my husband got so fed up with kitchens that he went back to moving furniture.

I can SO, SO, SO understand that. I have a beautiful Whustoff Grand Prix II that's about 13 years old. I've never had to sharpen it and it can still slice a tomato so thin you can easily see through the slice. It will also halve a watermelon faster than anything else I've seen. I know this sounds like a late-night infomercial, but If I could have exactly one kitchen knife for the rest of my life, it would be that one.

One REALLY cool thing about this knife the "tang". If you put the tip on a cutting board and push straight down, it will bend just over 90 degrees and return to its original shape unharmed. I can't stand dull knives.

Something else (and rather silly) are those four-packs of cheap tiny paring knives you can get at the Dollar Tree. They're exactly the opposite type of knife, but they're always sharp when you buy them, don't take up much space, and are great for slicing mushrooms and other quick tasks.