability. I think what drakeonyou is referring to is the bolster. A bolster can feel very nice in the hand and balance the blade, but limits sharpening to the rear end of the blade. You'll figure out if you want one just by handling blades, and I personally mind them less on German style blades where you have a rocking motion to make a complete cut. Handle type is another consideration. Jkiemele's suggestion of the Victorinox is a good way to go if you are good with a hard wearing plastic. It grips well.
I personally went on eBay and found exactly what I was looking for (a high carbon steel French style 10in chef's knife with a relatively straight wooden handle and no bolster) for about $15. It may not look the prettiest to those who want everything stainless steel and spotless at that, but it's a 55 year old knife someone's grandmother owned, and I find using it to be an absolute pleasure.
Good luck!
Everyone's pretty on point with the qualities of a knife, but beggars can't be choosers is pretty true when it comes to knives. If you need a workhorse and you want to power through prep or a service, you need to have everything balanced well to reduce unnecessary strain on your hands and arms. Most people won't wear down the sharpness in a blade in one night, but if you're powering through a lot of ingredients that are hard, you'll want something that's better at maintaining an edge.
Start simple with something you can grow into and then get more specialized.
A wusthof pro is cheaper and better. A dexter icut pro, dexter sanisafe, a mercer millennia or genssis, a Messermeister park plaza, are also far superior but about the same price point.