Left to right: Shun 3 1/2" Paring, Tojiro DP Honesuki, Shun 6" Ultimate Utility, Cheap bread knife, Hattori nakiri, Masamoto carbon steel gyuto, Hattori gyuto, shun kramer chef's knife

I'd recommend getting a paring knife, vegetable knife (nakiri), and a chef's knife (gyuto). Forget about sets, just buy a few. You'll end up getting more what you want. If you end up getting a bug for kitchen knives head over to www.knifeforums.com and spend some time in their "In the Kitchen" forum. They also have a good classifieds section that I used for many of my knives.

As far as sharpening goes, I use whet stones. I have a combo 300/1000 grit stone and a 6000 grit stone. Sharpen and strop every couple of weeks.

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"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."

[This message has been edited by Gator2_01 (edited 8/20/2010 10:34p).]