One element that was not touched on in your well put article was that of blade geometry.

A thin bladed will do a better job of cutting typical things like onions or peppers much better (even when relatively dull) than a thick bladed one.

This, aside from the steel technology, is one of the major reasons why people consider Japanese chef knives “sharper” than European-style blades.

In my experience the cheapest knives with the best geometry are thin chinese vegetable cleavers made from carbon (rustable) steel.

A quality one runs $20 or so dollars and can be easily sharpened in 5 minutes on a basic carbide stone and then touched up easily with a steel.

Even when dull Chinese vegetable slicers will plow through a pile of onions like a cuisinart.

Many thanks for your column.

Far too many sites gloss over the importance of a sharp knife to a properly perpared meal.