This set is beautiful and so far very sharp out of the box. Looks great on my counter. The block has openings at the bottom of the knife slots and sits on rubber feet to allow for air circulation to dry out any potential moisture which I appreciate. The only draw back of the beautiful designs on the blade is that from a glance it makes the blades look like they are dirty, especially for visitors who are seeing them for the first time. That being said I love the stainless steel handles. I do find the extra paring knife to be unnecessary but I was happy to have one at all with this set, so I suppose it's a bonus. I'm sure there are better quality blades out there but I and I'm sure most people looking at this are valuing aesthetics over chef quality cookware, but I'm happy to say that these are definitely not the worst knives you could buy. How long their edge will last and how they will stand up to sharpening remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful.