Last year we ditched our cheap stainless knives for some Chroma Type 301's, and we've been absolutely thrilled with them ever since. We bought the 7.25" santoku, the 6.25" Japanese vegetable knife, the 3.25" paring knife, and the 8.5" bread knife. Oh, and the matching Chroma Type 301 whetstone. I tried out Globals also, but didn't care for the handle shape/size, and found them to be a bit too light for my tastes - I like a little weight to my knives. The Chroma's handle fits nicely in my palm, and feels nice and substantial. After seven months of near-daily use, the santoku performs like it did on day-one...my wife & I still fight over who gets to slice the veggies for dinner. Oh, also, their lifetime warranty is a nice thing to have...it covers everything except knicks on the cutting edge & broken tips. Our vegetable knife developed a crack on the blade, an inch from the "pearl"...I called Gail at Chroma USA (nice lady, by the way) and described the problem, and she traded me for a replacement, no questions asked.