The knives have nice heft and fit comfortably in the hand. I wasn't expecting the edges of all the knives to be serrated. While they are very sharp, having the jagged edge makes cutting more difficult for some reason. I don't like them nearly as welll as my original, smooth edged knives purchased years ago. I do like the black block but I didn't notice that the knives go into the block sideways so the Henkel insignia is sideways - minor but mildly annoying if you are a perfectionist.