To overcome my horror at myself, I read a lot about knives today.

One of the reviewers at Amazon is an enthusiastic hobby chef who owns a great many knives. He says the Calphalon compares favorably with the the much more expensive Henckels and Wusthof lines.

But for grinding everyday use and value, many of the writers at Chef Talk praise the Forschner/Victorinox line. Cooks Illustrated likes them, too. These are inexpensive and will wear out, but offer an excellent cutting edge and sharpen easily. These are made by the same people that make the Swiss Army knife.

Some chefs complain about the bolster, i.e. the metal ridge behind the blade, on some models of Henckels and the Calphalon. They say it prevents an even sharpening of the blades and will eventually impede the cutting action of the knives.

Our main collection is a Henckels set with the damnable bolsters. Starting again, I would go with the Forschners, provided they fit my hands.

Another thing the chefs said was to not buy a set. Different lines have different feels in different knives. They also recommend going to a brick and mortar store and handling knives before buying.

So there you go.

That was my distraction from being a flower murderer.

UPDATE: Then there are these.