Agreed with the poster who says there is no need for full set. I will add that I like a long slicing knife.

For what you pay for Henckels and Wustof, you can Japanese steel of much higher quality. I have a top end Henckels and a relatively low end Japanese stainless knife (Tojiro DP Gyuto)--if I sharpen them both there is no comparison. The Tojiro is head and shoulders above, and cheaper.

The poster who mentioned the Forschner's earlier--those are excellent knives and probably some of the most common in most restaurant kitchen.

I use mostly two, one twelve inch for cutting up big BBQ'ed meats and chickens and one six inch for veg/fruit. They don't come with any fancy handles or named brand...but the blades are good quality and are really what matters in the end. Of course, regular use of a the steel makes them easier to use.

Gilt Groupe, starting at 12 PM eastern today, is going to have a sale on the Miyabi Collection by Zwilling J.A. Henckels. If you aren't a member and want to join, you can always join using my link below. Full disclosure: I receive credits if you join and make a purchase, so if you'd like to join, you should make it a conga to be fair to everyone.

http://www.gilt.com/invite/kippeeelvis

advice i give to all my friends who ask about knives (lots of them, i'm a bit of a geeky foodie) is goto cooksillustrated.com and read their knife reviews. Im pretty sure some of them are available without paying (though in the true sense of ft, you can find year-long discount coupons online for $10/year - which is a bargain)...

if you're not super flush and want "good" knives that can take some abuse and still stay sharp, get the Victorinox Fibrox knives. 10" chef's, long serrated bread, 8"-ish slicer and a small paring knife are a good set that will handle 80-90% of most needs. You'll also want to get a good steel, MAC makes a really nice one, and learn how to use it (online videos abound). And a sharpener - electric ones are great but a good one is $100 - the chicago plastic ones you pull the knife through are good and cheap but once you get good at it, you'll want to upgrade.... :-) and don't just throw them in a drawer - get blade covers or a block to store them in (blade up).

I've had the same Global 8" chef's knife now for over 10 years. I like the weight and balance, and have no issues keeping an edge on it.

Spend the money on the chef's knife, whatever feels right to you and then do this: Go to the closest restaurant supply store and get
-a $17 bread knife (I have this one http://www.acemart.com/prod9620.html)
-and a $13 Chinese cleaver (I have this one http://www.acemart.com/prod9958.html).

What if the OP wants to spend $16 on a bread knife and $14 on a Chinese cleaver?

Are these the same two knives?

Glit: Miyabi Morimoto 600 S HE Santoku Knife (7 IN) - $99.99


Amazon: Miyabi Morimoto Edition 7-Inch Santoku HE - $91.73

If you come to Norwalk or Westchester for the Henckels and Wustof and all the other brands of knives they sell all made by the same people, you can drive another fifteen or 30 minutes up to Monroe and hit the Swiss Army warehouse sale (also some great values there), as they are usually the same weekend, and get some of the Victorinox knives. I believe all those places also offer sharpening, but don't think it's while you wait.

Good lord, man! A $16 bread knife?? Have some standards.

never knew about monroe. you'll have to post the info about the next sale and make it a DO. I have maybe 15-20 kitchen knives and don't really need any more but when was the lat time that stopped me...

I found the reviews here helpful:
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/a...s-Knives-Rated

...although my wife went ahead and got the Henkels she wanted to get in the first place.

I agree with this, though I really like a nice slicing knife, but I agree that starting with the chef's knife is the way to go.

After my chef's knife, this is the second most popular piece of equipment in my kitchen:
http://www.cookingenthusiast.com/lam...-11/p/WLSBGSS/

Henckels or Wusthof knives every time - they are just the bees knees.

I was introduced to them at our local cook shop in Tunbridge Wells - and have since been back and bought the whole set of Henckels - replacing our other knives (well relegating them to Darling hubbie's boat!

Ceramic blade knives will surely make any chef in your household happy for years to come. Try one of the sharpest knifes in the world, make sure to try a Kyocera ceramic blade santoku knife.

So the ceramic knives are better because they:

1. Are sharper

2. Almost never need sharpening

3. Are lightweight and have strong construction

4. Don't taint your food

5. Balance and are constructed well