i love this thread. my mom has the classic 60's wood handled knife set hanging in the kitchen that you couldn't hardly bludgeon warm butter with, but my dad appreciates a good knife, and as i was striking out on my own, he bought me a 'wolfgang puck' branded set that i used for years - still have those, in fact, and they're still sharper than the cheap ones i bought on a whim a couple years ago.
i also went down the japanese knife rabbit hole, and caught some kamikoto sets on bogo a couple years ago, so i got a set for myself and my dad. the original box lives on his counter, and they're the only knives he uses to this day. he's not needed to touch the edge on them that i'm aware of... which is good, because they've got a single side bevel, and he has a cheap electric sharpener... he'd ruin the edge if he tried to send those through that. but, i have to say ... these knives are exceptional. i am impressed with the quality of them. but they were not cheap, even considering the bogo. would i buy them again? absolutely.
watched a youtube video the other day and the guy was slicing meat on a stainless steel table and i was literally yelling at my computer. pet peeves are weird like that.