Phaedrus, you're not a wet blanket. You are absolutely correct. For slicing meat and large veggies/fruit I also think a longer stainless steel blade does better than a carbon blade - I'd mentioned that earlier in this thread. The good news is that Mora stainless steel blades are great slicers - very easy to sharpen!!

For chopping onions, green peppers, and the like I prefer the chef knife like wide blade - so the edge is far below the handle. There aren't many outdoor knives like that that I know of.

If you're looking for a "paring knife" then I think most any shorter narrow blade will cover that task, but I still would prefer stainless steel for kitchen work due to the sanitation needs.