What are the best kitchen knives

[wearechevytough]

Can anyone tell me what they think are the best kitchen knives out there. I am quite frustrated because I purchased a set of Fuji kitchen knives and they went dull within the first weekend that I used them. The blade is quite thin and sharpening them does not do much. I spent over $70 for these and supposedly Rachel Ray uses these. Personally I think they are junk. I want a small and large Santuko knife for cutting and dicing anything. I also want them to stay sharp or come with a sharpener. Please let me know what you have found out there.
Thank you for your help
wearechevytough

[labradors]

Knife preferences can be as individual as the people who use them. Personally, I like the Henckels Pro-S and Four-Star, but not the Five-Star. Others love the Five-Star. Still others prefer the W&#252sthof Grand Prix. The Forschner from Victorinox (the people who make the Swiss Army Knives) are also excellent, especially for the price.

Some of the preferences are based upon cutting, and some, upon handling. As far as cutting is concerned, some of the knives that cut the best require more frequent honing, and well-practised sharpening. Many home cooks who get professional knives destroy them by not sharpening them properly - indeed, they don't know how to use a steel (for honing, or restoring the edge), and they tend to use sharpeners that just keep wearing down the blade, and they do so at the wrong angle, anyway. Thus, always be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommendations, especially since some knives are designed to used less-common sharpening angles. Of course, trying to cut on glass (or some harder plastic) "cutting boards" will hasten the need for sharpening.

For santoku knives, Mac, Kershaw, and Global are usually considered the best one can get without getting super-special, super-expensive ones from Japan.

Again, don't forget: some of the best knives require more frequent honing and sharpening than the cheaper knives, and never be led astray by ads for serrated santoku or chef's knives that say "never needs sharpening." All that means is "can never BE sharpened." Serrated knives have their purposes (e.g. bread knives), but chef's and santoku knives should NOT be serrated.