No cleaning powders must be used to clean this steel; only warm water and a mild soap. Its advent reminds you of the early days of aluminum utensils, doesn’t it? The manufacturers are planning to make kettles, pots, and pans of it, as they will wear well, and will not scale and wear as do iron ones. As this steel is non-staining, the hands are not stained as much when it is used with fruit juices; the factor of the juice combining with the elements in the steel is absent. There are some people whose hands stain from certain juices whereas the hands of others do not, but generally speaking, there will be less hand staining with this newer steel. If you do your own work, how your hands will be saved! The few years of its service may not have revealed all of its good points or some of its bad points. Only time will tell, of course. But as a fruit knife at present the stainless type seems to be a fine thing, though the ordinary steel knife, if sharp and well made, is no less of a joy than ever it was. Manufacturers are adopting the stainless--even those who think that it isn’t as good as it is claimed to be. Vegetable and fruit slicers and parers come in many sizes and styles. They are usually small and light with narrow blades and sharp. They are to be had in stainless and carbon steel in sets and in singles, and when bought wisely make the kitchen maids’ job an artistic one. Grape-fruits and oranges have knives for their very own. Manufacturers have given much time and thought to the easiest method of preparing these fruits easily, without loss of juices and flavor, and without waste of time on the part of the operator. And so there have been born a few of these knives which are excellent and live up to their glowing advertisements. Their characteristics are: Two-edged, like the great swords of old. They cut from either the right or left with ease; the blade is curved to fit the fruit and has rounded points so as not to lacerate the outer skin and waste the juices and spoil the shape of the fruit. The blade is exceedingly sharp and honed carefully like a razor--the sharper it is the swifter it will do its work. The blade must be securely fastened in the handle. The handle must be light, of comfortable shape and well balanced. In a few words, the knife must be able to get down and under the center, cutting the side segments as well as making the tough walls “fade away” easily. [Illustration: DEVICES DESIGNED BY THE AUTHOR FOR KEEPING CUTLERY IN CUTTING FORM] The knives are made in stainless steel, in nickel-plated steel and in the ordinary and fine vanadium steel. Your fruit when prepared with such a knife may look as if hands never touched it. HANDLES The question of handles is interesting because the knife without the handle, however sharp it may be, is of little use. The main question is of ease in gripping, in the balance, and in the duration of time that the blade will stay firm in the handle.