We cook a great deal and my wife works in the hospitality sector, so knows a thing or two about kitchen knives.
First things first, NEVER put decent kitchen knives in the dishwasher, and same goes for anything that's non-stick. The UK has the most aggressive diswasher tablets you can get, so whilst they are very good at washing glasses and plates, they blunten knives and destroy non stick items very quickly.
In terms of knife brands, to a degree as long as they are a decent brand, the rest is up to you - metal handles like Global are good, as the poster above says, Victorinox are also great. For us we chose Wusthof and Mac, both of which we have been really happy with.
Finally, the key to a good kitchen knife is not just about brand, but also to keep them sharp. I am hopeless with a sharpening steel, so a friend bought us a motorised knife sharpener (below) that I use little and often (about once a month) on all of our knives. It takes about ten minutes to do all of them, and they stay in tip top condition. Always tell everyone when you have sharpened them however, as they are VERY sharp when newly done!!
Jonny
https://www.kitchenknives.co.uk/by-bran ... 5IQAvD_BwE