Few people with an interest in swords have no interest in how to use them. Most collectors will not become highly skilled, but those who do want to learn the basics should follow the wise training regimens and start with something that isn't deadly. In the Japanese style, that ...

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 ...

First, out of respect to the height-challenged Hobbit race, I will have to point out that the Lord of the Rings Sting Dagger is actually a sword. The Sting may be a little short by human standards, but any true Tolkien fan should know that the Sting was the ...

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 ...

Though it's certainly not an authentic design, this 30-1/4 inch Celtic Sword is solidly built and has enough artistic quality to find a place on the collector's wall. The stainless steel blade shows a central blood groove and flared spear point more typical of video game swords than real ...

There are Bowie-style knives, and then there are real Bowie knives. The Coast 14-inch Bowie Knife is a real Bowie -- maybe a little small by frontier standards, but still big enough to perform the way the originals did. With nine inches of one-quarter-inch-thick 440C high carbon stainless ...

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 ...

Three of the most often-used field dressing tools combine in the Mossy Oak hardwood handled 3-blade Folding Knife from Browning. The Mossy Oak Folding Knife offers hunters a compact field dressing knife set, small enough to carry in the pocket. It's an unusual knife with blades that could ...

The frontier look of the Buck Special dates back to the days when Buck Knives was a two-man shop. This striking bowie pattern evolved from one of the most popular knives made by Hoyt and Al Buck when they built every knife themselves by hand. The blade is a ...

This 12 by 9 by 5-inch beechwood knife block from Wusthof of Solingen, Germany, takes up little counter space and provides convenient storage for seven knives, a honing steel, and kitchen shears. With an assortment of slot sizes, the block holds a chef's knife or santoku, carving, and pastry knives ...

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 ...

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 ...

The J.A. Henckels Twin Pro S nine-piece block set offers a nearly complete set of chef's cutlery ranging from the most basic paring blades to a full-sized santoku and chef's knife. The Twin Pro series combines many of the best features of forged patterns with stock removal methods ...

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 ...

Most knife blocks provide space for mid-sized and smaller knives but no place for cleavers. This massive birch hardwood knife block from Fernanda has room for a full-sized meat cleaver and also three large chef's knives or santokus. With 22 slots in all, there's space here for everything but kitchen ...

A full two feet long and sixteen inches wide, the J.K. Adams BBQ-2416 Maple Barbeque Board provides enough room to carry a large turkey without overlapping the edges of the board. Juices and sauces stay on the tray, caught by the trough milled into the circumference of this large ...

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 ...

The J.K. Adams BBQ-1612 Maple Barbeque Board isn't a cutting board, even though it's made from the same solid rock maple hardwood that constitutes some of J.K. Adams finest. This board was built for barbecue carving and serving and has gone through several important design changes since its conception.

Now ...

With several wide slots for larger knives, the Emerilware Wüsthof 17 Slot Knife Storage Block offers very stable and convenient storage for nine kitchen knives, a honing steel, kitchen shears, and six steak knives. The prep knives lie flat for best edge care, and steak knives fill a row of vertical ...

Cooks always acquire cookbooks, but most books aren't built of materials that survive well in the kitchen. Instead of ruining the printed words of your favorite chef with butter and sphagetti sauce spatters, try this solidly built and attractive cookbook stand from Bartelt.

The cookbook stand, 12.5 inches wide by 11 inches tall ...

Viking's 9-Slot Knife Block offers room for a wide selection of prep knives, with eight slots available for paring, slicing, and carving and six more base slots for a set of steak knives. The wood strips laminated together for this solid hardwood storage block are rock maple, one ...

The striking appearance of this 6-slot Knife Block with four steak knife slots from Viking -- makers of professional quality cutlery -- catches the eye and remains completely functional. The routed center bead separating the two main slot rows only decorates the block but gives it a clean modern ...

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 ...

Created by the Catskill Craftsmen Company of Stamford, New York, this laminated solid hardwood turntable features a strong lip helpful in keeping small items on board and retaining spills. This established American firm -- in business in the same location in the Catskill Mountains since 1948 -- builds with renewable ...

This 38 piece Knife Block set plus an assortment of kitchen tools won't match the quality of Wusthof, Victorinox or Henckels. Actually it won't match the usual offerings from Sabatier, the company which contracted the Chinese production of this full-scale kitchen tool assortment.

Handles of measuring cups and spoons are held on ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Along with the high-tech Twin Select knives in this 7-piece Block Set, Henckels gives the home chef room to expand with four unused slots and a space for kitchen shears in the oval granite-finished hardwood block. Three different grades of high carbon stainless steel welded seamlessly together create blades, bolsters, ...

The Henckels Four Star 9-Piece Knife Block Set provides all the fundamental cutting tools the average chef needs, along with a space-saving countertop hardwood knife block. Polypropylene handles and the trusted stain-free high carbon Friodur blades give cooks the option of fast dishwasher cleaning. Edges and finish last ...

The J. K. Adams ID-616 (top tray of the three shown) also comes in unfinished pine, so check the product when it arrives to make sure you've received the much superior Vermont maple version. Sixteen-and-a-half inches long by nine wide, the two-inch thick maple knife rack slides in one side ...

At 20" x 15.9" x 1" and almost eight pounds, the Gripperwood Cutting Board from ArchiTEC has nearly enough size and heft to stay in place on its own, but ArchiTEC makes it even more stable by embedding high friction feet in each corner. The wide mat-style feet keep the board ...

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 ...

This Wusthof Grand Prix II 8-piece Block Set is a practical assortment of knives that will cover most ordinary kitchen chores -- it's a good choice for starting out, and the block has room for expansion with three extra kitchen knife slots and six steak knife slots.

The Grand Prix ...

This 22-slot knife block plus paring knife from Wusthof of Solingen, Germany, is hardly enough to equip a kitchen, but if you have a set of good knives already or need a storage system for new ones, it's a wonderful way to organize your kitchen.

The paring knife is an afterthought, ...

Wusthof's Grand Prix II six-piece Knife Block Set is a good starter block that's a little short of essential tools. The knives are high
quality and built in a well-tested pattern, but the set is missing both favorites and necessities.

If you start out with this set you'll soon ...

Henckels's Twin Five Star 9-Piece Knife Block Set combines the blade of the Four Star series with a new ergonomic molded handle design engineered to fit any size hand comfortably. Full tang construction is fully concealed by the smooth molded polymer handles but still provides the leverage and strength ...

Five high quality chef's tools and a sharpening steel, plus a fine hardwood 10 slot knife block--with this set from J. A. Henckels you get all the essentials and room for more. The assortment includes a 4" paring knife, 5" serrated utility knife, 7" Santoku knife, 8" Chef's knife and a ...

In nearly any home kitchen counter space is at a premium. The Wusthof Under Cabinet Swinger Knife Block tackles that problem by stowing knives safely under a cabinet or counter in a beautiful oak hardwood knife block. The nine slot swinger safely stores eight chef's knives in an assortment ...

The Mountain Man Lockback from Queen Cutlery is nearly big enough to match the simple functionality of a small sheath knife, but folds in pocketknife style for easy carry. Built with the strength for heavy work, the lockback function provides security under load, eliminating that extra thought (reminding yourself it ...

Our previous Last Samurai sword set was a three-piece work of art. However, if three-piece display sets aren't what you're looking for, and you'd rather save some cash to go with a single-sword factory-sharpened set, try this Sword Of Battle replica.

It's made from good quality 440 stainless steel and ...

Many different collectible weapons have surfaced from the popular Japanese anime show Naruto. This is the Kusanagi, wielded by the Sannin Orochimaru. The Kusanagi is more commonly known as a grass cutter sword, so you may see it listed as such.

This sword is popularized mainly by Naruto's "emo kid" Sasuke. His ...

So if you're one of those freakishly talented people who are able to juggle knives and swords and flaming batons, much less juggle anything at all, I'm already jealous. Granted I've spent maybe two measly minutes of my life attempting to juggle, but those precious two minutes taught me that a ...

This Classic Bowie Knife really takes you back to the days when most men in a western town could be seen with a blade sheathed on their hip. It is a beautiful example of the blade design originally commissioned by famous frontiersman Jim Bowie. The Bowie knife was thought up ...

The name Thiers-Issard embodies a sense of class and refined living when it comes to traditional shaving. Historically speaking, the company has been making quality products ever since the late 1800s, and still holds on to many of its manufacturing techniques. Many of these razors are mass-produced. But some still exist ...

As far as Italian kitchen cutlery goes, you can't get much better than LamsonSharp's pizza cutter here. The quality is professional-grade, plus the LamsonSharp warranty is one of the best you'll find.

This foot-long pizza rocker is from the Pro Walnut series, and as such, features quality handles made from genuine walnut wood. Walnut ...

Precious stones, custom craftsmanship, and a durable framework make this Trapper by Buck Knives aptly suited for proud display or occasional use, whichever the case may be.

As far as functionality goes, the Custom Trapper's 3.5-inch frame shouldn't pose any difficulties. It comes with two different kinds of blades: a spey blade ...

Here's the original Hero's Axe, not the antiqued version, by Hanwei designer Paul Chen. This original model is beautifully embellished and polished, and honestly would look a lot better mounted for display than the antiqued Hero's Axe, making it a much better choice in our opinion. The biggest reason for ...

Looking at this knife I thought, hmm, that's familiar--and of course it would be, because it's an old design, the "nothing fancy" kind of knife that used to be common, dependable and reasonably priced. The reason I remember it, though, is that my grandmother had one just like it -- ...