[vash]

i can get away with a 10" chef knife from Wustof. it is my oldest blade and it does it all.

cutting up a chicken is easy if you let the bird's weight do some of the work. pick it up and touch some of the joints and gravity almost pulls it apart. youtube has some good videos.

right now i am all about my inexpensive Chinese cleaver. i use the CCK 1303 which really exploded in price when Christopher Kimball, (americas test kitchen) give it his blessings.

any knife will get dull and useless, so knowing how to sharpen is essential.