[jte1130]

When my wife an I were first married we received a block set of knives. They were a pretty cheap brand but served their purpose. Now that I am starting to become more of a student of cooking I'd like to upgrade some of the knives.

I'd like to start with the chefs knife. The knife in the set is 8" but I think I'de prefer to go with a 6" chefs. I've read all of the cutlery posts and just seem thouroughly confused. So many choices out there. From what I can gather from some of the posts Forschners seem to be decent and reasonably priced. Is this a good choice for a beginner? Or is there a better "starter" knife out there?

Also, keeping knives sharp is new to me. I've read about Lansky's sharpeners. Should I also invest in one of these?

Thanks in advance for any advice.