Mine are Global.

Any knife can be for life, they just need regular sharpening. Unless you're using some highly abrasive machine or a dollar steel knife, you will have to work hard to wear down a knife to the point of being unusable.

Knives with a full metal construction are less likely to be damaged than ones with wooden scales.

Rada is where it’s at. No need to spend a ton of money on knives because they are “full tang” or some MLM bs.

All you need is a high quality chef knife and a paring knife. That will take care of 99% of your needs. No need to get a good serrated blade since sharpening them is a pain. I've had a Mac MTH-80 and a Mac paring knife for years. They make fantastic knives. Hold an edge great and sharp as hell

We have a search engine. The search engine brings forth immediate answers on topics we've discussed and this topic was discussed 10,000 times.

This sub recommends ZERO knife sets, so knowing the brand name you can't think of will help you zero.

I’m not a big fan of their chef’s knife (that metal handle is not comfortable), but their tomato knives are the best ever. Mine’s going on 25 years old now.

Rada’s vegetable peelers are also the best ever, and mine’s also been in heavy use for over twenty years. They’re crazy cheap for how long g they last.

Skip the set.

Buy a chef's knife that is comfortable in your hand, a paring knife, and any cheapo serrated bread knife that you like.

Came here to say this! I actually like my serrated tho, I have a victornox offset that I’ve had ten years and never sharpened still cuts the shit out of some crusty bread

whatever one you buy keep that knife out of the dishwasher.

an expensive knife become a dull piece of shit that needs professional sharpening if you put it in the dishwasher.

Mercer are cheap and effective

I bought a set of Wusthof classics when I was ~20. 30 years later they are still used daily. I straighten them regularly, and don't abuse them. They're probably on the expensive side.

The first knife that most people recommend you buy is a Chef's knife. Most everything can be done with one.

A good budget-friendly chef's knife is the Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8-Inch at around 50 bucks (the wood handle is about 10 bucks cheaper). If I were just starting out and bought one knife, it would be this.

Unless you're doing a lot of something specialized like baking or meat cutting or fancy tournee cut vegetables, yes a good chef knife and paring knife are all you'll really use and need. The Victorinox chef knife is cheap, durable, and light and generally good quality, at least back when I was a cook.

I would argue for a good bread knife. If you bake bread at all, even one in moderate shape will cut a loaf better than the sharpest chef knife.

I learned about Misen brand from the BIFL crowd.

My favorites are Wustof and Shun. I like the sets. I now use my Chefs knife the least, so it really depends on what you cook.

Add a cheap boning knife if you trim/carve meats.

Knives are basically inherently bifl. You could make a $5 chef knife from Walmart last your lifetime if you take care of it, and you could wear a $500 handcrafted work of art into a nub if you're too aggressive with the sharpening, or chip a quarter sized shard out of your Japanese gyoto while using it to cut bread.

The biggest issue with home knives is people never honing and sharpening them, so something that cuts like a laser new is smushing tomatoes a year later.

r/chefknives has all the answers you need. Any quality knife can be for life if you care for it properly, also check out the wiki for the flowchart that recommends a knife/set

Buy individual knives instead of sets. Also don’t skimp out on sharpening equipment

I’m not saying don’t buy a quality steel knife, but a cheap knife and a honing rod goes a long way.

Go handle a couple. Decide if you want German or Japanese style. Once you do there are tons of reviews. My mainstream favorite is the zwilling pro because I favor the German style blade and feel. To each their own. You really only need a chef’s knife and a pairing knife to start. Everything else is an add on.

This is the best answer here. Wusthof (and Henckels) flagship lines cannot be beaten on durability. And I say that as a chef knife hobbyist and collector who's owned hundreds of blades from makers all over the world.

Edit: fixed spelling on Henckels

Thank you.

From a sheer utility standpoint, that fibrox will do everything needed from a chef's knife though, and it's definitely bifl.

Yeah no doubt. Meant to comment on that. Fibrox is the best value in kitchen knives by a mile.

Right on

This is just a myth.

Really? r/chefknives is mostly a circlejerk of who’s got the most expensive Japanese forged on Mount Fuji under a full moon carbon steel fetishized knives

Every sub has circle jerkers, just cause they're excited about their shiny japanese knives doesn't make the curated recommendations bad.

This is the buyer's guide I was referring to for anyone interested, should have linked in the first place https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/comments/10gdofm/recommended_knives_flowchart_us_january_2023/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

I’m a Henkels guy but they have really diluted their brand. Zwilling is top notch and basically a direct competitor to Wusthof, anything else with the Henkels branding I’d avoid.

i used to be in the cheap bread knife crowd, then bought a high end bread knife when i was visiting Japan on time, and it is not only my go to bread knife, but I also use it for slicing tomatos (and other vegetables), as it does so incredibly finely.

I bought the individual Global knives that I wanted and made a set. In hindsight, the chefs knife is used 85% of the time, a bread knife and paring knife get 5% and the rest barely get used.

Take a deep breath

Chicago set received as wedding gift in 1981. Still like new

Their tomato knife is one of my favorite things that I own. I didn't know they made vegetable peelers - I'll have to go check that out.

We have a set of Sabatier which weren’t too expensive but have been brilliant with regular sharpening.

Until someone put them in the dish washer and the handles have cracked. Getting them rehandled is going to be about 6x more expensive than another set which is a pain.

Also we have lost 2 of the small knives; I’m not sure how that happens.

i've read a few conflicting stories about it.

i used to live in a house with a dishwasher where the knives went dull pretty quickly, when i moved to a smaller house with no dishwasher i rarely have to sharpen my knives.

Holy trinity of knives, chef knife 8", pairing, and bread knife! Edit: trained chef here :)

If you're looking for a top-quality kitchen knife set that offers both convenience and performance, the Calphalon 15-Piece Classic High Carbon Knives with Self-Sharpening Block (https://dealfinderhq.com/product/calphalon-kitchen-knife-set-with-self-sharpening-block-15-piece-classic-high-carbon-knives/ ) is a fantastic option. This set features 15 pieces, including an 8-inch chef's knife, a 6-inch utility knife, a 7-inch santoku, a 3.5-inch paring knife, and more, all made with high-carbon stainless steel for excellent sharpness and durability.

How/where do you sharpen your knives?

There are knives from many, many brands that are BIFL if you take care of them and sharpen using a method that does not remove excessive amounts of steel. Different knives require different levels of care in order to be BIFL--certain knives could last one person a lifetime who another would destroy in a week. For example...

Victorinox and Mercer (forged lines) make good quality knives for their price range at the entry level. They are not going to feature astounding edge geometry but use steels that are relatively robust and relatively easy to sharpen. They also have good handles for folks with arthritis and generally their handles will favor durability over cosmetics.

Wusthof and Henckel present more expensive Western, specifically, German options. Both brands offer some inexpensive lines that are not forged and I cannot speak to them, but the higher end forged lines that are made in Germany, such as the Wusthof Classic, represent knives that are very robust and easy to sharpen. Handles are generally both durable and cosmetically appealing. Again, the edge geometry here is not the best. Wustof has gotten very expensive in the United States.

Tojiro represents a bit of a merge between German and Japanese knives. They are made in Japan, but offer some models with Western style handles. They use steels that are harder than what is used by Wusthof and Henckel, but not as hard as what many other Japanese makers use. Shun would also fall into the category of mixing traits. Opinions on both brands can be a bit polarizing with respect to the cost vs. performance factor. FWIW, I personally think one's money can go further with some of the higher performing brands fitting the paragraph below.

There are many smaller Japanese brands making extremely high-quality kitchen knives. Generally, these are using thinner blades than their Western counterparts, with much harder steel with higher wear resistance (at the expense of toughness) and a tremendous deal of emphasis is placed on edge geometry. These steels are sometimes stainless/semi-stainless, but are often more reactive carbon steels (sometimes using different steels for the core and the edge) and they are easy to make absolutely screaming sharp to a level that most thicker Western knives simply cannot achieve. They will hold this screaming sharp edge for a long time if used on the proper cutting surface (for example, an end grain maple board). These knives necessitate someone who understands how to care for a knife with a thinner blade, thinner edges, and reactive steels. If they are not properly cared for, they can chip and rust quite easily.

My two kitchen knives are a 8-inch Wusthof Classic chef knife and a 240mm (9.5 inch) Konosuke Fujiyama gyuto in Blue #2 steel, both of which are at least a decade old. The Wusthof is used for tasks more likely to cause edge damage as its thicker blade, thicker edge, and softer steel makes it most suitable for such a task. The Konosuke, which is literally sharp enough to whittle hairs (and hardened along the lines of 63 HRC), is used for tasks where precision cuts are desired. Beyond that, I have a few paring knives--the one I use the most is a Wusthof Classic with a sheep's foot blade, and a few other oddities. However, the paring knife + two chef's knives cover about 99.5% of what I do with kitchen knives.

(There are many other good brands not mentioned producing both Western and Eastern knives.)

While the blade itself may not become dull from dishwasher use, the handle if it is wood will most definitely turn to shit if put in the dishwasher. The steel itself will oxidize some being put in the dishwasher as it is “stain-less, not stain never”. A quick handwashing and drying will be the best thing you can do to keep your knife in top shape over time.

To Answer OP’s question,

I would recommend a good German steel knife with a hardness between 56-60. This will be more forgiving while chopping and will not chip or roll the edge. Wusthof and Henckels have been around for a long time, F Dick, Victorinox, and Lamson come to mind as good options as well. Japanese knifes are fantastic but tend to be harder steel and tend to be less forgiving and more prone to chipping with improper use. Look for full tang construction with High carbon content.

I would recommend getting a ceramic honing rod for re-aligning the edge of your knives. And having a professional service sharpen your knives at least once a year.

It should be noted to stick with the Wusthof/Zwilling and avoid Henckels as the Henckels are not made to the same standard anymore. The Wusthof are still excellent though.

You can get it done by any professional in your area, google is your friend on that front. If you wish to do it yourself you can watch some videos on whetstone sharpening and buy a set of quality whetstones, there are a few electric sharpeners as well that aren't too bad but they do take more material off the blade. The tungsten bladed sharpeners that cut a new edge are fine for cheap knives but will ruin your good knives quickly as they take off way too much material and do so unevenly.