10 Knives You Need

For some reason, when ever I glance at the knife rack it looks like they keep multiplying.  I know it isn't me so I will blame it on the spouse.  For my own purposes, I could buy these ten knives and be set for life:

1. Kitchen use--a good paring knife.  Many jobs around the kitchen can be taken care of with a small, sturdy knife such as this.
2. Kitchen use--a good chef's knife.  The general taskmaster in the kitchen is a chef's knife which you will find yourself using for just about everything.
3. Kitchen knife--a good serrated edge knife.  For those items that won't work with the aforementioned knives (bread, tomatoes, etc), a classic serrated knife will do the trick.
4. Shop use--a utility knife.  You definitely need a specialized knife for those home improvement and outdoor projects.  For this, you need a sturdy utility knife.
5. Everyday carry--a pocket knife.  I've carried a pocket knife everyday for decades.  It's small, unobtrusive, and sharp enough to perform surgery with.  In reality it opens a lot of boxes, takes tags off things, and does small fix-it jobs with the attached implements.
6. Self defense--a folding knife.  Easy to deploy, sharp, sturdy...when seconds count, you want a self defense knife you can count on.
7. Tactical use--a fixed blade knife.  This is just an example of the kind of knife you want to use in a tactical situation.  Fixed blade, grippy handle, full-ish tang, quillion, etc.
8. Hunting--a folding buck knife.  When field dressing an animal, you want a knife that can gut and skin with creature with ease such as a knife like this.
9. Big jobs--machete.  While you probably won't need one of these in the city, they are exceedingly useful in the jungle.
10. Specialty knife.  Depending on what you most often do with a knife, you may want to purchase a knife made especially for this purpose such as a cleaver (chopping meat), fillet knife (filleting fish), or oyster knife.

And seven more things...

1. Learn how to care for your knives which means learning how to sharpen them and how to keep them clean.
2. Know what the knife laws are where you are at.  Some of the above knives could be considered illegal in some jurisdictions.
3. Behave responsibly with your knives.  Like a gun, don't pull it out to threaten someone unless you fully intend to use it (and deal with the legal repercussions).
4. Learn how to use your knives.  Each type of knife requires a certain set of skills and a great deal of practice.
5. Keep your knives secure--out of the hands of kids and away from those who would think nothing of swiping an unattended knife.
6. Buy high quality knives.  Yes, there really is a massive difference between a $20 chef knife and a $150 chef knife (and well worth the cost IMHO).
7. Buy knives that work for you.  There is, of course, much debate about the "best" knives==Kershaw, SOG, Cold Steel--but just like guns, you want the best knife that will work for you not the best knife based on name recognition.