Mercer CulinaryPremium Grade Super Steel 6-Piece Knife Set with Glass Block Stand, G10 Handles

Very good knives, haven't had them long enough to test toughness. They very beautiful and worth the sale price, but the block came split at the top with the corner dinged badly. When I checked it out though the knives would never have stayed on the board do to design compatibility. They are too smooth and heavy and have no chance of ever sticking to it. ****Mercer**** this is a very bad design flaw if you get them to stay they WILL cascade down like dominos in a very dangerous way. Even with out the included had trap/ tip chipper it is good value

A couple years ago, I got my first stainless damascus kitchen knife, and ever since, I've been upgrading the rest of my knives, trying to find the best for each task, and giving them as gifts to friends and family. They're beautiful, durable, functional, and low maintenance. At least some are. I've damaged some wood handled ones by accidentally putting them in the dishwasher.The handles on these are good sturdy stuff, and of course the blades are stainless. I've found they can handle the dishwasher fine if it isn't set on heated dry, which I think dulls the edge a bit. I usually just hand clean them as I use them though, which is easy, because the texture is more of a difference in dissimilar metals that has been etched slightly. It's something you see, not feel.This is a pretty good set. The Damascus has a nice raindrop look and the pattern is bold enough to see clearly, but isn't something you would notice from across the room. They are well finished, without any rough spots or harsh edges. They're individually boxed and sealed in nice boxes, so it could be easily separated and gifted to different people.The storage block, I decided not to use. It leans back at an angle and has a decent stand, and I like the idea of a magnetic block rather than one with holes, because it's easier to clean. It just didn't leave me feeling secure. The knives will stick to it, but they'll easily rotate. I kept having images of bumping something and having knives falling in all directions.Part of the issue with the block is that the handles of the knives are quite heavy. The balance doesn't seem bad or anything, but it's farther back than I think is necessary. There's a bit of form over function going on in the design. The paring knife, I don't think I'll use. It's just the wrong shape. I often hold a paring knife with the blade pointed towards my thumb, and it feels unnatural. I've got a stainless Damascus paring knife by DaddyChef that has a much better shape, but a wood handle.Most of the knives have a handle that is a bit too round and much too straight. I've cut myself on kitchen knives a couple times when the handle rotated out of my grip, so I don't consider it a good place to put style over ergonomics. My hand also wants to slide up the handle. Not all the way to the blade or anything, but just so I don't end up gripping it where I intend to. Gripping it harder actually reduces control.The bread knife is interesting. The blade isn't sharp. I'm assuming it's supposed to be that way, because all the other knives are very sharp. Maybe it better keeps what edge it has when going through tough crust.Overall, it's a nice knife set. My favorite similar knife is by JWing, but I think they only make one style, so it was nice to get a set. Not nice enough for me to unify my kitchen under one style though.

This is a really nice set of knives. I have gone through a few knives this past year trying to find that "perfect" knife for me. I enjoy doing prep work in the kitchen when I have a big job to do, which usually comes around the holidays. Not as often for myself. The knives in the past are either sharp but don't feel right in the hand, or the balance is off or they dull quickly. Each knife comes in a nice felt storage box. The chef's knife is the main piece that I am concerned with most here, as it will be the one I use the most. The handle has a nice feel and hangle to it, while at the same time feeling balanced in my hand. I don't know a whole lot about the types of steel that are best, but from what I have read, the quality here is pretty good and ideal.The major glare in this set is the magnetic board. Two reasons why this does not work well. First and foremost is the magnet is weak. The weight of the knife makes it slide. Even the pairing knife, which is smaller and lighter, does not get the magnetic strength to have it stick well enough. So when all the knives are lined up, they slide and knock into each other, eventually creating a domino effect. The other reason this occurs is that, at the hilt, from the blade to the handle it raises to the thickness of the handle, rather than a type of ledge. So, this smooth area rolls on past the wood ledge from its weight until it no longer clings to the board. So, overall it is not designed with this knife in hand, and instead, they just got some generic, mass-produced magnetic board to include with the set and hoped for the best. So for this reason I took away a star.This set comes with 5 knives: a chef's knife, paring knife, bone knife, bread knife, and a utility knife. I honestly will not be needing a bread knife. I don't eat a lot of bread, to begin with, and it's not often I am buying a whole loaf that cant is handled well enough by the other knives. The boning knife I won't need as much as most meats are done ahead of time. So I will probably use the utility knife as a secondary all-purpose knife, while the paring knife for small prep work, and sometimes I use it to eat with. This is not to detract from the quality or that other person will find constant use in all of the knives, so my need for them was not taken away for the overall review.So, overall it's a nice set of knives, save the magnetic board. It does say to hand wash only, so don't put these in your dishwasher, otherwise, the blade will dull quicker. They are sharp and feel great in the hand while I am cutting, so I get a nice smooth slice that also allows me that "rocking" motion. The Damascus design on the knives is a take-it or leave-it for me, I have not really noticed any benefit to having it other than aesthetically speaking. If you are looking for a good set, I would recommend these. They do offer sets with different combinations if you don't need all of them.