I've been flogging this dilemma since my last stint as a kitchen drone, a
couple Summers back, and my own experience with some great knives in my
own kitchen.

I'm no professional, I'll readily admit. But, even in my own kitchen,
I sometimes find myself limited by my 6"(French chef), 7-1/2"(short
Chinese), 8"(full Chinese) knives.

I'm familiar with longer knives. I had a cheap Chicago 8" chef.
Gone. A big-buck Messermeister 10" chefs. Gone. Several 8"-10"
chefs while I was doing a poor man's cooking school. IOW, BTDT.

I'm now looking for a good 10". I notice most Japanese knives are
9-1/2". I know so much of it is personal, but I also know I want that
longer blade length. It allows one to lift the blade a tad bit less
higher to clear a groups of carrot or celery stalks for
chopping/mincing. A narrower blade, one still giving adequate knuckle
clearance, is obviously required.

We at RFC haveq more often than not discussed which brand is the best knife. I want this
to be a discussion on which length and style of general chef's knife and the
brand and handle style. BUT!!.... feel free to include personal
experiences about brand, brand-line, and style.

nb