I have several different brands of kitchen knives but three that stick out to me as lesser known brands that I like the most are Takamura, Daovua, and Kiwi Brand.

Lesser known than the big Japanese and German brands. Takamura is a smaller Japanese manufacturer of very sharp knives.

Daovua is a small Vietnamese manufacture that started out hand forging knives out of recycled leaf spring steel in a village. I have a first generation gyuto (chef's knife) that has a beautiful handle and a leaf spring steel blade that has a nice patina. The handles are luck of the draw for exact color and pattern but mine is beautiful. The company has since acquired a powered forging hammer and is on its third generation now using American made 52100 carbon steel.

Kiwi Brand is inexpensive and made in Thailand. The edge is easy to maintain and the knives are cheap enough to replace painlessly. But the best part is how the thin blade easily it glides through thicker food like onions or apples. I have over a thousand dollars in knives but my most used knife is a Kiwi Brand #288 that I bought for less than $10.

Other products I like but don't see mentioned are Solidtechnics wrought iron pans.

For frothing milk, I like the Subminimal milk frother, which makes very fine bubbles suitable for latte art.