Designed for Spyderco by Fred Perrin, a world-ranked martial artist and ex-French commando now making knives in Paris, this small fixed blade incorporates some excellent military ideas but still fits civilian use well. You'll find the sheath equally handy.

With a 3-1/2-inch clip point blade of VG-10 stainless steel and ...

This four-inch Shun Paring Knife is the all-steel version of one of the best paring knives available today. While the D-shaped handle may seem a little slick to some, it completely eliminates worries about crevices where bacteria could hide and gives the knife an unmistakably clean look. The four-inch blade ...

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 ten-piece block set in the Classic Chef pattern from Chicago Cutlery does not represent the best that China offers today. Out of this large assortment of imported standard kitchen knives, only the wooden knife block gets an honorable rating.

Serrated knives -- and all knives in this set are ...

The eight-inch Gourmet Carving Knife from Wusthof of Solingen, Germany, slices even large cuts of meat and poultry with precision. Laser-cut steel offers both economy and consistent value in this very modern series from a trusted German company.

What used to be considered stamped and cheap has become one of the ...

The Classic eight-inch cleaver from Wusthof of Solingen, Germany, may be finding a place in more kitchens now that chefs are looking for ways to reduce costs. If you're willing to buy larger cuts and do your own chopping, it's still possible to save a little money, but you'll need ...

Suppose you ignored the standard logic about what makes a good hunting knife and started out with fresh ideas -- if you looked at what materials are available today and what the typical hunter's needs really are, you could come up with the Buck 693BK Alpha Hunter Guthook.

This ...

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Remington went a little ways past the good idea that inspired the Sportsman Series Tectonic CTi. To make a full-sized skinner blade with the lightest materials possible is a reasonable project, but there's a lot about this knife that just seems ...

If you like Forschner cutlery but prefer the natural beauty of rosewood to the company's black indestructible Fibrox, the Rosewood Utility knife offers users the same economy and quality with traditional styling. With only slightly more care, the rosewood-handled utility knife should survive kitchen duty just as well as the ...

This heavy fighting knife -- drop forged from one piece of high carbon 440C stainless steel -- has good balance, although the green canvas micarta handle doesn't do much for its looks. A full tang build including a heavy forged bolster and hand guard give the Schanz Integral Dagger ...

The Petty Petit gyuko or chef's knife was created by the Kitasho Company of Seki City, Japan, a center of fine swordsmiths for 800 years. Kitasho began more recently in 1948 and manufactures a broad line of chef's cutlery and hunting knives built to Japanese specifications rather than toned ...

The Coast Grandpa knife -- made by Coast Knives of Portland, Oregon, but designed by Zweibruder (Puma Knives) -- shows the classic American Bowie pattern as influenced by European weaponsmiths. More a piercing weapon than a chopping blade, the upswept point and false dagger edge would be at home ...

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 ...

The collector's version of the Buck Gen-5 Skinner series designed by Josh Buck, great-grandson of the company founder, the Gen-5 Guitar Skinner with Cocobola hardwood handle is a limited edition of 1,000 numbered knives. Each purchase includes a Certificate of Authenticity verifying the knife's place in the series.

The basic ...

Two beautiful and rare woods form the handle of this full width, full tang hunting and skinning blade from Boker of Germany. Shaped to match the stainless steel bolster and fingerguard, two small slabs of Brazilian rosewood fill the forward section of the Elk Hunter's bolster. Full ...

Thick laser-cut steel and a cutting edge ice-hardened by J.A. Henckels' Friordur process makes the Twin Meat Cleaver strong enough for any tough chopping job in the kitchen. This is not a lightweight vegetable cleaver -- the blade of the Henckels chops through gristle, joints, and even heavy bone and ...

The knives from Puma's Solingen, Germany, factory always look more like weapons than the average factory-made knife, and the Puma Stag Skinner knife holds true to that. The 5-inch blade of the Puma Skinner may be technically a Bowie style, but it has the flair of a European dagger. ...

This hunter skinner knife from Boker of Germany will need more upkeep than blades with higher grades of steel. Made with 440A, the knife could be an excellent choice for fisherman, especially those who go after saltwater prey. One of the most corrosion resistant stainless steels, this alloy will ...

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 six-inch carving fork and eight-inch carving knife in the Wusthof Classic Carving Set bring hand forged quality and strength to the dinner service. This elegant pair has a rugged build that serves equally well in the kitchen. As much care went into the production of this tempered high ...

The J.A. Henckels International Traditional 4-Piece Steak Knife Set uses natural hardwood handle slabs that many will prefer over the usual dark polymer versions. Plastic composites may have much the same look as finished wood, but knives with composite handles never have the same feel.

The International Traditional series features high carbon ...

If you're looking for a well made set of four lightweight and slender steak knives, the J.A. Henckels International Classic Steak Knife Set is a good match. Forged blades and bolsters and full tang slab handles match the look of other knives in the Henckels Classic series, but without the bulk ...

The Henckels Gourmet 3-Piece Starter Set of three high carbon stainless steel knives pares back the complications of J.A. Henckels manufacturing to the bare minimum but still provides three very useful blades of good quality. The alloy steel matches Henckels' usual standards, but construction methods are much simpler ...

Wood, brass, and steel combine to form this six-piece Walnut Tradition Knife Block Set from Chicago Cutlery. Full tang high carbon stainless steel knives with simple walnut hardwood handle slabs have a frontier look and basic serviceability. The brass rivets holding handles to tangs are the only decoration.

How good ...

This eight-piece Metropolitan Knife Block set from Chicago Cutlery offers no-nonsense practical quality. Rated as a "Best Buy" by Consumer Reports Magazine in 2007, this Metropolitan set includes only the most basic knives. Many owners will choose to expand it, but the knife set is still a good start for a small ...

The briefcase-sized metal bound carrying case of this set holds three styles of sushi knives plus four reusable lacquered chopsticks and four ceramic chopstick holders. All pieces fit into cutouts in the foam liner, locked away securely until it's time to cut some fish.

Sushi knives have a distinctive look ...

Large game fish like salmon are too valuable to risk on inferior tools -- if you're lucky enough to need a way to slice smoked salmon this 11-inch cutting edge Wusthof Gourmet Salmon Slicer provides the method. Designed especially for thin precise cuts of delicate fish, the salmon slicer's plain edge ...

MIU France offers this four-piece pakkawood steak knife set without providing much technical information or even a description of warranty terms. The design of the knives in the set is very rustic and won't be out of place at most table settings. Large handles and wide blades offer a ...

This Wusthof Classic Santoku 6-Piece Block Set switches the classic European chef's knife for the classic Japanese santoku -- which more and more of us are discovering to be the real workhorse of the modern kitchen. More specialized than the versatile cook's or chef's knife, the slimmer and more efficient ...

These three knives from Chicago Cutlery's Signature series are about as simple as good knives get. The design is completely functional and could have come from any American frontier kitchen. The black walnut hardwood handle slabs and brass rivets create durable grips for the full tang high carbon stainless steel ...

This bird's beak paring knife from J.A. Henckels features the same rugged slab handle build and full tang high carbon stainless steel as the larger knives in the Henckels line. The bird's beak has a very specialized function. Designed for curved peeling and shaping of garnishes and fruits, the ...

Four good knives plus a sharpening steel and a hardwood storage block, the Calphalon Traditional 6-Piece Block Set keeps to the basics. Some of the features you'd see in the German-made Calphalon knives have been trimmed out of this Chinese version of an old German pattern, but the results are functional ...

Chicago Cutlery's Insignia Stainless Steel twelve-piece block set offers a low cost alternative to all metal knives from top modern manufacturers. Made in China, the Insignia series includes taper ground plain cutting edges, gap-free construction, and weight-saving hollow steel handles.

What looks like a satin finish version of today's best knife construction ...

Lighter and harder than European forged steel knives, Yoshikin Global cutlery outperforms heavyweight German patterns in many ways. Using these fine blades does require some adjustment in technique, but most chefs will find it worth the trouble. Older knives won't be obsolete in your kitchen, but you'll love these for ...

Wusthof's Culinar knives offer drop forged Solingen steel from tip to tang, with a lighter build than most forged designs and a modernistic stainless steel handle design. This set of three good knives covers most kitchen tasks well, handling nearly everything but heavy chopping. Though chefs will need special purpose ...

Using the same solid construction as the Henckels Twin Professional Series chef's cutlery, this four-knife steak set brings traditional quality and style to the dining table. Triple-riveted polymer handle slabs enclose the full tang of the one-piece drop forged knife set with the durability and practicality of Henckel's prep knives. The ...

One good chef's knife does a lot for the kitchen, easing all kinds of prep work from slicing vegetables to carving meat and even mincing herbs. In skilled hands, every part of the chef's knife efficiently performs a different essential task. The Meridian Elite Chef's Knife from Messermeister of Solingen, Germany, ...

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 ...

The Henckels Classic series still uses the steel alloy developed by J. A. Henckels for its distinctive high performance cutlery. This unique blend of carbon, chromium and other trace elements creates the backbone of this drop forged carving set. A slim carving knife with an eight-inch blade backed up by a stout six-inch ...

Though this isn't the forged pattern many expect from the established German knifemakers like Wusthof, there's quality here of a different kind. Streamlined methods and improved steel alloys create knives which are lighter and thinner than the old builds. One piece of chrome molybdenum vanadium steel makes both blade and ...

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 ...

From Tramontina of Brazil, this 7-piece professional cutlery block set will impress you with its solidly drop forged full tang blades. Many modern manufacturers use thinner blade stock that results in lighter knives. These old style blades could be more than you need for many prep and slicing tasks, but there's little chance ...

Since I don't think that a good steak needs to be cut with a huge knife, this four knife set of high carbon stainless steel steak knives from J.A. Henckels appeals to me. Knives like this fit into a dinner service visually and don't give the impression that the food ...

A starter set like the Henckels Twin Pro S 3-Piece set might be all the knives you need for a long time. The Pro series uses high carbon stainless steel, drop forged and ice-hardened for greater strength and a long lasting edge. Whether the extra weight and strength is ...

One of the most interesting of the old Chinese weapons, butterfly knives originally were carried concealed beneath the robes of monks. Old accounts say that only the tips were sharpened, allowing monks to use the double short swords in self defense without killing their opponents. Original movements designed for the ...

The Wusthof Trident Classic Tomato Knife solves a consistently frustrating kitchen problem that only bothers some people. Tomato knives aren't essential tools unless you spend your days behind a deli counter making sandwiches. For the rest of us, they're a convenience. Some would even feel guilty for owning one, except that ...

Henckels International products differ considerably from the traditional Henckels knives. The first impression here is lightweight -- compared to the heavy forged blades from the German branches of the company. The 7-piece International Fine Edge Pro comes from Japan, and the construction methods use stamped steel and welded handles -- ...

Even though eight of the knives in this 26-piece knife block set from Wusthof are steak knives, many home chefs could be overwhelmed by this many choices of working blades. Minimalists will find the collection excessive, but part of the draw is the ability to tackle any recipe and have 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 ...