[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My wife picked this out for her birthday. Right out My wife picked this out for her birthday. Right out the box, the wood looks fancy! Beautiful on the counter top! I read reviews with complaints about how long it was. That speaks nothing of how good/bad the knives work. That said, it is definitely longer than our previous one but it looks perfect! As for use, when I put the knives in for the first time, you clearly hear it sharpening as the knife slides in! This is the feature my wife wanted the most. I found myself putting the knives in and out just to hear the sound! We have only used the shears (I cut ALL my meats with them!), chef knife (cream of the crop) and steak knives so far. All work perfectly. If there is o e the box, the wood looks fancy! Beautiful on the counter top! I read reviews with complaints about how long it was. That speaks nothing of how good/bad the knives work. That said, it is definitely longer than our previous one but it looks perfect! As for use, when I put the knives in for the first time, you clearly hear it sharpening as the knife slides in! This is the feature my wife wanted the most. We have only used the shears (I cut ALL my meats with them!), chef knife (cream of the crop) and steak knives so far. All work perfectly. If there is one negative aspect, it's that a few of the knives do not seem to have a perfect fit in their slots. The others fit snug and perfect, a few slide in and drop down a bit loose. It makes them not all line up perfectly. Looks a bit off. Thought maybe I put some knives in the wrong slots but the types are clearly marked on the slots. Doesn't bother us too much but for such a fancy look, it's a small disappointment. Overall we are very happy with the purchase and looking forward to using all the knives at some point!