United Cutlery made the Black Ronin Ninja Sword good enough to actually use, though it's an odd blend of jungle machete and wakizashi. Like the Black Ronin Tomahawk, the Ninja Sword looks like a fantasy weapon until you get up close. Then it's surprisingly real.

Made from one bar of ...

This strong metal 36.5-inch walking cane features a cast metal grip in the shape of small sketetal arms with a decorative screaming skull in poly-cast resin at the forefront of the handle. Unscrew the handle from the cane sheath and reveal a wicked 15.5-inch high carbon stainless steel sword ...

Heavy polearms like the Black Dragon Naginata are some of the most difficult weapons to recreate. Attaching the heavy scimitar blade to the shaft requires considerably more than just insertion, and even modern, all-metal welded versions often have serious problems with this. If you would like a pole weapon to hang ...

The Open Mouthed Dragon Claw Katana from Sword Demon is another interesting sword for the collector who finds inspiration in fantasy weaponry and is unconcerned with practical issues. The stainless steel blade comes unsharpened and was never intended for actual combat or even real-world cutting practice.

The cast metal fittings ...

With one of Smith & Wesson's easiest assisted opening systems, the S&W Military Police M.A.G.I.C. Scooped Tanto offers both tactical and emergency rescue features in a highly engineered but economical package. Manufactured to Smith & Wesson specifications in Taiwan, the knife is a good choice for anyone who needs ...

The Gerber Prodigy scales down the design of Jeff Freeman's tactical fixed blade, the LMF II. Still a large knife by civilian standards, the 9-3/4-inch Prodigy provides more than 4-3/4 inches of strong Sandvik 12C27 high carbon stainless steel. The combo edge serves well for quick cutting of straps and ...

If you need a knife heavy enough for chopping wood, the Ka-Bar 14-1/4-inch Bowie could be a match. The tactical black high carbon 1085 steel blade is flat ground and tempered to Rockwell 55 to 57 -- it's a strong edge that will even hold up to rocks without ...

Smith & Wesson's Military Police Magic Assisted Tanto shows good quality in an American-sponsored imported design. The Taiwanese makers of the Military Police Tanto put together good features and good materials. Tactical users may be tempted and anyone who needs a good urban survival knife should take ...

The Buck 303 Cadet condenses the blade selection of the Stockman series to a more convenient size for the pocket. The same three blades selected for the popular rancher's pocketknife are featured here as well. With the Buck 303, you get a 2-5/8-inch clip point main blade plus a ...

The large oval thumb loop in the Gerber EZ-Out DPSF S30V technically makes this a knife you can open with one hand. Though that's possible, most people will continue to use two hands when unfolding this 8-inch lockback. The four-inch combo serrated high carbon stainless steel blade ...

Like its namesake, the Kershaw Junkyard Dog II Pocket Knife isn't pretty, but it's tough. The Junkyard Dog II is a little lighter than its predecessor, the all-stainless-steel Junkyard Dog I. With textured handle slabs of G-10, it's also a lot friendlier to the hands.

This is another ...

Ka-Bar's Black Cutlass Machete reaches back to the roots of both designs, coming up with a new approach that works well for modern campers and adventurers. The 16-1/2-inch rat tail tang knife -- with 11 inches of 1085 high carbon steel cutting edge -- chops brush, slashes rope, and in ...

Master knife designer Steve Tarani partnered with the experts at 5.11 Tactical to develop the C.U.B. knife series, and the 5.11 Tactical C.U.B. Master Knife is just one of the interesting results. The claw -style cutting edge of the 2-3/4 inch blade -- made from S30V crucible steel -- ...

Now upgraded to include machine textured G-10 handle slabs, the new Crow offers improved handling in all types of weather. Opening the Spyderco Byrd Crow one-handed is possible. The trademark birds-eye loop in the blade responds even when your fingers are too numb to move -- it's certainly more ...

Sadly, this small fully automatic tactical knife is only for law enforcement, military personnel, and a very few other special groups. An automatic knife would always be in my pocket if that were not so -- the difference between an automatic and a fixed blade is something like ...

Jim Wagner's Reality Based Rescue Knife, manufactured by Boker of Germany, drastically revises the design of the usual rescue blade. The result is actually more tool than knife, with some real advantages if emergency rescue work is the main thing you intend for the RBR.

Many rescue knife designs build ...

I most appreciate the knives that take thought to comprehend, and the Cold Steel Espada V is a great example of a knife you won't completely get the first time you see it. Cold Steel continues to take chances and express some good ideas. This one is ...

The SOG FS01-N Fusion Spirit Knife combines belt knife and spearhead with options for attaching a full length shaft. Wear it on the belt in the knife-style nylon sheath and use the Spirit as you would any stout belt knife. If you need a long weapon, you have the option of ...

Survival knives usually try to do everything with one tool and wind up not being very good at any of it. The Schrade Extream Survival Knife is a better knife than most all purpose blades but has a few weak points.

The Extream is large (12.5 inches overall length) and heavy ...

The thick bolster makes this light skinner look heavy, but in the Buck Gen-5 Skinner Fixed Blade knife, Al Buck's old ideas have been updated and streamlined. Josh Buck -- the fifth generation of the Buck family to design fine hunting and skinning knives -- included all the ...

Cold Steel intended the Voyager series to be both lighter and better than any of the competition. The Voyager does succeed in many ways -- getting used to a large knife this light may take a while. Even with a five-inch-long tanto blade of VG-1 high carbon stainless steel, the ...

The Cold Steel Voyager Medium Tanto covers a wide range of everyday needs -- good for camping, fishing, hunting, and handyman work, although the tanto point traditionally was the mark of a combat blade. If one-handed opening is an essential feature you need, consider the strength of your hand. ...

Although it doesn't greatly resemble its predecessor, the Buck 278 Folding Alpha Hunter is the upgraded version of the very popular Buck 110 Folding Hunter. The Buck 278 with Guthook is different enough to be a whole new knife. If you see traces of the 110 here, you're ...

Victorinox's Restaurant Cleaver offers professional quality at a bargain price. The Forschner version of this traditional kitchen knife cuts back only a little on size and weight, resulting in a blade that matches the needs of modern home kitchens.

With a blade only 2-1/2 inches wide and 7 inches long and a ...

Finally, a serious boot/neck knife from Cold Steel -- previous offerings from that renowned self-defense company were not always up to Cold Steel's no-nonsense standards. This tanto-style knife, designed by Barry Dawson, is one of seven blade styles available and probably also the most sensible. The tanto blade was ...

Let's talk tackle boxes before bringing up the Buck Protege. If you fish, you probably do have a knife tucked away in the bottom compartment where everything gets wet and nasty. Not every knife will hold up to that, and probably you've stashed something cheap under the extra reel ...

A light but strong plain-edged knife well suited to everyday use, the Kershaw Scallion clips to your pocket and stays within reach. If you find yourself too busy to free both hands, the Speed-Safe feature designed by Ken Onion lets you open and close the stout blade with one ...

This plain and simple folder from Kershaw Ken Onion doesn't have any gimmicks or flash but works reliably. The Whirlwind's 3.5-inch Sandvik 13C26 stainless steel blade has a partially serrated edge for quick emergency cutting of rope, belts, or rigging. Textured injection-molded handle slabs are warm to the touch ...

Since the Buck Pathfinder only weighs 4.5 ounces, it's hard to argue that there's no need to take a full-sized knife with you on your longest walks. The Pathfinder's streamlined design puts a 5-inch high carbon stainless steel hollow ground blade in your hand with less overall weight and more ...

Wusthof's seven-inch Classic Straight Meat Fork lacks the problems you'll remember if you've used cheap carving forks. These long seven-inch tines of sharp forged high carbon stainless steel pierce even thick roasts and holiday turkeys without bending. The Wusthof Classic fork guides any good carving knife accurately for perfect ...

The Chef's Choice 450 two-stage diamond wheel knife sharpener allows even those chefs who don't like to sharpen knives to work with sharp blades. The bevel it produces and the quality of the cutting edge won't match professional standards, but many good cooks don't care so much about the steel ...

The 17.5-inch Magna Bar from J.A. Henckels offers compact knife storage which fits neatly in nearly any kitchen. Make use of space you've never used before while keeping your knives close to hand. It's a fine idea for small kitchens where restricted counter space won't allow a knife block.

Problems could ...

Tiger Claw's sharpened daito, or Japanese longsword, is certainly good enough for display or forms practice. The 440C stainless steel blade jumps up a grade from the usual 420C of display quality swords, a good move considering the extra length of this 41-inch weapon. Even in kata, the blade will undergo ...

The four knives in this Shun Classic 7-Piece Bamboo Block Asian Knife set all feature the Damascus style steel that gives Shun's VG-10 blades their superior edge-holding ability and strength. A central VG-10 layer forms the cutting edge and is hardened to Rockwell 61 -- excellent for sharpness, but ...

The classic black look of this Bushido 3-Piece Katana set is more in keeping with the character of that Japanese military tradition than are many of the colorful and garish sword sets created today for collection and display. Sleek black lacquered scabbards bound with black nylon cord complement ...

The United Cutlery version of Blade's Sword of the Daywalker doesn't include the classy back sheath that goes so well with Blade's black leather trench coat and black sunglasses. The Daywalker sword actually has the look and feel of a real weapon, but the flimsy leather sheath that only sometimes ...

The eight piece Ninja Warrior Sword from United Cutlery makes an interesting display piece even though the nondescript black cord wrapped handle and black scabbard aren't designed to attract attention. Though this compact weapons set isn't combat quality steel, it's good enough to be both functional and entertaining.

The 23-inch sword blade ...

Boker designed the original Automat Kalashnikov knife to resemble the clean engineering of the namesake Russian military rifle. This new version keeps to the same specs but replaces the textured handle grips with inlaid strips of cocobolo hardwood. Black anodizing of the blade and 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum handle gives this new ...

This starter set from Messermeister of Solingen, Germany, includes three of the most used knives in any kitchen. The eight-inch blade of the chef's knife covers most slicing, carving, and chopping work. The six-inch utility knife bones poultry and meat and comes in handy for sandwich prep. The paring knife with ...

Messermeister's Meridian Elite 6" boning knife overcomes one of the drawbacks of what is otherwise a very efficient forged pattern. Many of the older German cutlery patterns feature the same full bolster forged blades. That makes these old designs very strong, but the bolster does sometimes interfere with the work. In a ...

Built in the style of the workmen's pocket folding knives which first originated in the French village of Laguiole, these six steak knives mimic the design but not all the quality of this old French pattern. The full tang plain edged blades ground from stamped steel do flex with a ...

Fans of the Japanese anime TV series Naruto will instantly recognize the Kusanagi or grass cutter sword with which Sasuke Uchiha acquired his legendary Chidori Nagashi technique. Those who don't know the show will still find this a good basic katana even though it's inspired by a cartoon story. The ...

Inspired by the personal weapon of Miyamoto Musashi -- one of feudal Japan's greatest swordsmen and author of the famous book of strategy The Book of Five Rings -- this daito or long sword would have been used in conjunction with a shorter wakisashi. Musashi's dual weapon style saw him through ...

Practicing the movements of Iaido, the art of drawing the sword, traditionally involves a progression of weapons which gradually lead the swordsman to competence with a real blade. Iaito, like the Tsuru Iaito from CAS Hanwei, are the step below the real thing. Built to handle with the same feel and ...

Tactical knives come and go, some great ideas and some wanna-bes. I admit I'm skeptical when I see that knives are advertised as "in the hands of top field agents right now!" That's an easy claim to make and tough to back up. The biographies of the founders of TOPS ...

This 10.83-inch black combat dagger from Puma IP -- the international production branch begun in Spain in 2003 -- sports a double-edged 6" blade of 440C alloy high carbon stainless steel. Coated with black Teflon to prevent glare and increase corrosion resistance, the dagger is a no-nonsense concept for the ...

The UTX-70 from Microtech tones down the size of this automatic tactical design without skimping on quality. Made to the same exacting standards as Microtech's larger combat knives, the UTX-70 offers fully-automatic opening and closing at the push of a button. With a 2.4-inch partially serrated blade of 154-CM high carbon stainless ...

This handy knife sharpener, the Twinsharp from J. A. Henckels, is designed to do the same job as a honing steel without all the flash and flourish. Although the hardened steel and ceramic wheels of this gadget will do a fine job of resetting the edge of even old knives, ...

Heckler and Koch, manufacturers of top quality sidearms for military and police forces, put their brand on this collaboration from knifemaker and designer Mike Snody and the Benchmade Knife Company of Clackamas, Oregon. Beginning with Bali-song knives in 1990, Benchmade expanded into the tactical knife realm with a high tech and ...

I'm always skeptical when the knife gets reinvented -- knives have been around a very long time, and fundamental changes to the design are usually bad ideas. The Ginsu, represented here by the 8 Piece Stainless Steel Block Set, is marginally different, a product more famous for its flamboyant ...