Chicago Cutlery Insignia2 18-Piece Knife Block Set with In-Block Knife Sharpener

I received these knives 4 days ago. I immediately unpackaged and began to use them. They arrived well packaged and in good condition. I have used all but the steak knives on multiple occasions daily. I also read the literature accompanying the knives as well. This way I would not be surprised by doing something ignorant to the knives and ruining them. I have washed them by hand immediately after use and then dried them. I store them in the block for now, which by the way is a superior knife block.Ok, the knives are great. They are a steal for this price. They cut well and feel wonderful in your hand. They are forged. As such their appearance is as that of a forged piece of high quality cutlery. These knives look wonderful. They were sharp out of the box and I have not had to sharpen them yet. I have used them on vegetables, meat, fruit, and all sorts of items while preparing meals. I look forward to preparing meals with this set. I actually try to make meals that require me to use them because they are truly that wonderful to use. This is definitely a high quality set of cutlery. I inspected and used some German cutlery and can say that these knives definitely hold their own against a set of German cutlery costing 300-500 dollars. If you are searching for a high quality set of cutlery and you are not wanting to spend 300 to 500 dollars to get them, these are a great set to choose.The block is high quality as well. It is worth 30-60 dollars easy just by itself. I normally keep my knives on a magnetic strip to conserve space. However, this block is so attractive and of high quality I am considering continuing to use it and make a special place for it on my counter. The block and knives just scream quality and I like the way they look.Please read and do what the directions say when cleaning and using these knives. If you choose not to follow the directions, then DON'T COMPLAIN WHEN YOUR KNIVES BECOME DISCOLORED OR RUST WHEN YOU SOAK THEM OR PUT THEM IN THE DISHWASHER! These are not some cheap 39.99 set of serrated knives. These are a high quality forged set of cutlery. If washing them by hand and drying them immediately is too hard to do then this set is not for you. Get that 39.99 set so you won't get frustrated when the expected happens.I highly recommend this set to anybody in the market for set of cutlery. No, they are not German made and they do not cost 500 dollars. However, they are high quality and, unless you just want to impress somebody with your high priced cutlery set made in Germany, this is a great choice. Just make sure you understand how to take care of high quality cutlery and can handle doing it.

I love, love, love, these knifes. They are supper sharp out of the box and the build in sharpener has kept them that way. I had an old set of knives forever that did not stay sharp, the handles were breaking on the steak knives and we only had two left. I spent a lot of time looking and researching online and in every home store my wife drug me into. It seamed that every set had knives had extra knives that I did not want. The biggest issue was the number of serrated blades, not counting the steak knives, that were included. I feel that manufactures add serrated knives because they give the impression that the knife is staying sharp longer but all you are doing to sawing your food not cutting it. That is why I love this set, only one serrated bread knife, even the steak knives are straight blades. That bread knife is very shard and can slice warm french bread without crushing it. All the knifes are full tang so no more worry about broken handles. The block is solid wood with rubber feet and it looks nice in your kitchen.Like I mentioned there is a build in sharpener that works well. Every time I put a knife back I make two or three passes over the sharpener and all the knives has stayed supper sharp. Do not wash these knives in the dishwasher if you can avoid it, the dishwasher dulls the handles and I can tell the two steak knives that I missed and they were put into the dishwasher. They are fine and still function fine but I am sure that continued runs through the dishwasher would dull them even more.If I had to pick something I do not like about this set it would be the shears. I do not have mush use for shears in the kitchen and these are loose and shaky when in use, but like I said i do not use them much so they really do not matter.I did read a negative review about these knifes that gave me pause before buying them. The review said that these knives were dangerous because they rolled with the blade sharp edge up. I took this to mean that no matter the orientation of the blade, down, on the side, or up the blade would end up resting in a position that could hurt you. This is not the case. The knifes will come to a rest with the sharp edge of the blade up only if they are set down on the top of the handle within a few degrees of flat. Otherwise they will lay on their sides. Just wanted to clear that up.

Wow these knives are sharp, well balenced, easy to keep an incredibly sharp edge. I have a set of Chicago cutlery from 1970's my first set, wood handles. They have been excellent knives. I bought a set of these for my inlaws and I love them so I bought a set for our summer house. I really love them. I have a collection of all kinds of knives so I have a good understanding of knives. I have even made my own knives. But this set and it's price point is absolutly great. My nephew tried the set out at the summer house and when I went to his house he had a new set of these knives. Now I am struggling with retiring my old set even though they are still a great set sharp , Hold an edge , well balanced. I would recommend this set to anyone that is in the market for a great kitchen knife set. Chicago cutlery has been around a long time. They know how to make kitchen knives for sure.My friends brother was a butcher and he was the one in the 70's that told me he used Chicago cutlery