Style

There are basically two styles or philosophies of making kitchen knives. We'll refer to them as Eastern and Western. Eastern style knives such as Japanese made knives like Global are made from harder steel, the blades are significantly thinner, producing a lighter weight knife and the bevel angles are more acute. That means these knives will hold an edge longer (and also take longer to sharpen or steel) and will be sharper, requiring more maintenance. They are wonderful for cutting where accuracy is necessary such as preparing Sushi or making decorative cuts. Western style knives such as European made knives like Wusthof are made from softer steel (less edge holding but easier to maintain) are thicker (heavier) and have more obtuse bevel angles so that they won't get quite as sharp but the edges will be sturdier requiring less maintenance.  They are really good for chopping and other jobs where a heavier knife is an advantage.

We have been talking about knives with similar blade profiles and dimensions such as the standard 8" chef knife. The Japanese also make Japanese style knives that incorporate a chisel grind (bevel on one side with the other side flat or even concave) and made from sandwiched steels where a hard steel for edge retention is sandwiched between soft steel or even iron to provide better toughness. These knives have traditional Japanese blade shapes like the Sashimi, Deba and Usuba. It is hard to compare them to Western style knives but they do an excellent job with Japanese style cooking and with some Western style cooking as well.

So you must decide between better cutting performance but more required maintenance (Eastern style) or somewhat less performance but easier and less frequent maintenance (Western style.) You must choose between light weight (Eastern style) and heftier, heavier knives (Western style.) Obviously a good cook will be a good cook with either style. It is a matter of preference and priority.

Steel

Basically, kitchen knives are available in three types of steel. 

High carbon steel is actually the best performer providing more toughness and the ability to take a very sharp edge with less overall effort.  However, high carbon steel is not stain resistant.  It can rust and will discolor from use.  After much use,  high carbon steel kitchen knife blades will actually become black.  This discoloration is purely cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the knife in any way.  An example of this kind of knife is the Sabatier Au Carbone.

High carbon stainless steel is the best of the stain resistant steels.  It has a high content of carbon for hardness and still enough chromium to keep it looking great.  High carbon stainless will take a sharp edge and maintain it well.  It is the most popular steel type used in high quality kitchen cutlery and most of the cutlery we offer is made of this type of steel. The Japanese knives use an alloy and heat treatment that produces a harder thinner blade requiring more maintenance (Global) and the European knives (Wusthof) produce a softer thicker blade requiring less maintenance. Most of the kitchen cutlery we sell would fall into this category

Stainless steel or surgical stainless steel has less carbon and more chromium in the alloy.  It is very resistant to rust and stains but not hard enough to maintain the best possible edge.  This type of steel is used often in the less expensive cutlery you may find at a local discount department store.   You won't find them here. We think the quality and performance of your cutlery is important to good cooking and we don't recommend this kind of knife.

Titanium is actually a matrix of titanium and carbides.  Titanium is lighter than steel and more wear resistant.  So titanium will hold an edge longer than steel.  The carbides in the alloy allow the blades to be heat treated to a hardness appropriate for cutlery.  Titanium imparts no flavor whatsoever to food. The blades are more flexible than steel blades so they aren't a good choice for some applications like decorative cuts but work quite well for boning, fileting, etc.

Ceramic is not a steel at all, of course, but a very hard ceramic material called zirconium oxide.  These blades are so hard that they will maintain a sharp edge for months or years with no maintenance at all.  Also they cannot impart any "steel" taste to the food.  On the negative side, they are more brittle and cannot be used for prying (actually, no kitchen knife should be used for prying) and they require diamond sharpening tools to maintain.  Also take note that you should use ceramic knives only on a cutting board.  Don't use them as steak knives.  They are hard enough to cut the glaze on your dinnerware.  Examples of this type of knife are the ceramic bladed  Kyocera knives.

Most blades are blocked or stamped from a steel blank and then ground to shape. Some, like the high end European bolstered knives from Wusthof or Sabatier are forged. Here the blade is pounded into shape from a blank of red hot steel. The final grinding and finishing are only superficial and cosmetic. The advantage is that these knives are "integral" which means they are made from a single piece of steel, bolster and all. That provides the highest level of strength. It is also said that the forging process reduces impurities in the steel which can contribute to consistency from front to back. A few high end European knives such as Henckels are not forged but are built up by welding together the tang (handle), bolster (thick part where blade meets handle) and blade to make up the complete knife.

Handles

You can choose between composition handles, wood handles or stainless steel handles.  The choice is between the practical maintenance-free nature of composition or stainless and the beauty and luxurious feel of wood.  Most professionals choose composition or stainless handles because they require no maintenance. Wood handled knives are attractive and work fine in a home kitchen where the they receive less use and where the cook will take care of the equipment.

Construction

The best construction is called full tang.   The tang or handle part of the knife is full size and the handles are riveted to the tang with the tang showing all around the handle.  Full tang knives are the strongest types.

Bolsters are found on the best quality knives.   They are the thick steel area between the sharpened edge and the handles.  Bolsters provide additional rigidity, weight, safety and improved balance to a knife.  Examples of this kind of construction are the Wusthof or Sabatier.

The best kitchen knives are flat ground.   The blade profile tapers from the thicker spine to the thinner edge in a straight or convex line.  They are heavier and tougher than hollow ground blades which have a concave profile.

Serrations are the wavy type of blade edges.   We consider this an outstanding feature on bread knives and recommend that your bread knives have it.  As long as you keep your edges sharp, plain edges are better for other kitchen purposes.  A well sharpened plain edge knife should slice a ripe tomato cleanly and easily.   Serrations are popular in lower priced knives because they will cut better when dull than a plain edge blade.  We recommend plain edge blades for people who can and will keep their edges sharp.  They provide more accurate and precise cuts as well as being easier or even possible to sharpen.  Sharpening serrated edges is impractical because one would need the wheel from the factory with which the serrations were originally ground. It is possible to touch up serrated edges on the back side by honing them lightly. When serrated edges become dull, you should think about replacing them.

Some knives have what is known as a granton edge.  You may have seen the large Kullenschliff slicers used to cut prime rib at a buffet.  These knives have hollow oval areas ground into the side of the blades.   They are used by professional chefs for slicing meat and fish as well as for other purposes.  The advantage is that the food being cut with them has less tendency to stick to the side of the blade. They are maintained just like regular edges.