Been asked what i would like for christmas and thinking about a half decent knife, would be in the £30 to £40 range so no point suggesting £100+ japanese craftsmanship.

Anyhow, what are OKish brands, models etc.

Bare in mind that i am not actually sure what shape/size, have till now made do with cheap knives blunt pain to sharpen etc etc.

What makes sense, 8″ cooks,Santoku? whats the best thing to do to keep it sharp, whetstone, strop, steel, etc.
As an aside i don’t actually want to spend stupid money as in my head it makes more sense to get a few cheaper knives experiment and then maybe get a good knife later when i know what i like a bit more.

Sabatier.

Got 2, which I have had for about four years now, and they haven’t yet required sharpening.

This subject came up a little while ago, and Kin Knives were highly recommended. The thing is, you can pay £55-58 for a quality carbon steel knife, or for £85 you can get a rather lovely box set of three:
http://www.kinknives.com/traditional-set-knives/traditional-set-knives-77.aspx
Just from a personal point of view, I know which choice I’d make.

Kyocera japanese ceramic knives, i have 3 for general use and theyre AMAZING!!!!! But for boning i still use stainless steel, (me bro bought me the Kyocera for my birthday last year he’s a chef)

I got a good one from IKEA. Knife snobs can knob off before they chip in.

Kyocera on sale too, type in on google!!!

I got a good one from IKEA. Knife snobs can knob off before they chip in.

Don’t care where the knife is from, as long as it sharp, can be kept sharp and does the job.

And strongly of the belief that a celebrity chef name on the bland is not a sign of a good knife, rather a way of selling a bad knife for more than it is worth…

In that case the ones for about £20 each from IKEA are pretty good.

as a half decent knife is there anything wrong with this?

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90131068/

This is one of the ikea knives we have, v. good

Victorinox rosewood handle 8 to 10″ cooks all the way! diamond steel to keep sharp give a few brushes on this baby after each use! Always hand wash with soapy water never in the dishwasher as it looses the edge.

Victorinox rosewood handle 8 to 10″ cooks all the way!

this one?

other than the handle is this different to the other Victorinox?

TKMaxx or any decent steel sabatier IMO/E

Also have the Ikea knife ebygomm linked to above.

Brilliant knife for the money !

Got 2, which I have had for about four years now, and they haven’t yet required sharpening.

Is that possible ? I suppose it depends on the definition of sharp.

I have a few good quality (but not crazy expensive) knives, I give them a quick going over on a decent quality steel at least once a week.

Yep ,rosewood handle has a better feel to it than the plastic handle 😀

Remember, a quality knife is no good unless the van too is well maintained.

Victorinox