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I remember being quite disappointed with my EzyLock the first time I used it, because I didn't know to turn the wheel.  I thought I was going to have to add a pair of vice-grip pliers to the tools at my sharpening station.

I have been waiting to reply until she had a chance to work the knives into her daily routine. Since these knives weren't as expensive as the one's I was initially looking at, I also bought her a maple end-grain cutting block.

Her first comment was about how pretty the rosewood handles were. The second thing she commented about was how good they felt in her hand just holding them. We had quite a crowd over on New Years, and after she prepared that meal, she said that her hand didn't hurt as much as usual after cutting a lot of food. I haven't sharpened the knives yet, so I can't comment on that, but the factory edges were quite good and they have maintained their edges well. The cutting board is also key. The thickness of it raises the working surface to a better height for her.

I think I scored more "husband points" with this gift, than with my last 5 Christmas gifts combined.

I certainly appreciate the advice I received here. Without it, I would have spent a lot more than necessary and ended up with knives that didn't work as well for my wife's personal situation.

Well, I have placed an order for the rosewood Forschners. I bought a chef's knife, bread knife, boning knife, paring knife and santoku knife for $165, delivered. I probably would have purchased the forged knives for myself, but since the forged blades are generally heavier, I thought my wife might be better with a thinner, lighter, stamped steel blade, to reduce strain on her hands.

Ken, Thanks for your insights. Based on how nice our 25 year old set of cheap knives look, I'm certain these knives will end up as part of the estate, barring catastrophe or theft.  Budget isn't a big concern on this purchase, however, I want to put my money into quality steel and good craftsmanship while avoiding paying any more than necessary for marketing hype. I don't need the knives to improve my social standing or to decorate the kitchen. Thankfully, my wife isn't label/brand oriented. 

I see what you guys mean about the set purchases. They seem to be cleverly designed not to include the knives you need until you buy at least half a dozen unneeded knives. 

I am concerned about comfort though. My wife has bad arthritis in her hands, so weight, handle shape and balance of the cutting tools are important. I think your idea of a larger cutting board is also a good one. (Ours is only about 12"x16") It sounds like you have been pretty happy with the Henckel knives.

I have been looking at the Forschner Victorinox knives. They seem to have two main lines. Stamped steel with Fibrox handle and forged steel with POM (plastic over molded) handle.  To get a chef's knife, paring knife, bread knife, boning knife and Santoku knife costs about $105 in their stamped steel line and about $323 in their forged steel line. Jeff, do you have a suggestion as to which line to go with? Either would be way under the cost of the Henckels PRO S line at about $457.

Thanks Jeff, that's just the kind of information I'm looking for.  I can make any straight piece of steel sharp, at least for a while, but that doesn't tell the story of a kitchen knife. One of the things that is confusing when you start looking at knives is the amount of information generated by people who know nothing about knives, steel and sharpening. I have friends who have vast "collections" of high end knives on display in their kitchen that are as sharp as bowling balls. Last year at a party I found a friend with a large block and a drawer full of Wusthof knives,  because she had been replacing all the dull ones. I am interested in replacing our knives because I have noticed that my bottom of the line Chicago Cutlery knives from 25 years ago don't take and hold their edge as well as some of the better knives I have sharpened for my neighbors.

I'll take a look at the Forschner knives today. The only other knife that my wife regularly uses is a 6-7"santoku knife, however, she is unable to tell me why she uses it, other than habit. I will not be attempting to change her habits, because I know what's good for me.

I use my little engineers square to mark a line on the back (unground side) of my square blades, a few millimeters from the end, with a fine point permanent marker. It makes it very easy to monitor the squareness while sharpening.

I am buying my wife a new set of kitchen cutlery for Christmas. The present is partly for her and partly for me, since I am tired of sharpening our el cheapo knife set on my Tormek. I wondered if the users here have noticed differences in how well certain brands (and lines) of cutlery take an edge and the subsequent durability of the edges. I was specifically looking at the Henckels Pro S line of knives, since they were rated highly by consumer reports and I didn't have any other good resource. (It took less than half an hour for me to get totally lost in marketing hype.)

So, what kind of kitchen knives do Tormek wielding sharpening aficionados like and ultimately buy?