Go for the forged Shun or Global knives from Japan, each hand made by craftsman, Wusthof is good but the Shun & Global are highly rated..... forget about Henckels ..... most of them are stamped and are made outside of Germany....... U could get a good set of Shun's for under $600 ....

FYI... Shun's cutting edge is ground to an angle of 16 degrees making them extremely sharp, compare this to the best German knives which are only ground to only 22 degrees... something to think about

You better be able to sharpen knives if you get a knife with a 16 degree angle. It will, indeed, be a sharper edge than the 22 degree, but also more fragile and become dull faster.

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I hope for the consumer who buy these expensive knives don't actually try to sharpen the blade themselves ...... most chef's and owner of these highly prized knives send them to a professional sharpener .....

Chefwong,
Keucos is one of my favorites. I don't import the style that I love the most though! The other choice in Keuco has a line in the middle where the two door meet. The uplift from Robern though is just all sorts of sexiness!!! Since I have been so giving in my assistance on gardenweb, I will accept the chopping board and a pairing knife from the Japanese collection you have pictured above as a token of your appreciation By the way, I am no longer allowed at my local Waterworks I own so much Vipp stuff and towels from them I can change towels daily and make it about 40 days

Japanese knives are pretty easy to sharpen. I send mine out for sharpening twice a year.

I eliminated Shun and Global because the Bline asked for something really special and different. Shun and Globals, which I own and love, are easily obtained.

Best of luck with your choice!

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Abster641