Knives Recommendation……

Knives.  It's knives.  And I recommend sharp ones.  So you can attack me for correcting that.

You are absolutly correct, it is the plural.....i will attack you when i get my new knives

Google hit -

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=best+kitchen+knives+for+under+200&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

Actually, i have been looking at the Shun DMS 300, 3 piece set.  The only thing is that the set is closer to the $300 range than $200.  Thanks for the recomendation, it might be worth it to push the budget a little. 

First things first: don't sharpen your knives yourself unless you really know what you are doing, and have the right tools.  I use a steel and hone my knives about every third time I use them.

Two: never in the dishwasher, you'll dull them fast, and ruin handles.

I personally prefer Henckels knives.  The have two brands and many lines.  Their higher end stuff, all made in Europe, are the Zwilling JA Henckels lines.  Their lower end stuff, mostly made in Asia, are the Henckels International lines.  Any of their knives made in Europe are great.  All the ones made in Asia are fine, but not nearly as good as the European ones.

Wusthof makes good knives too, all forged, all made in Germany (I think).  If you like the handle shape, you can't go wrong.  A little pricey though, but I think you can get the three knives you want in their Classic line for you budget.

Shun makes some great knives with a weird handle shape (to me).  They are also expensive Japanese knives.  Might be out of the budget - last time I looked, the chef's knife was about $150 on it's own.

There are a couple companies I've heard of that are always held in high regard, but the make very sharp hideous knives for commercial kitchens.  Forschner is the company name

X2 - once you've got a good edge just keep it free of nicks with the steel and NEVER in the dishwasher.

Forschner's are really good but a bit spendy for me...Henckels are good - they just don't fit my particular hand very well..which is why I strongly recommend going to a knife shop and trying them out.

I have and love my wusthof knives.

They are expensive but if you take care of them they will last a lifetime.

I love my Wusthof knives, but I strongly encourage you to go to a store and try them out.  The fit with your hand is important.  Even within the same brand, you can find a more comfortable knife. 

If you like the Wusthof, Crate and Barrel seems to offer some great prices. 

I like Wushtof and Henkels. Those are great. I've built my knife set up from pieces and those are the onse that anchor my set.

However, singing a new tune, I just received a couple of these: Kiwi Knives http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/cleavers/thai-kiwi-knives.html

Silly website, rediculous cheap knives, and so far they've been AWESOME. I received these three:
11" length x 2" width with a blunt end (0.19 lb) - 2nd photo - $4.95
11" length x 2" width, pointed end (0.19 lb) - 3rd photo - $4.95
7.5" length x 1" width, paring knife (0.09 lb) - 4th photo - $2.95

The price scared me away and gave me the thought that they would crap out after a couple of uses, but after 6months, they've been rocking solid!

That is something I hardly ever do,it doesn’t matter what it is but I research the hell out of everything before I go to a store.  When I get there I already have narrowed things to a couple of choices and then it is just making the final decision.  Unfortunately you never know who is knowledgeable or not about the product that they sell, and now days most employees at specialty stores are not , they just try to push you towards the  most expensive products and those where they have the best margins.

After all the recommendations received here and the conducted research, I stopped by a Williams-Sonoma store and was able to handle and try most of the brands recommended here.  It ended up coming down to the Westhuf  Grand Prix II and the Shun Classic.  Love the way both felt and looked, so pretty much came down to pricing.  They had a good sale on the Shun classic so I ended up getting a set of 3 (Chef 8” blade, 3 ½” paring knife, and a 6 inch utility knife).  I also ended up getting a set of 4 Westhuf Gourmet Gaucho Steak Knives.  Needless to say that I went over my budget but I’m happy with the purchase and can’t wait to use them.

Thanks for all of your recommendations, it really helped with the purchase.  I’ll try to create a new dish and call it the Bter

Keep an eye on woot.com.... they offer Shun knives on occaision.

Enjoy the wusthof as well... ours turn 10 this year (wedding present) and are still going strong, even though my wife insists on misusing most of them! ;^)

Man I was just getting ready to go off about how awesome Buck knives are!

Or a Leatherman if you want a good multi-tool.

Oh well