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 ...

Designed to never need sharpening, the knives in this block set from Chicago Cutlery feature thick stamped high carbon stainless steel blades with serrated edges. The set is a tempting mix of good values and troublesome ideas.

The Basics 25-piece Wood Block Set, made in China to Chicago Cutlery's specifications, includes ...

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 ...

Designed by Bill Moran, one of the founding fathers of the American Bladesmith Society, Spyderco's Bill Moran drop-point, fixed blade knife provides adventurous knife owners with important modern features seldom found in traditional belt knives. Also find Moran's signature etched in the blade.

This 8-1/16-inch-long hunting and survival knife ...

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 ornate two-handed longsword represents the sword of King Solomon. The Medieval Crusader Knight's sword is constructed in the style of weapons that a medieval knight might have used during the Crusades. The 440 high carbon stainless steel blade shows intricate laser-cut etchings and a false edge in a quality ...

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 ...

Since today's pirate cutlasses are usually part of a costume rather than battle weapons, you'll want to consider the Pirates of Caribbean Cutlass Sword with Basket Guard. This cutlass is clearly an accessory rather than a fighting cutlass, but it does offers some good features at a reasonable price.

The Cutlass ...

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 ...

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 Celtic Dress Sword from General Edge includes modern interpretations of the old features of this ancient European blade. The result is a display sword with a good overall look.

The crescent moon motif that forms the sword's hilt and pommel fits the modern idea of what a Celtic sword ...

This eight-piece bamboo block set from Shun offers knives from the Shun Classic series, with the focus on chef's knives rather than santoku. If you prefer the traditional European cook's knife style but also want the superior steel and cutting ability of Shun's Damascus blades, this set was designed ...

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 ...

The Buck 279BK Folding Alpha Hunter offers the best features of the Alpha Hunter fixed blade in a drop point folder style. If you've dressed out enough game in your life that you don't need a gut hook, skip the Buck 278 and get this one -- the same ...

The Birds Beak Paring Knife from Shun handles difficult tasks many chefs don't find essential. If your cooking includes sculpted fruits and vegetables, exotics like Bride's Tears potatoes, or even the common ginger root, you'll find the Shun Birds Beak Paring Knife very handy.

Peelers are built for straight and ...

The Buck 179 Mayo Hilo, designed by Tom Mayo, took inspiration from the surf and the sharks of the Hawaiian coast. The Hilo is all about sleek lines, light weight, and shark-tooth efficiency.

The bead blasted finish may have been intended to simulate sharkskin, but you'd probably not make that ...

If I ever need a replacement for the Buck 110 that's in my pocket right now, I'll probably go for the upgrade: the Buck 110FG Folding Lockback Hunter with Finger Grooves. I hope the Buck Company stops trying to improve this knife beyond that minor change, because it's an idea ...

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 ...

Buck explains the 183CM Camo Alpha Crosslock (PBS) as a Portable Butcher Shop. Although the small size of this knife also works well for small game, the bone saw blade makes field dressing larger animals like deer possible as well. If you hunt quail, you'll need Buck's regular bird ...

Remington's Barlow Bullet pocket knife adds decorative special features to this new version of a knife style that has been a part of American history since its import from England in the 1600's. Both the company name and the Remington cartridge logo are integrated in the design as an ...

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 ...

Kershaw's Whiskey Gap Lockback Folder has a nice look about it, with some of the old functionality of the Barlow popular in America's early days but cleaned up a bit with subtle modern refinements. The single clip point 2-1/4-inch blade of AUS6A high carbon stainless steel lifts by the thumb ...

The slip joint style pocket knife -- like the Puma Stockman Stag -- used to be the standard pocket blade for ranchers, farmers, and outdoorsmen. Three blades covered most common purposes no matter what the profession, and if the tip broke off one of them, it also counted ...

Shun Cutlery's Classic Carving Set brings that company's famous VG-10 Damascus style stainless steel to the dinner service. The look is the same as that of Shun's other chef's knives, with an elegant and simple ebony-style pakkawood handle and a forged stainless steel blade.

Both knife and fork provide ...

The Skeleton Chaser Fantasy Axe from General Edge could have dropped from the hands of a fallen orc warrior. Though the handle is aluminum, there's plenty of high level sharp stainless steel in this twin-bladed fantasy battleaxe.

If you haven't seen this axe up close, you may expect a larger ...

Buck's calls the 192BK Vanguard the company's classic field knife for big game hunters. If the biggest thing you hunt is a deer, the Vanguard works just fine for that, too. Buck combines a 4-1/8-inch-long hunter/skinner hollow ground blade with both traditional and modern materials and comes up with a ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

A 3-3/8-inch knife with a 2-3/8-inch blade probably shouldn't be referred to as a folding hunter, but the Buck 55 comes very close to living up to that standard anyway. The Buck 55 is actually the pocket knife version of the Buck 110, which is the largest folding ...

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 ...

The Case Old Red Bone Baby Butterbean knife has been around since the days when pocket knives were essential tools of everyday tradesmen. Still popular with today's professionals, this 2-3/4-inch folding knife has no frills beyond quality materials and high standards.

According to Case, the 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 ...

Available in 60, 65 and 75-centimeter lengths, the Mountain Axe by Omega Pacific follows the principles the company set for itself years ago in its effort to produce high quality climbing gear at an affordable price. High tech manufacturing procedures and top quality components lower the cost but ...

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 ...

The Kershaw Alaskan Blade Trader System avoids combining all the blades you need for skinning and butchering big game by offering three interchangeable blades which fit to one handle. Instead of a massive hunter style with saw tooth back and gut hook tip, the Kershaw system provides separate blades performing ...

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 ...

Since the styles are so similar, I'm immediately tempted to compare this to the Buck Folding Hunter series -- but when I do, I'm a little bit disappointed in Buck. Every time I compare something American to what should be the same knife from Puma of Solingen, Germany, I ...

The 4-ounce Case Trapper #0783 has been a popular and dependable choice for ranchers, farmers, and the rest of us for several decades. The Trapper's spey and clip blades, slightly under 4 inches long, close to a folded length of 4-1/8 inches. Red bone handle slabs could be ...

This plain edge version of the Boker Magnum has a solid feel even though it's only 3.5 ounces in weight. The machined aluminum handle gives it considerable strength, and the action is smooth and accurate. The top locking system uses a plunge lock button that won't release until solidly ...

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 Deni Electric Food Slicer Pro II quickly slices vegetables, fruits, and meats for sandwiches and salads and can be a great labor-saver in the kitchen, as well as a way to trim pounds and dollars by measuring accurate food portions. At the lower end of the slicer range ...

Good knives are one of those personal possessions which just increase in importance the more used they get. Pull a good pocket knife out to cut an apple or whittle a tent stake, and you can look back to every day that put every scratch and dent and ...