Dalstrong Knife Block Set-5pc-Shogun Series ELITE-High-Carbon Japanese Steel-Black G10 Handles-Acacia Wood- Damascus-Kitchen Knife Set with Block-Professional Cutlery Set-Men's Valentines Gift

Over the past several years, I've gotten more and more into cooking as it is an essential life skill, and if something is essential, then why not make it into a hobby as well.A couple years ago, I got the Dalstrong Gladiator Cleaver as my first "nice" knife and ended up using it for everything because of how good it felt to use. The balance, sharpness, and usefulness of the wide blade, made it my most used knife and have been a fan ever since. When I saw these go on sale, I couldn't help it and had to get them to replace the rest of my knives. I have no regrets.I am not going to tell anyone they have to buy these knives. If you simply don't mind cooking but want nicer knives, Dalstrong has other options that are probably great for your needs; but if you are someone who enjoys cooking and have acquired a bit of skill and consider it a hobby, these are knives you will ***happily*** use for the rest of your life. The quality is incredible and the detailing is stunning. I look forward to every time I get to use them.tl;dr: the price is only too much if you hate cooking, don't buy 300 dollar snow boots that last a lifetime if you live in Hawaii

Absolutely beautiful, well balanced and razor sharp Knives in a one of a kind knife block. Very classy and looks superb in the kitchen. Cuts everything with precision! Because the are Damascus blades, special care must be taken to make sure they don't get damaged, basically wash and dry immediately after use and NO dishwasher ever! These blades should last a lifetime.

If you are not used to sharp knifes you will cut yourself the first time you use it for kitchen real work.

The media could not be loaded. The Dalstrong Shogun series is one of my favorites. Made in the damascus style of layering steel, it's super hard and strong. The edge is the sharpest available from Dalstrong since it's hand-sharpened to 10" (for comparison, most german blades are sharpened to 20degrees, japanese blades are 15degrees). And the tsunami rose engraving (which is actually a byproduct of damascus style) is absolutely beautiful! For this particular set, they chosen to include a hammered finish which really doesn't sway me one way or the other.It has everything you need. Most sets include poor quality kitchen shears or various utility knives you'll never use. This 5pc has 1 chef and 1 santoku knife for most jobs (i love the chef, my wife defaults to the santoku) , a pairing knife for precise cuts, an elegant 8" bread knife, and a 6" utility. The last is the only one i rarely use, would have rather received a steel. But all in all, this is a great collection.

these knives are awesome. worth the money. they are very sharp and designed well and if you cook alot and chop alot you cannot go wrong. far superior to any other knives i have bought. worth the investment. glad i discovered these

This is a beautifully crafted set of knives and razor sharp from the factory. I took one star off because while I love these knives the 8 inch chef knife is a weird shape and takes some getting used to. I also took one star off because as a chef in a kitchen I carry these knives back and forth to work and while the kitchen block is great for home use I really needed this set to come with sheaths to carry them in my knife bag. I would ask dahlstrong to maybe consider adding an option to get the block or sheaths so that we can chose which is more practical for us. I would definitely recommend these to anybody looking for a great set of knives. So and update after sending an email to dahlstrong they responded quickly and are sending me 3 of the knife sheaths for free. They have great customer service and I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Because of their great customer service I am adding a star back on to this review.

I really enjoy a good knife. I am a firm believer that a sharp knife saves lives. I was sharpening my hunting knives by hand on stones as a teenager and really enjoy a good, quality knife that sits in my hand, is balanced and I have confidence in. So why did I wait as many years as I did to get a good kitchen knife set? Good question but when I decided to pull the trigger and finally get a high quality set I did my research. Dalstrong was kind of a dark horse in that I was not familiar with the brand but was familiar with the rockwell hardness rating which these knives are marked at 62. They are high carbon steel with Damascus layering for strength and durability. Those were attributes I was looking for and most blades with those qualities were actually just at a higher price point than I wanted to spend, or were too traditionally styled and wasn't what I was looking for with my style of cutting/chopping.Short story, I talked myself into the block set instead of a single knife (Picture included with the addition of the 6" chef knife purchased after the block set). I wanted an excellent, high quality set that would last and didn't need to be replaced or one that I would have buyers remorse over, Dalstrong was the right selection for me. I've included two pictures, the block set and then after I received the set, of which the 6" utility knife quickly became my most relied upon knife, I ordered 3 other blades. I liked the 8" chef's knife with the rounded edge for rocking to chop which came with the block set, and truly just had fun in preparing veggies for smoothies though it was just a little big. The utility knife worked great for slicing fruit, apple, etc... and is a nice weight and manageable and I wanted to have something that was between the two which would shuttle what I cutting to the bowl, the blender cup ... or whatever. I was impressed enough with the quality that I ordered the 6" chef's knife (Love it), the 9.5" slicer/chef knife (feels good in the hand and has a nice weight with a comfortable handle), and the the 8" chef knife individually (Shown in the 2nd photo for reference). These are truly a beautifully crafted set, built for and crafted for those with appreciation of fine cutlery. I'm not a judge of kitchen utensils but I've logged hours with many knives and you might call it a 6th sense regarding feel for quality, comfort and confidence in the hand, and a steep, sharp honed edge known in Asian knives, and have the appreciation for a good tool. I guess I didn't get a kitchen cutlery set earlier because I was waiting for these and just didn't know it.I think Dalstrong is a newer company bound to make a name for themselves and suspect these knives will migrate in price north of where they are being offered today. Customer service has been recognized in many reviews which is part of why I chose to go with the block without any personal previous experience. Says a lot for the confidence I have in people posting their reviews. Customer service reputation provided a sense of comfort that if this wasn't the set for me, I was going to return them without an issue or incredible hoops to navigate. Didn't need to pull that string after all and am completely satisfied.I have not had the opportunity to put them to stone yet as they haven't needed it. Honing rod is all the conditioning the edge has needed and none have even needed that kind of attention yet.Pros - Weight is sturdy/solid, cuts under it's own weight and comfortable gripWell balancedSharp: makes cutting and chopping easy and I might say amusing with such a good blade (still enjoying them)Design with the Damascus layering is stylish, unique for the set, and artisticQuality comes to mind when I use these knives like some people like to use enamel cast iron cook ware, it's how quality is perceived and I get that when using these knives.The handle is well crafted, comfortable and has a slight elegant pattern that you might be able to discern from the pictures.Block is dark, unique and is in the back of the cutting board shown in one of the picturesConsPrice point is probably more than most people would buy who are not looking for a life time set.Fear of using the knives for potentially doing something wrong therefore enjoy just looking at them while still using their old set (That would be a waste and completely understandable)Does not have an offering in the series for processing meat. Recommended to not twist or cut bone with this set. I went to the Gladiator series and got a cleaver that will go through bone (haven't used it yet, it's a beast and I didn't get the biggest one). Cutting cartilage bone such as butcher processing is not recommended for the Shogun series blades. The cleaver for the series is for veggies as described.The bread knife included in this set is kind of like bringing a Ferrari to a horse race. Just overkill and doesn't fit the set for the qualities these blades possess in cutting bread other than it’s expected as part of a "set" piece.Recommendation: Would like the stones for keeping the edge offered at an incentive price for those that invested in the block set. Just my plug as the wider surface area on the stones I think would be helpful with the longer/larger blades and would incentivize people to keep their blades on this set in top order.I don't write reviews much and depend on others when I research so I wanted to offer my thoughts and impressions on this Dalstrong set. If this helps you either way in deciding to move forward, I hope this was helpful and if you decided it's not for you as a result of this review, then glad to help with that as well and spare your time. I don't think it's for all people. I get a little "geeky" about knives.

This has the essentials in one place. High quality. Nice and sharp. I like the care instructions too. If you need to invest in some knives definitely get these. No regrets.