How are these knives? I am looking for atleast 1 good chief knife any advice?

These are good. For $28 you can't beat them.

I don't think I can cut through a shoe with any of my knives.

These are Ginsu! They might last awhile but they are NOT very sharp. I got a decent set of Anlon knives a couple of years back and they are far superior. No going back once you've used decent knives. Try the Anlon's at Costco for about 80 bucks. MUCH better quality!

#4 you miss the point. If you get Brand-Z for the price of Ginsu +-10%, then it's arguable. At more than 3x the cost, you're not dealing in the same "bargains" argument anymore.

#4, the knives in this block are serrated, so you can't really compare to "Anlon" (sic) knives.

I bought two sets of the newer Ginsu knives (similar to these) for people for Christmas. I was extremely impressed with their quality, but I recommend buying the set with the plastic handles vs. the "stainless" handles. Many reviewers online have issues with pitting/rusting of the handles if they're left damp - the plastic handles only have that problem with the rivets.

Instead of getting an 8-piece set for $28, get this 14-piece from Amazon with free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/Ginsu-International-Traditions-14-Piece-Natural/dp/B0006TJ7HM/ref=s12?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1263943454&sr=8-2

Hard to beat the reviews of the #1 selling knife set on Amazon!