Inexpensive, not cheap, kitchen knives

[rightisright]

I'm far from a great cook, but I've taken a great interest in the last few years in learning more. So, over the past year or so I've embarked on a journey to acquire a set of very good kitchen knives without dropping major coin.

Here is the result is the order of amount of use:

8" Victorinox Chef's Knife : http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-40520- ... 415&sr=8-1
This is my go-to blade. Well balanced, slip resistant and razor sharp.

Wok Shop Vegetable Cleaver: http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/vegcleav.html I got this on recommendation of Steve from www.toolsofrenewal.com who is a much better cook than I hope to be. This thing is amazing. Sharp enough to shave wafer-thin onion slices and stout enough to tenderize beef. Also makes a great "shovel". It's carbon steel, so you need to towel dry it to prevent rust.

Swedish Mora Knife: http://www.amazon.com/New-Swedish-Mil-M ... 743&sr=8-1 This is a great paring and utility knife. Handle is very slip resistant. Again, it's carbon, so air-drying can leave small rust spots (easily removed).

Chicago Cutlery Steak Knives: http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Cutlery-M ... -3-catcorr Anyone who uses serrated steak knives should be hung! These are great steak/utility knives.

Victorinox Santoku: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox ... 049&sr=8-1 I don't like this as much as my Chef's knife, but it is good for slicing potatoes and fibrous veggies because the edge flutes prevent them from sticking.

Kershaw Filet knife: http://www.amazon.com/Kershaw-Fillet-Kn ... 290&sr=8-1 This baby makes short work of whole fish.

Chicago Cutlery Bread knife: http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Cutlery-M ... -3-catcorr I'm usually low-carbing, so I honestly don't use this knife very much. But when I do, it's worked well.

For a bit over $100, I have a great set of knives. I have others, but the ones above do the yeoman's work in my kitchen.

[HTRN]

Wok Shop Vegetable Cleaver: http://wokshop.stores.yahoo.net/vegcleav.html I got this on recommendation of Steve from http://www.toolsofrenewal.com who is a much better cook than I hope to be. This thing is amazing. Sharp enough to shave wafer-thin onion slices and stout enough to tenderize beef. Also makes a great "shovel". It's carbon steel, so you need to towel dry it to prevent rust.

Sounds like you got a Shibazi/Shi Ba Zi. They're one of the best ones out there, dirt cheap too. The hard part is finding them, as the manufacturer doesn't have a retail outlet, at least in NA. There's occasionally somebody on Ebay selling them, and they're frequently found in your local Asian Supermarkets for under 20 bucks.

[Fivetoes]

You need to add a good steel. I have a Dexter Russel that works very good

[rightisright]

I should have addressed sharpening.

I have a steel that I use every time I pull out a knife. It's a generic one that I've had for a while. But it seems to do a good job keeping a straight edge.

For sharpening, I've had one of these for years: http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-120- ... 503&sr=8-1 Absolutely love it. Most of the time I just use Stage 3 to touch-up the knives to shaving-sharp. If a knife gets a ding in it, a few passes through Stage 2 then to Stage 1 bring it right back.