It has been nearly 20 years since I've owned a good quality knife set, so I recently bought these after seeing them on my favorite morning news show. They are as good as advertised - very sharp, a nice weight, and the wooden knife block is gorgeous! My 16 y/o son used the included sharpening rod and instructions to learn how to sharpen the knives when the time eventually comes. I love the wooden block to help keep the cooking knives, meat sheers, and steak knives conveniently located at all times.