Roughly 2 million years ago, a particularly bright specimen of Homo habilis needed to cut something and decided to invent the knife. We've come a long way since then. And for the last 40 years we've been experiencing something of a boom in the development of ever better knives. Here are 20 knives that I consider great - head and shoulders above the competition. By David E. Petzal

Busse Battle Mistress: The Battle Mistress is not a radical design. It has a conventionally shaped 10-inch blade, but it is nearly 2 pounds, and quite literally as sharp as a razor. This combination of weight, strength, and extreme keenness makes it unique. Do you wish to behead a hippo? Would you like to chop down a telephone pole? Perhaps you yearn to slice a redwood into sections? If you have the Mistress and a strong arm, you can.