I've purchased several brands of knives through the years but the ones I always reach for are my Wusthof knives. They fit well in my hand, they're weighted well and if you take care of them properly, they'll last you for years. I suspect someday my son will inherit my collection of Wusthof knives to add to his own. When he first moved away from home, I immediately started him out with some of the "basics" which he's added to as time went on.
Never ever put your knives in the dishwasher. I don't care if they do say you can. Don't! And never sharpen them on your own. It's money well spent to find and take them to someone who has sharpened knives for 20 years or more. I drive over an hour to take all my knives once a year to be sharpened by the same man the past 18 years. Doing it yourself will greatly shorten the life of any knives. You wouldn't ask the corner mechanic to overhaul your Maserati and likewise you should want the best care for fine German knives such as Wusthof.
If you've never used a bird's beak paring knife, it will change your feeling about prepping any round fruit like apples. They make thinly cutting just the outer peel of citrus fruits easier than you can imagine! This set of three paring knives is a very useful set and you'll wonder what took you so long to come over to the Wusthof brand!