All the knives a home is likely to need in a well organized wood block
This is going to be a long review due to the number of items in this set, but I'll jump ahead and say this is an EXCELLENT knife set comprised of well-crafted knives and a compact wood holder, it is absolutely worth the price and I would recommend this to anyone. It would make a great housewarming gift or a present for the budding chef.The set comes with a heavy wood knife holder that fits in most drawers as opposed to the blocks that sit on your counter. Being able to store it in a drawer is a lot safer and makes it easier to select the knife you want to use. The wood is a dense wood that has been stained a medium brown color. It is quite heavy and unlikely to move around, specially since there are four rubber pads on the bottom corners that keep it from sliding. There are slots for every one of the 13 knives and steel included in the set.I've reviewed many Hoshanho knives in the recent past and have found them to be nicely priced and well made. This set comes with 13 knives in their Loong series. The Loong knives are made with a matte finished blade attached to dark colored Pakkawood handles. The transition from the blade to the handles are smooth, I cannot feel an edge in the transition. The heel has a metal cap and the transition from wood to cap is also very smooth. Each knife is super sharp and maintains their sharpness over time, I've had some Hoshanho knives for over a year now and I've not had to sharpen them at all, I just use a strop after every use and a steel every once in a while. Each knife is easy to clean and will last many years of normal use; I can easily see passing these knives to my children, they are that good.Each knife is individually wrapped in plastic with a thick paper sheath to prevent damage during shipping. All the knives are then bubble wrapped and placed in a cardboard box which is then encased in the outer box that is suitable for gifting. I like this extra touch because I've ordered other knives that have actually poke thru the outer box due to insufficient packaging causing a dangerous situation.There are six steak knives in the set. Each knife has serrations about two-thirds of the length of the blade, the back third of the blade is not serrated. The beveling is on one side only, that is true for the entire cutting surface, serrations and straight edge. Each has a nice weight to it and curvature of the handle makes it easy to handle and feels secure in your hand.There are three straight edged knives in different lengths. There is an 8-inch chef knife, a 6-inch utility knife and a 3-3/4-inch paring knife. These are perfect for general slicing use. Each is evenly weighted and feels very balance in my hands.There is a 7-inch Santoku knife that is the perfect chopper and all-around cutting knife. There are small dimples on both sides, about one-third up from the blade edge, that keeps food from sticking to the knife. The curved blade allows for smooth rocking motion for chopping. It has a nice weight and balance, and I find I use this knife more than any others.There is an 8-inch serrated bread knife. Like the steak knives, the edge is a single bevel. It too is heavy, but a lot of the weight is toward the heel, which makes it super easy and comfortable to use.There is a 7-inch filet knife. IMO this is the weakest knife Hoshanho makes. It is too thick and therefore not flexible enough for fileting fish. I rarely use this knife.Finally, there is a very nice steel for honing the knives back to super sharpness. However, if you are serious about maintaining the sharpness, I would recommend buying a leather strop as this keeps it sharper than the steel. For those that are new to sharpening, do NOT use the steel on any of the serrated knives as it may damage the edge.