sharp things
Here's a short, interesting article on hybrid chef knives. It explains a little bit about different blade shapes, hardness, and grinds. I've never used a Japanese knife before (or any single bevel* blade, I think), but they're supposed to be very, very nice. FWIW, straight razor bevels are usually between 13-15 degrees, so a 15 degree bevel on a knife is very skinny and a fifteen degree single bevel is tiny. I've heard of razors being used to make sushi at home b/c they slice fish so neatly.