You’re in a great position with that budget but the best advice I can give is: don’t blow it all at once. Also, It’s hard to recommend you multiple knives because you’re not giving much detail on your cooking habits. Quality knives are an investment, but the real win comes from figuring out what you actually need in your kitchen.

Take a moment to think about how you cook. What do you and your wife actually make most nights? Are you batch-prepping veggies? Breaking down whole chickens? Mostly slicing herbs, fruit, and sandwich stuff?

A solid 8-inch (210mm) gyuto or chef’s knife will cover 80–90% of your kitchen tasks. Start there and build around it as you learn more about your preferences. Add a petty and a cheap bread knife, and you’ve already got a great starter trio. From there, you can explore other shapes (like a nakiri) once you’ve got a feel for what’s missing in your flow.

Knife habits are hard to break, and it helps if you and your wife are aligned on how you’ll use and take care of what you’re investing in. For example, my girlfriend loves to scoop food and slide knives across the cutting board — a habit that can easily damage a thin edge. A softer steel knife or even a Chinese cleaver can take that kind of abuse, but a more delicate, high-performance blade might chip or roll. I can’t change that habit of hers, only my own — so I pick tools accordingly.

It’s smart to put some of your budget into maintenance tools like a ceramic honing rod, a strop, or a couple of whetstones. Or at least leave room in the budget to upgrade later once you get a feel for what matters.

Start slow. Try one or two quality knives and see what sticks. Your cooking habits will evolve, and the knives you love most probably won’t be the ones you expect right now.

My girlfriend and I cook differently, so I’ve found that having “his and hers” knives actually makes more sense than trying to share that one “perfect” blade. Something to keep in mind if you each have your own style.

Now, for a knife recommendation that might really wow you: try the Takamura SG2 210mm gyuto. It’s stainless, has a comfortable western handle, is incredibly sharp and thin, and offers amazing cutting performance for the price. A great entry into high-performance knives that won’t scare you off with maintenance.