Where it is necessary for a knife to conform to shape in paring, a flexible knife is more comfortable than a stiff one. Therefore, if you want a vegetable knife for slicing potatoes never think of buying a long stiff one because your work will be seriously impeded. If you have the right tool the job of paring, or what not, will be as much fun as carving is for the artist who in his turn always has the correct tool. “Gracious, I can never slice a ham that doesn’t look as if some one bit it up,” said a friend of mine. As gently as I could I told her it was because she was trying to do the impossible. She used a knife for bread and cake, broad and short, and expected it to do the work of a long, thin blade slightly curved off at the end. The heavy, wide-bladed knife cleaves to the surface of the meat and makes it a practical impossibility for any ordinary mortal to push it through. The narrow blade is what you must have, as it requires less strength and cuts therefore more efficiently. The knife with the almost scimitar formation makes it simple to cut around a bone. Most everybody has a bread knife, so we need not bother about that familiar object, but the only thing necessary is that the bread knife should be kept for bread (and kept sharp) as far as possible, unless it is adapted by having a medium wide blade, to cut meat and cake. For hot meats a rather flexible, but not too flexible, knife should be used, especially in the case of hot steaks and ham. It is a real comfort to have a good knife for these things; the meat is not chewed before its time and is not wasted in formless gobs. For the person who must economize on the number of utensils, a knife about 8″ or 9″ long with rather wide blade can be bought which can very comfortably be used for cold meat slicing as well as bread and cake. A set of six knives, two spatulas and two forks, will fill most kitchens’ needs. Other knives and forks can be added as specials. Here is the 2″ paring knife, 3″ for splitting. The general household keeps a fork with the French pattern blade for general work and the heavy 6″ blade for cutting vegetables such as turnips, pumpkins, squashes, etc., where a thin blade would snap; the fork has hardened blades with needle points. The spatula for pastry works as well as the wide spatula. The carving knife in 8″ short blade, and the flexible slicing knife with 9″ blade usable for cold meats, cake, bread, etc., and the general utility knife. For tough cutting and broad surfaces the narrow, stiff knife is best, for crumbly broad surfaces the broad, stiff knife. For rather tough, small surfaces, to be pared and trimmed, the medium flexible, narrow blade is best. Use the narrow and stiff and short knife for tough small surfaces like squash and turnips. With these simple logical suggestions the knife problem is easy.