Here's a very good, and affordable, knife set from KuchenStolz.  This set features stainless steel, dishwasher-safe construction.  The molded handles are comfortable to hold and will never rot, crack or warp like wood handles.  Another very important feature is the full tang construction which means that there is one solid piece of stainless steel from the tip of the blade all the way to the end of the handle.  This means very good balance - makes cutting a pleasure.  And, it will stay solidly assembled because of its triple riveting.

This set also includes an indispensible sharpening steel.  A sharpening steel realigns all the burrs on the edge of the blade back into a straight line.  This maintains sharpness without removing lots of metal like grinding sharpeners can. 

Finally, there is also a nylon cutting board included.  Nylon, like wood, won't dull the blades but won't harbor bacteria like wood.  Nylon also won't rot, warp or crack like wood, either.  The cutting board is a thinner, flexible type of board.