WÜSTHOF Gourmet 7-Piece Knife Block Set - Premium German Kitchen Knives for Chefs & Home Cooking - Perfect for Slicing, Dicing & Food Prep

This was a wedding gift for someone who appreciates quality and Wusthof has superb products.The quality is definitely on the lower side for wusthof, especially the handles. More importantly it says it comes with an 8 inch chefs knife, which is pretty strange considering the “8” inch is the same length as my 6 inch wusthof knife I bought several years ago…Got these to replace dull kitchen knives.I would have liked if the knife holder was completely full in the order. Looks like I’m missing knifes or something being the rack for the knives have extra slotsFirst, in case it isn’t clear from the photos,, the block has WAY more slots than knives, so while this is fine if you already own other knives or plan on quickly expanding your set, as it comes the set looks pretty terrible half empty and takes up way too much space for the number of knives you actually receive. I knew this when purchasing them, but the angle of the description photo doesn’t fully illustrate just how empty and strange the knife block actually appears. If I had kept them, I’m pretty certain that every time I’d glance at the block, I’d end up mildly freaking out for a second, wondering in alarm where all the “missing” knives had gone. ;) If you’re accustomed to seeing a half-full knife block on your counter, then this might not bother you, though.As far as knife quality, to be honest I thought that these could have been Wusthof dupes, instead of the real thing because the stamped blades are just so thin and flimsy feeling. They all came packaged in Wusthof branded packaging, all blades marked with Wusthof logos, etc., just FYI. But they felt like the cheap knives you find for sale at the grocery store. These do feel very sharp, but all of the knives were more like smaller, lighter weight and thinner versions of the heavier knives I’ve used before. And they weren’t comfortable for me to hold without a bolster and with a more cramped feeling handle. And FWIW I was replacing a worn down set of KitchenAid German steel knives (that were probably made in China) that felt much heavier than these.The Gourmet series is definitely an entry level product. If you don’t use knives often enough to justify spending more money on Wusthof’s Classic or Ikon series, then it might make sense. But you could most likely find a better set of Wusthof Legende or Grand Prix knives (better than Gourmet, but not as expensive or as good as the Classic or Ikon) for just a little bit more money than these. And you’d probably be much happier in the long run.Returned mine and purchased a very nice set of Wusthof Classic series knives in a beautiful walnut block. The forged Wusthof Classic knives are amazing, and so much better made than these cheap stamped Gourmet series knives. The difference is like night and day! Avoid these and anything else in the stamped Gourmet series if you can.I have needed knives for a few years. My children bought me these for my birthday. They are incredible knives. I am going to invest in a few more pieces to go with this set. I would recommend these to anyone wanting or needing a good quality knife. My daughter even went into an exclusive kitchen store to inquire about the quality. The staff even gave these knives an excellent rating.DON'T BELIEVE EVERY THING YOU SEE OR HEAR!! Prior to purchasing this set for what I thought was a lot of money I watched a video made by Wusthof. They claim all the knives are "full tang" meaning the metal runs the full length and width of the knife. Without taking one of the knives apart to know for sure, it does not appear that my set is full tang. So, this was misrepresented (that is a nice way of saying they lied) in the video and on the website. I went back and looked at the Amazon website last night and they have removed the "full tang" claim off the description. Too late for me!!I asked my son about it. He said "it is from Germany it must be good!" Is Germany becoming the new China??I also researched the internet as to the "top 10 best quality knife brands". I got this set because Wusthof was listed as one of the top 5 brands. The knife blades are shorter than same labelled pieces of other brands, which some could claim is because in Europe they use cm not inches. The knives are light weight and blades are thin, which to me just says "cheap". I just hope they don't break!! This set should NOT have been labeled as "gourmet"!!!I assumed that the "starter" label in the title meant this was a set that provided a few of the more frequently used knife sizes of a top quality "gourmet" brand of knives for people who couldn't afford a whole large set of a variety of knife sizes. Looks like this set should have been labeled as "basic" or "cheap" instead. So, I was paying for a brand label. By the way, the brand label which is glued on the knife handles will fall off shortly and I will have nothing to brag about.The only good thing I can say is that the knife handle fits well in my hand and is comfortable. But as my daughter pointed out, perhaps there should have been a human involved in the making of the knives as some areas had not been sanded down.As many have posted before me the "so-called" 16-piece set comes with 15 knives, and I guess the 16th piece I being the actual knife block which ironically has 17 slots. I've owned a pair of WÜSTHOF chef knives for over 15 years with no signs of wear and tear, and I thought to buy this for a family member as a house-warming gift. Upon close inspection the handles and the packaging is authentic to German standards, however the blade quality and build is absolutely atrocious, making it feel cheap.Gifting a gourmet set of knives with a block having two empty slots looks ridiculous. I'm assuming this is their attempt at selling you two additional knives separately.Not sure if WÜSTHOF is losing their touch or if they are outsourcing their brand somewhere else, but this is not on par with the other knives I have from them. This was by far the quickest return that I've done through Amazon.I'm not sure if this item is actually real or if it is an imitation. The scissors are of such poor quality (cheap plastic, separate with any minor cutting...) I've had to go out and buy some Fiskars ones (Finnish brand of good quality). I'm a little afraid to test out the knives... A real estate agent might suggest using these knives for house staging?These knives are great for my arthritic hands. They have a good grip, and are so sharp I hardly need use any pressure. I'm delighted with them.Good set for everyday needs. Good quality. Decent price.