With a good knife, cooking becomes a magnificent art form. With a bad knife, it becomes a brutish chore. Viking cutlery gives you the tools to cook masterpieces. Each knife and sharpening steel in the 22-piece collection is handmade by master craftsmen in Solingen, Germany. After the hand-forging, the blades are ice-hardened, and finally hand-ground to provide a razor-sharp edge. Truly arduous process. But dice one clove of garlic, and you'll find it's well worth it. No forcing or sawing, just a clean slice - the way a knife's meant to work. Oddly enough, the sharper your blade, the less likely it is to fillet your fingers ina fit of frustrated hacking. Blades contain high carbon-chromium vanadium. Not only does this outstanding allow allow for an extremely sharp blade, it retains its sharpness. It's also extremely strong and resists stains and rust. We recommend cleaning your knives as they are made - by hand. The blade is a solid piece, running through the handle to the butt. This not only makes the knives much sturdier - it perfectly balances them in your hand, which greatly simplifies chopping.