Reddit mentions of Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged Chef's Knife, 8 Inch

Throwing in my hat into the ring. My favorite knife over the last 5 years has been my Mercer chef's knife. Good balance and feel (for me) and cheap. Great for most kitchen tasks. Picked mine up at restaurant supply but here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OOQZMY

The best advice i can give is to pick a meal you like and want to know how to make, google a recipe/find a video, and research any terms you don't know. Then just try making it. Taste frequently while cooking and follow the recipe and it will be good. Repeat. Its really not hard, and after a while you will have all the fundamental techniques down and it start to just make sense. At that point you can really start to have fun experimenting with flavors and making your own recipes. I hope that helps

Edit: Also having the right equipment helps. You don't need a $200 Shun chefs knife but a $35 Mercer is much better than one from Walmart. A decent plastic or wood cutting board, and a basic set of pots, pans and bakeware plus what ever is called for by your recipe. If it calls for something overtly expensive goggle it someone has most likely found a cheap way to do it.

You don't need a set, you only need a few decent knives: a chef's knife, a paring knife, and a serrated knife for bread. Maybe a fillet knife but unlikely.

I use this chef's knife, which is high-quality and inexpensive. The Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch also has a very strong cult following. However, you can also easily spend $100-200 for a good German or Japanese knife like Wusthof, Henckels, Global, etc.. The two most important things however are:

1. It feels good in your hand. If you're going to spend that kind of money I would definitely recommend going to a store (like Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma) and trying out a few to see what feels right. For $35 I was willing to take my chances on the Mercer and it worked out well.
   
   
2. Keep it sharp! I noticed you said it feels "dull and unbalanced". Great that you noticed those are two different but related things. Every time you use your knife, you should be honing it on a honing steel. Honing it trues the blade, meaning aligns the edge down the knife's centerline. Eventually, even honing it won't be effective, because the knife edge itself is dull. This means you should have the knife sharpened, which is typically done once every 6 months-1 year. Sharpening removes material so it shouldn't be done too often. I recommend going to a professional hand sharpening service which will typically do it for about $10-15 per knife. Some people do it themselves at home with a stone, but in my opinion this is not worth it and too easy to screw up.

They're light, not small. Even the larger Victorinox knives seem light to me. That said, if you want to buy a similar heavier knife, buy them Mercers.

I ignored the advice for getting the Victorinox that everyone recommends and got a Mercer Culinary "Genesis" chef's knife. Excellent knife for about the same price. And it actually looks nice, unlike the Victorinox, in my opinion. Mercer supplies the knives to many cooking schools in the US.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000OOQZMY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

They're available on Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY/ref=sr_1_1

They make a cheaper stamped blade too, though I haven't used it.

Her favorite knife is called a petty. In Russian it has another name - the ladies' favourite, and for a good reason.

The "proper" way for your girlfriend to move forward would be to buy a chef's knife and learn how to use it. However, she may not be willing to learn.

Perhaps you should show her some knife porn an educational video like this one and look at her reaction? Then buy her either a decent chef or a decent petty.

As for the brands, the best chef's knife that fits your budget on amazon.co.uk seems to be a Mercer - closed heel, open heel.

If you choose to buy a petty, you can get her a classic Wusthof, or a wider Japanese-inspired Wusthof. An interesting budget option is Tescoma AZZA. The brand is meh, but this line of knives is said to be good.

I'd recommend the Mercer Genesis 8" Chef Knife, the handle is a lot nicer than the cheap plastic grip on the Victorinox knives. It's also a dollar and half cheaper. It'll last you decades if taken care of, I still use mine from 9 years ago.

Maybe go with the Victorinox paring knife for the price and any cheap serrated knife will be fine for bread, maybe one of the ones you already have.

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY

I had a friend that went to culinary school who said they were what came with the price of admission and she hated them, but I love it.

Here's mine.

If you want the price of the Victorinox but the sturdier forged blade of the Wusthof consider getting a Mercer. It is German steel and it seems to be a good blade. I have a couple of Wusthof chef knives and I have a 10" Victorinox chef's knife and I wish I had known about the Mercer when I bought the Victorinox. I did end up buying the Mercer for my brother this past Christmas and I enjoyed the weight and feel of the knife and so did he. That would be my top recommendation for a good knife for a good price.

I've never had a Victorinox, but I really enjoy my Mercer blades. At $30 for the 8" blade styles, they are great beginner knives. Had mine for 4 years now and have never had a complaint.
Couple of the prep cooks at the restaurant I worked at had Mercer sets and also loved them. Great quality for the price.
8" chef knife
Mercer Genesis collection

I like this one over the Victorinox.

Victorinox is fine. Wusthof is awesome but Mercer (same steel as Wusthof, but less thrills on the finish) is my first choice at a reasonable price.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOQZMY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2UB5W2RPVSSOV&coliid=I3SQF0CAZSIM1L

I've had one of these for about 4 years, and it's been awesome. It's very comfortable and well-balanced. I get it sharpened regularly and hone it often.

https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-8-Inch-Forged/dp/B000OOQZMY

This is the smaller version of the knife I used in culinary school. I still have the 10in version. it's a quality knife, if not as well known as some other brands.

I have a set of these Mercer knives and they are awesome. Apparently they are common culinary student knives, typically sold in restaurant supply stores not consumer stores. Not under $25 but a great knife for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421252538&sr=8-1&keywords=mercer+chefs+knife

I have the Tojiro DP that was the standard recommendation. I also got my Mom the Fibrox, which is good but I didn't love it.

I actually got the Mercer Genesis as something I could take with my if I was cooking somewhere else and wouldn't be heartbroken if I left it. I actually really like it and find myself reaching for it more than anything else.

I haven't used that many others to compare with, but I really like this one thats about the same price as a Victorinox.

http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-Genesis-Forged-Chefs/dp/B000OOQZMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410814095&sr=8-1&keywords=mercer+8+inch+chef+knife

It's crazy sharp.

Thirding this. I have all Mercer steel and I really like them. Here's the knife we're talking about. Not hugely expensive either, which is a big plus. (Like the Swedish flag but more slicy.)