Kitchen Knives

 I think the best knives out there are worth the money with this caveat: you only need one. The knife I use on a daily basis is a 10" Wusthof chef's knife. It's a big knife for most people, so an 8" one is a good option. But skip the boning knife, slicing knife, pairing knife, utility knife, etc. If you use the same knife every day you will become so comfortable with it that you'll find it's perfect for nearly every job.

 A big chef's knife saves a tremendous amount of fatigue when you use a rocking motion for chopping or dicing. Jacques Pepin has a great book covering fundamental techniques that I believe are really important to learn if you want to be a better cook. Buy it with the money you'll save by passing over the knife sets and just buy the only one you'll really need.

 If you really need a serrated knife for slicing bread buy one, but any brand will do. The expensive knives are expensive because of the balance of the knife and the quality of the materials. These things don't matter much to slice an occasional bagel or baguette. Try dicing a few cups of vegetables for soup with a good knife and you will appreciate what I mean.