Demeyere and Le Creuset. Hit up the Wokshop in San Fran for some great carbon steel or light weight cast iron woks. In my humble option, although I love everything german, I prefer japanese knives. I like the lightness of the globals and I have a few shuns for heavy meat chopping. There is a custom knife maker based out of New York that I may get a knife from. It is either the knife or a robotic lawn mower this season.

Get what you can afford that works for you. I love the Demeyere more than the All Clad pieces I have. The Demeyere pans really get hot and stay hot. I have the Sirocco series and love them.

I agree with Chefwong though, handle these items before you commit to them. For my hands, certain pans were to heavy. The Demeyere and Le Creuset woks are heavy beasts in my opinion. I like copper but find that it is too much upkeep for most people. I have mild issues about scrubbing pots with Barkeepers friend and I know that I would spend all my time keeping my copper looking showroom new!

Set a budget and then exceed it:-)

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Abster641