I have a fairly small kitchen and I'm not Gordon Ramsey.  This knife set was exactly what I was looking for in terms of utility and function for the amount of cooking I do in an area where counter space is limited.

I also took a "knife skills" class at a local kitchen/cooking-centric retailer.  I compared several styles of knives in terms of balance and ease of use while julienning (sp?) ingredients for the class.  IMHO, these are as good as ones that cost much more that I used for the class.

I'm now looking at sharpeners.....