It seems like most people fall into one of two categories: either you only have one knife (and you use it for everything) or you have a huge set of knives (and you only use one knife, for everything). Knife sets include a bewildering number of specialty knives. I don't know about you, but I just don't spend enough time filleting things to make a special-purpose filleting knife worth the bother.
With a few exceptions, most professional chefs fall into the first category. They have one knife which they use for almost everything, from filleting salmon to chopping walnuts to pounding garlic cloves. It is typically a medium-sized chef's knife with a sharp pointed tip (handy for stabbing things and getting into the nooks and crannies).
Most chefs I have known prefer a knife which is on the "lightweight" side. There are several reasons for this: for one thing, when you are wielding a knife all day, you want it to be as un-tiring as possible. A lighter knife also tends to be a less dangerous knife, less likely to take off a toe if you drop it, and less likely to be dropped in the first place.
Also, a lot of heavy knives are deliberately made to feel heavy just so that they seem pleasing in the hand. It's not like they are automatically higher quality than a lighter knife. They just have lead shot in the handle (or whatever) to trick you into thinking that.
There are two big exceptions when it comes to knives: a small paring knife can be very handy for small delicate jobs (like taking the tops off strawberries), and a serrated knife is mandatory for slicing bread (otherwise you just smash it with the blade).
Image courtesy Flickr/bmann
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