Hi, I'm trying to decide what I need to supplement out the Mac knife set I already have. http://www.amazon.com/MAC-piece-Knife-Set-GSP41/dp/B001I87YO8
It has a 9" Carving knife, 6.5" Utility knife, 6.5" fillet knife, and a paring knife.
Does the 9" Carving knife essentially take the role of a chefs knife? Or should I be looking for maybe a 10" european type chefs knife to go with this?
I know one of the big weaknesses of the set is it needs a bread knife. Would something like a victoranox bread knife or chicago cutlery bread knife work? Or should I really be looking for a more high end bread knife?
I need chef scissors. I've looked a bit, some scissors come apart for easier cleaning. Some scissors have serated edges, and some smooth. and different scissors have a little different options on the extra functionality on the handle.
I need a sharpening rod. There are 3 main types it seems. Steel, ceramic, and diamond. The diamond seems to serve the purpose of sharpening rather than straightening the edge. Ceramic versus steel is less clear. If going with steel, the pricing seems to vary greatly. I've seen from as little as a dollar to around $120. Is there a need for the higher end steels? or will they all basically serve the same purpose. My thoughts are cheaper poorer tempered steel may wear faster against the better steel in the knives... Just a guess.
And a cutlery knife roll wit knife guards. I can get a 9 slot roll, which will meet my current needs i think, or I can get something like a 14 slot roll, with the idea I will add more knives as my needs progress. Which begs the question, is more better? Or should you learn to use fewer tools to make cooking more efficient. I was told by a chef that one of the signs of a good cook, was being able to make due with a few quality implements rather than requiring lots of specialty items that will sit in a drawer and rarely get used.

Wow, now that's a lot of questions :-) Good to see that you are eager!

To answer your first question, no a carving knife does not replace a chef's knife. A chef's knife would be the one piece I would recommend.

Before I answer the rest of the questions, I am curious to know if you have watched the lesson on "Selecting a Knife Set"? Also, have you read through the corresponding discussion forum? You may also want to search for this subject on Rouxbe as Many people have already asked many of these questions and there is some very helpful stuff/discussions in the forum regarding this popular subject.

I will say that less is often more. One can go very far with just a good chef knife and the right skills and techniques.

One other comment. Rather than starting a new thread when you have a comment try to post your question under the related lesson and/or an exisiting forum thread on the same subject, that way every one can learn and/or weigh in on the discussion.

Have a great day!

Hi, ok, yes I had already watched the section on selecting a knife set. I do need to browse the related forums. Knowing I need a chefs knife helps greatly.
Now i can reserve the carver for cutting the tails off blind mice. J/K
I'm going to look through the existing forums attached to knife selection lesson, and if I have left over questions, I'll ask it there.
Thank You

That's great Steven. Love the humor with the "cutting the tails off blind mice", made me laugh :-)