My misono ux 10 chef's knife CHANGED my LIFE!

go with the victorianox knives with the cheap fibrox handle. unless you want one of those $500+ (each that is) hand forged carbon steel japanese blades that require a lot of additional maintenance in addition to the set of $100 sharpening stones, there's no reason to blow $1,000 for a set of knives, like Shun or Wustoff, that is really only differentiated by wooden handles.

That's an impressive list of knives up there. If anyone's interested I've written a knife buying guide on my blog - here! http://everythingdeliciouschicken.blogspot.com/2011/09/knife-buying-advice-andor-guide.html

I'm happy with the cheapo candy colored (plastic covered) blades I got at Target. Of course, I keep them sharp with the cheapo sharpening stone I picked up at Fleet Farm. Like Jaques Pepin says, the kind of knife you want is a sharp one.

Just to clear up the mis-impression--I have a hand forged Japanese knife (<$200) and the sharpening stone ($30). Best knife ever... Have had it for 2 years, used daily and have not had to sharpen it once. The blade is sharpened to 16 deg vs 22 for most european which keeps the blade sharp for a really long time. Does require minimal maintenance (washing quickly and oiling to prevent rust) but the value of the knife and the ease of cutting (mild arthritis) more than make up for it. I bought mine new, because my brother took my Dad's > 30 year old (hand forged Japanese) knife--consider it a heritable, practical splurge!