Can someone help me get a good set of Japanese knives

You want a knife that gets real sharp and stays sharp, preferably for a year of home use, is fully stainless and has no nickel (or cobalt). There are a few knives that can do that fairly well, but you should understand that most good knives take a few sharpenings for the edge to break in and really show it's potential.

I'm partial to the Geshin Kagero (SRS-15 super-steel) because I have one and am perfectly tickled with it. And that you'll be buying the knife from Jon is a big plus because you know the grind will be perfect and out of the box (or padded carrying bag actually) it will be sharper than anything you every handled, except maybe a straight razor. And the price is very reasonable. Not a lot of bling but nicely finished and the heavily stamped kanji is a lot classier and enduring compared to Shun's decals. http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kitchen-knives-14/kitchen-knives/gesshin-kagero.html

These will cover your chefs, utility and parer, though you don't really need to spend that kind of money on a parer, but it is nice. If you do go this way just ask Jon to put a more obtuse than usual angle on the edge.

You'll still have plenty left over for a top-notch bread knife like the Mac, and the 12" fine Idahone which I also think will serve you well here.

Rick

OK so I've given considerable consideration these six days now concerning a choice between the Masakage and Kagero.  Well actually I've been watching a lot of public television this past week.

But never the less I have a reasoned conclusion to the present conundrum and here it is:

The Masakage while a great value has some serious drawbacks for you, as you have described your situation and needs.  Firstly the only knives in there line you should be considering are the Mizu, Shimo and Yuki.  The Mizu and Shimo are carbon clad carbon.  They won't provoke your husbands allergies, but they will rust if not immediately cared for after each use.  The Yuki is stainless clad carbon, a little better on maintanence, but we don't Know its stainless's composition. 

These knives will get a little sharper than the Kagero, but their edge retention is no where near as good.  Also, they have very thin edges, and this is a concern for someone who does not have very good knife skills nor any experience with thin edges such as these.

The Kagero is thin behind the edge also, but less so than the Masakage,  It's SRS-15 steel not only takes a great edge, it holds that edge amazingly well.  You could very conceivably go a whole year without sharpening given ordinary home use.  The only question is what the stainless cladding composition is, Jon Broida will probably know this.

All of these knives are symmetrically beveled, and so ambidextrous.

Given a nickel content in the Kagero's cladding, there are mono-steel knives in Swedish stainless (19c27 in particular for it's edge holding) and Japanese Ginsanko.  These will have no nickel.

Rick

Goldilocks, faux Damascus =very bad here, as was mentioned, lots of nickel.

BF, here are links for you to check out both makers I mentioned:

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/masakageknives.html

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kitchen-knives-14/kitchen-knives/gesshin-kagero.html

I am guessing that the Kagero and masakage both use JIS G4403/SUS410 stainless cladding, which has can vary in nickel content from trace amounts to about 0.5%. I don't believe it will affect your husband at those levels. Again Jon probably knows what the Kagero has for cladding, and likely also the Masakage and other knives as well. Know that I think of it I've never heard any other stainless mentioned for simple non-Damascus cladding.

There are potentially lot's more knives to choose from, but let's work at getting your acceptable materials and general construction options narrowed down first.

Rick