I'm torn on this purchase. On one hand, we paid over $500 for this knife set. I do cook daily but I'm not a professional chef or particularly picky about my equipment. I thought the price tag was a little bit excessive but my husband swears by Henckels and he insisted that they'd last a lifetime. If he's right, I think the price will end up being reasonably. However, if these only end up lasting 5 or 10 years before becoming dull and unusable even with sharpening (like my last set did) than they won't end up being worth the money.

I was expecting for the price of these knives that they would come in good condition and ready to use. What I actually discovered is that they were not very uniformly sharpened. For example, the paring knife was very sharp from the middle down to the handle, but as it went from the middle to the tip it got increasingly duller. So dull that it was noticeable as I tried to cut some carrots. A quick sharpening fixed it right up and they now all work perfectly. I just feel that for the price they should have all come in ready-to-use shape.

There are several things I really like about these knives though. They are extremely comfortable to hold and fit right in my hands. I've had issues in the past when I'm making stews and cutting up a lot of vegetables - my hands get sore and cramped. These knives do not give me that problem. Before we bought them I'd read about how balanced they were but I didn't really understand what that meant. Now that I've used them - I know exactly what that means. They just feel great, weight-wise, in the hands.