Since embarking on Clean Eating, I've discovered a significant uptick in time spent chopping fruits and vegetables. Since my diet currently revolves around the prep and consumption of more natural foods...Nature doesn't necessarily make foods in nice bite size packages ( *sigh* Cheez-Its... )
I found the OXO Mini-Chef's knife ( shown above next to a vegetable peeler for size comparison ) is just right for my small hand, and since buying it just a few weeks ago, it has become my "go to" knife for chopping and dicing jobs. At just over 4" long, the blade has a little weight to it, but is sized down for more delicate chopping work and for a smaller female hand. I have much larger, much more expensive knives in my collection, in a range of materials: steel, ceramic, etc - but this inexpensive ( I paid $7.99 for my knife , on a pegboard at a local grocery store! ) knife has quickly become a favorite beside my other, more expensive kitchen knives.
"I think cooking is a lot of fun and I hate to see people not having fun doing it just because they don't have the right tools--which is not to say they need the prettiest, best, most expensive tools. They just need the tools that are right for them." - Alton Brown, Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen