The utilitarian, Swiss-made R. H. FORSCHNER BY VICTORINOX CHEF'S KNIFE sells for about half the price of other popular chef's knives. The rosewood handle is lightweight, and the high-carbon stainless-steel blade is easy to sharpen.

Invented by a Swiss army veteran named Alfred Neweczeral in the 1940s, the ZENA STAR ECONOMY PEELER is still the sharpest and most comfortable one we've found. A nifty U-shaped attachment near the blade removes potatoes' eyes with a flick of the wrist.

Long-lasting stainless-steel WÜSTHOF KITCHEN SHEARS are indispensable for a wide range of kitchen tasks. They're muscular enough to separate a whole chicken into its parts and refined enough to snip delicate herbs and salad greens.

When we need a perfect julienne, we turn to the German-made BÖRNER THIN JULIENNE CUTTER, which is far safer to use than a traditional mandoline, rests securely atop a bowl, and produces utterly uniform pieces.

The heavy-duty silicone RUBBERMAID HIGH HEAT SCRAPER AND SPATULA can be used for tasks like scraping out a bowl, frosting a cake, or folding egg whites into a batter, and with its exceptional heat resistance (up to 500 degrees), it also comes in handy while you're sauteing.

A simple stainless-steel coil wrapped around a curved wire, the diminutive COMBRICHON "MAGIC" SPOON MINI WHISK is dandy for scraping up caramelized bits from a saucepan's hard-to-reach corners and for whisking drizzles of cream or eggs into sauces.