No kitchen tool is as useful as a sharp knife.
But unless you're adept at sharpening yours - and unless you sharpen them every day - your knives are very likely dull.
Enter the new KNASA knife. Made by a design company called Habitat, it features a new alloy patented by NASA and Caltech that's supposedly five times sharper than titanium. The company's so confident it will keep its edge they promise that, should the knife need sharpening, they'll do it for free. (You pay shipping.)
Full disclosure - I joined the Kickstarter months ago, but have yet to receive my knife. So I'm taking Habitat (and the dozens of chefs who have tried the knife out), at their word. The promise of a permanently sharp knife for $79 is just too good to pass up.
You can no longer get the KNASA in time for Christmas, but I'm still planning on gifting the knife to a few friends. When the package finally arrives I'm hoping it will feellike Christmas in May.
A great cook once told me that a knife should be so sharp that if you lightly balance the blade on your thumbnail it will sink slightly in. If you can scoot the blade across the nail's surface, it's not sharp enough. Personally, I've been keeping my edge with an electric knife sharpener. I've had this Chef'sChoice sharpener for years; it's the lazy person's way to stay sharp, but it really does the trick.
Of course in a pinch you can always try this.