There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-Fibrox-Chefs-Knife-8-Inch/dp/B000638D32/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1510244580&sr=8-3&keywords=victorinox%2Bknife&th=1
Not too expensive, good steel so it will hold an edge, and easy to maintain.
something like this this would do you well till you decide to truly become serious.
https://www.ronco.com/six-star-cutlery-30-piece.html
for everything else, wisk, spatula and perhaps a good tool to remove skin from potatoes. But a good knife, you will never go wrong.
Just remember, sharpen before every use.
https://m.macys.com/shop/product/j.a.-henckels-international-classic-honing-steel-10?ID=807206&pla_country=US&CAGPSPN=pla&CAWELAID=120156340000229753&CAAGID=39133853490&CATCI=pla-382888250108&CATARGETID=120156340018358385&cadevice=m&cm_mmc=Google_Home_Cookware_PLA-_-Cookware-Cutlery_j.a.+henckels-_-201694207634-_-pg2000167_m_kclickid_e3acbe63-63dd-401e-b073-34c8d7748c92&trackingid=439x2000167&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7tW257a11wIVApJpCh0HewAmEAQYASABEgJdj_D_BwE
I prefer this over stones.
For most people I'd recommend Chef's Choice sharpeners. They make some easy to use and effective sharpeners. The manual ones with rolling diamond grit wheels are my favorite. They will cost more than inexpensive knives but will give a decent working edge with minimum effort or skill. The company also makes motorized sharpeners. Those are fast and more expensive. They will also remove a lot of steel from your knife if you don't use them carefully.
Carborundum whet stones are cheap and will work, though they require much more skill to use. Chef's will use more expensive Arkansas stones or Japanese water stones. Those give the best edge but require quite a bit of skill to get full benefit from. Those only make sense to use with better quality knives.
Do not get one of those awful pull through sharpeners. You are starting with an affordable knife so you can learn on it, in more ways than one. If you plan to buy a decent knife down the road you will regret developing the dependency on a pull through sharpener.
Get yourself a wet stone and learn. A cheap two sided stone is a good starting point. Or one of the Lansky kits is a great start too. If you learn to maintain a cheap blade you won't be afraid to maintain an expensive one if you do eventually get one.