most of my food prep knives are Victorinox Forschner. Very nice. I like the synthetic handle they have. hold an edge well. I haven't had to sharpen my 10" chefs knife in the 2 years I've owned it and it gets used regularly. cuts incredibly well. U do use bamboo or a white plastic board to cut on to protect the edge. the clear plastic is actually harder on blades.
for sharpening get a real stone and learn how to sharpen them yourself.a GOOD stone isn't expensive either.
10" Chef Knife
12" Bread Knife
4" Paring Knife
7" Flexible Deboning Knife.
All Victorinox. All I need as well. There is no need for 8 different knives.
Chef Knife is a good slicer/chopper knife. Lets you cut roasts and such into smaller parts. You can slice up veggies just as easy. the arched blade also lets you "rock" to mince things. I tried a Henkles mincer deal
dual curved blades attached to a handle and a bamboo dish.. and can do just as well with the knife.
Pairing Knife is a great one for small things or veggies if you've already contaminated your chefs knife and don't have time to wash it.
the flexible deboning knife is good to run along bone edges and such and actually bends with the bone structure to get you more meat. they are also not as tall as a chefs knife so they turn and follow a arch easier inside a roast/
Bread Knife... if you can't figure this out, put the knives away and get out of the kitchen. I like mine serrated.
Consider 2 Chefs Knives.
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/forschner_fibrox.htm