re: Kitchen knife suggestions

I've fallen in love with my Dalstrong Shogun Series X Gyuto 8". It's $130 so a large portion of your budget but, being a chef's knife, that's where most of your money should go anyway.

Excellent feel, super sharp blade, seems to retain edge with regular honing (had mine 8 months with heavy cooking and still sharp as shite), and it's one beautiful knife. This replaced my Wusthof Gran Prix II and it's been night and day. I still use the Wusthof for breaking down chickens and such due to its thicker blade but when chopping vegetables, preparing proteins, scoring, etc., the Dalstrong does amazing work.

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But, if you want better steel and something made in a shop, not a massive factory then look at chefknivestogo

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So what I've been reading is that it's basically stainless or a carbon metal knife. I'm not the only person using these knives and I'm gonna be the one that actually takes care of them. My wife or guest might put it in the sink and or put it in the dishwasher and I don't want it to rust. I'll trade a little sharpness and hardness for durability and rust prevention.

I plan on sharpening it but I'm just saying that it may get neglected due to unforeseen circumstances with guests and I don't want to ruin a good carbon knife. I plan to instill a good handwashing ritual with the better knives with the wife but shite happens especially since we have two 3 year olds.

Also, this main knife will be a utilitarian knife. Is a Gyuto going to be too thin?

It sounds like the Wusthof Classic Ikon would be a good fit for you. Even if you get a stainless Japanese knife, running it through the dishwasher or bad technique is still going to chip the harder steel.

I have a Victorinox and love it. I also have some entry level Japanese knives, but I use the Vic. most of the time. I would get a Wusthof myself, but I like lighter weight knives.

A gyuto certainly can work for most everything. It kind of depends on what you want to use it for. I wouldn't cut anything that has bones in it because of chipping. The straighter profile also probably won't work (depending on what you get) for rock chopping things like herbs or garlic.

Overall, the Wusthof is a tank that can withstand a lot of abuse. You can get marginally better performance from a Japanese knife, but there can be a lot of fuss that comes with it, and in the end you have to ask yourself if you're a person who even values that.

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Also, this main knife will be a utilitarian knife. Is a Gyuto going to be too thin?

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Most will be, but some aren’t. That being said if you want to go through bone then it definitely isn’t the knife you want. There are options that will do most of the work you need, you just need to find the right steel/hardness combo. Many of the steel is too hard and or too soft. Take for instance, my Tanaka isn’t very brittle, but the blade itself will bend if it’s put in a bind. Ex: trying to use it to wedge something out like a core of a cabbage. That being said, I have a beater... a cold steel chef knife I have been having for probably 15yrs that I do the heavy lifting with.

I have a set of Shapton pro stones to sharpen

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Wusthof Classic Ikon would be a good fit for you.

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I'm going to check those out as those looked interesting.

I took my wife to this place in New Orleans and she picked out some knives after handling them. You might try to do that at a store that specializes in cutlery.

Coutlier in New Orleans

Bladesmiths and the knives they offer

Overall, I liked the place. I know I spent more for the knives than if I would have purchased them off Amazon, but I supported a local business with great customer service and selection.

I used to look for all these super cool knives, then saw where Donald Link used a $40 Victorinox. After a couple years, he just buys a new one. I bought one and it's just fine.

I actually took the wife to Sur la table and she picked out the Miyabi because of the handle and cutting. She really liked the Globals but I thought they were too light and small of a handle for me. She couldn't stand the Wustof Ikons. I just figured the Miyabi is a Zwilling product with a great warranty and has a very good SG2 metal that is about the same price as the R2/SG2 at places like Chef knives to go. It's also a local store so I can return or exchange easier.

I plan on getting some chef knives to go knives. Tojiro DP petty in about a 120mm and a Tojiro DP serrated bread knife.