Looks like a nice knife to me. How much are those when you buy them locally? And do they come with different handles?

It was in the middle to low end of the knives at the store was at (about 75 USD) but they had knives worth thousands. They had ones with western handles, but I went with the more traditional Japanese style handle because it is a traditional Japanese style blade.

Pretty cool.

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/

If you can figure out how to navigate the site you can get some excellent knives.

I bought a few knives from here when I was in Tokyo. I really just like looking at them and use my victorinox for everyday stuff.

For REALLY budget knives check out Rada. I have been using the chef's knife as my go to for several years. The Ladies Aid at my church sells them as a fundraiser at the church picnic but you can get them in amazon now too. I've been amazed at the performance for a $35 knife.

I've wanted to upgrade for awhile and was looking at Shun and Wursthoff and others. I stumbled across a custom knife maker here in CS. He focuses mainly on hunting knives but can make any kind of fixed blade you might want. He made a gorgeous "pig sticker" as a gift for my dad and now I have a 10" santoku ordered. 1095 carbon steel, spalted pecan scales, our family brand engraved into the scales, my name etched on the blade, and ground to a near zero edge. I. Can't. Wait. To get it.

I'm trying to figure out how to keep it out of the drawer because it's going to be so cool!


www.cmforgeknives.com

Why would you put ANY knife in a drawer? Great way to screw it up.

I'm not sure I care for your tone.

And I haven't had a knife worth worrying about. Please explain how storing a knife in a drawer can cause problems.

Since you sound like you are lacking in the common sense department, i will explain even though you don't like my tone and you sound a little effeminate.
Crap gets thrown into drawers. Crap in drawers move around when you open and close them. When crap moves around crap tends to hit up against each other. When crap made of metal hit up against each other they tend to deform, nick or otherwise damage each other.

I appreciate good cutlery, and have some Wusthof that I'm disappointed with. Bought my step-son a MAC starter set a few years back, and am much prouder of that purchase.

BUT, I got a Kyocera ceramic 3-knife set recently. Holy schnikes they're sharp. I have a gouge out of the tip of my thumb right now because I accidentally (and incidentally) nicked it the other day when cutting up some limes. Sharp, sharp, sharp. And cheap (got a deal on Woot!). These will last me a while and when/if they get dull and/or break, I'll just replace them. Maybe there's a sharpening service that would make sense, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I know they don't work for all tasks (brittle, so you can't use them for prying tasks like cutting up whole chickens, etc.) but they're a dang good choice for most cutting!

I had a ceramic paring knife that I loved....until I dropped it.

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/kitchen/professional-cutlery/c1915.aspx
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/cutlery.htm
Couple of good sites here. I like Food Service Warehouse personally. I use knives every day and the Forschner Vitorinox knives are as good as it gets for the money. My $0.02

It's the wizard, not the wand.

Cooks Illustrated tests knives every five years or so and the Victorinox Chef's knife wins every time. They only cost around $30. They are testing for value as well as quality. They will tel you there are better knives, but their test cooks on their 2 tv shows always use the Victorinox.

I've had one for a while now and they are tough to beat. Fibrox handle works really well and they stay sharp and are easy to sharpen.

Ive been very happy with my Calphalon Katanas. They look nice, hold a sharp as hell edge, and are easy to hone up when necessary.

Duncan, what wrong with knifes in drawers if you use knife guards?

If you are using knife gaurds, there is absolutley nothing wring with keeping them in a drawer.

I keep my knives in a drawer -- in a knife drawer case.

As far as the knives themselves, I like Global. I had a Wusthoff set, but sold it and got the Global Chef's knife. You don't need a set. I also use Dexter Russell knives.