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I will say this like vehicals buy American made!!! I love dexter russell, and Lampson Sharp both located in Western Massachusetts. They are similar to german knives (henkel, and Wostof) but its always nice as someone who lives in Massachusetts to buy local.

I am surprised at most people's responses. Only a couple of cooks have mentioned Japanese steel. Tools you use every day are worth spending money on. Check out this site for some crazy knife porn. www.japanwoodworker.com
Also not a single person mentioned a filet knife as part of a set. If you fish or cut up whole fish with any regularity, add a filet knife to the set. I have a hand made job from a local maker handed down to me by my Dad.

My most used knives are:
10" Henckels Chefs knife
13" overall length antique Deba( very old school used for breaking down fish and small game, think THICK blade for chopping through bone)
Filet knife
Boning knife
6" Henckels

Waterstones are the single best sharpening tool if you understand what you are doing. Daily sharpening/honing I do with a ceramic "steel". It does both honing and light sharpening at the same time. They are fragile. I broke my last after putting it in my back pocket and then bending over. My rain gear broke it. Good thing they are only about $8.

for some reason my comment above didn't post all the text, and cut it off in mid-paragraph. What I meant to say was that my chinese cleaver I bought for less than 10 dollars in SF Chinatown, and it's the best for hacking through bone to cut meat into smaller bits for stews and curries and the like. It's loads of fun, and it was cheap as all get-out.

@Bunnyman - I agree. Shun knives cut beautifully and are really comfortable to use. Glad to find another fan.

Here is another suggestion. Pick your favorite drink of choice then have two or three in quick succession. Then go to www.bladegallery.com and start ordering knives with strange Japanese names. Later, when you sober up, you'll have an amazing array of knives that you will treasure forever. And, when the bill comes, remember, you were drunk at the time....

Cooks Illustrated has reviewed chef's knife in the previous year. I'd go to their site for realistic recommendations. This cutco pitch sounds like the vacuum sales pitch where they put your vacuum cleaner to a head-to-head test with theirs. Theirs wins and the price is only $1600.00, but if you buy today, they'll knock the price down to $1350.00. Eventually the salesman "calls their sales manager" and cuts the price down to $800, that's a 50% savings! yada yada
All the previous posters offer excellent advise. Heck, even Global's are a bargain compared to the cutco knives. Me? I use my 25 year old Chicago Cutlery. I take care of them and they in return cut everything. It's a beautiful relationship.

I will say a few positive things about Cutco: 1, the steel that they use is very tough so they do last forever, 2 they are built very well for what they are, 3 their serrated blades are superb, 4 their shears are quite possibly the best I've ever used - amazing.

However they have nothing on my beloved Shun knives. As said above you should put together the set of knives that does the work that you need. My cutting tools kit contains:
Shun 10" chefs
Shun 3 1/2" paring
Shun boning
F Dick 10" offset serrated
Cutco shears
That cost me about $350 and I haven't found any cooking task that I can't do with just the above.

I love my Shuns - a chef's knife, a meat knife and a cleaver. Very lightweight and ergonomic, which is helpful with the carpal tunnel. An Edge in The Kitchen, by Chad Ward, is a great, fun read and helped me make some informed decisions about more than knives.

I've got 3 knife blocks. OK, maybe you don't need that many knives, but there are times when you need a specific knife for a specific job.

As many advised already, I'm very, very happy with my Henckels 4 Star knives. Henckel's produce everything from low end budget knives (not worth the price) to higher end professional grade 4 and 5 Star Knives.

They'll last a lifetime with minimal care.
I always use the steel before I put away the hand washed knife.

If I could only buy 4 knives, I'd recommend :
1. Chef's knife - I like my 6 or 8 inch (depending on what feels comfortable to you.
2. A 3 or 4 inch paring knife.
3.Boning knife - perfect and easier to use to trim from the bone or removing silver skin from a tender loin.
4. Bread Knife - versatile for more than just bread.

I use these knives on a daily basis and have for 30 or 40 years and they're in great shape.

I've given the basic set of knives for wedding presents and it's nice to go visit my friends that have been married for 25 years and their knives are in good shape.

There's nothing worse than going to someone's house and using their dull, beat up knives.

I'd go the the 4 Stars or if you prefer, Wusthof makes a good knife too, but don't go for these sets that are $50-100.

Most of these go on sale and that's when I'd buy one or two, then add others over the years.

For $1,000, I'll get the knives, buy a plane ticket and deliver them to you and give you a lesson to boot, and still have change.

HTH.

PS: I've tried the santoku, and still go back to my tried and true 6 inch chef's knife. There's a reason that design works so well.

I bought a super basic Henckels set that came with an 8" chef's knife, 6" chef's knife, two paring knives (not sure exact length), 10" carving knife, 6" serrated knife and 10" serrated. Other than that, I've bought a small cleaver and a santuko.

I m personally fooooooor Henckels. I have one and that is my all time favourite. They are simply the best chef knives.

I love a good knife. Mine are all mixed up, too. My sentimental favorite is a 1950s Ecko bread knife, and my everyday go-to is a 25-year-old Chicago Cutlery paring knife.