knives

I agree with Chef June and others above but I think, as you suspect, that's a lot of money to spend for a knife. Much of what you're paying for with many knives is marketing, plus sometimes a portion goes toward art and beauty. If that all is worth the price and you can afford it, it's money well spent on a tool you'll use every day. Well, at least until it's stolen again.

If it were me, I'd take advantage of the chance to take another look around, knowing what you know now. Many pros (Thomas Keller as a point of reference) use Macs. And many in the trade choose Victorinox (aka Forschner) -- top quality tools but an entire working set might cost less than a single Shun, Wusthof or the like.

Brandon, if you love it, I would recommend replacing it exactly. Everyone's hands, feel is different. What is perfect for you doesn't need to be perfect for anyone else. I might go to a couple of stores and try out a few different knives, but in the end I suspect you'll replace that Shun.

I also hate the globals because the handle- to me- is insanely uncomfortable and gives me blisters when doing hours of prep work or vegetable cuts, the shuns, while expensive, and especially the fuji I find to have a lot of well thought out nuances that make it a supremely practical knife

A lot of people like Globals, because they're so light, but they drive me crazy because they don't have any weight to them. I love my Shuns and think they're worth the price - the Shun Classics are not terribly expensive, and are still light without floating away in your hand.

Global ! Just hold one and you will be convinced.

Carter knives are exquisite. We have a Carter chef's knife, and it's by far our favorite knife. I'm not sure on the price because it was a gift, but I believe they run in the $400-$500 range.