never knows best...

dry as toast

"Just a second," I interrupted and reached into my blazer pocket. "I have a present for you."

I handed her the small black leather case.

"What is it?" she asked, turning over the curious metal object she removed from the case.

"I'll show you. Watch carefully."

She watched.

"Nail clippers?"

"Right! Folds back in reverse order. Like this."

"Very interesting," she said. "Tell me, though, do you often give nail clippers to women?"

"No, you're the first. Just now while I was waiting, I went into a hardware store and felt like buying something. The woodcarving sets were too big."

"Thank you. I'll keep them in my bag and think of you every time I use them."

Stolen from Murakami's Hard-Boilded Wonderland. I just noticed in this read through that the said nail clipper gift was made by Henckels, which seems pretty cool. Though as far as chef knife brands I like Global, Forschner, or this (not that I actually every used any of them, and I would probably be pretty scared of using a very sharp knife anyways, even Henckels nail clippers seem a little intimidating).