Wusthof Hardwood Knife Blocks

Just bought this block from another source (Sorry Amazon). It appears to be quite well made but does have a small amount of chipping at 2 of the openings. I figure it will get a lot worse before I ever worry about it. Quite heavy, sits well on the Formica counter-top and doesn't leave marks if you drag it around. Since I have no experience with it, I'll confine these remarks to the slot sizes (which I sure wish the manufacturer would put in with the other data). There are 9 horizontal rows, and I'm calling the top row "1" and the lowest (vertical) row "9". All slots are slightly over 3/16" high (thick?) except as stated. All measurements are in inches so when I err it's understating the slot size. I suspect the damn thing has metric dimensions, which is an abomination of a different color. I'm knocking it down from 5 to 4 stars because of the kinda narrow slots on rows 2, 3, and 4. They could provide more variety here.

1. 9/16 square; 2 9/16; 2 9/16

2. 2 1/16; 2 1/16; 2 1/16

3. 2 1/16; 2 1/16; 2 1/16

4. 2 1/16; 2 1/16; 2 1/16

5. 1 1/2; 1 1/2; 1 1/2; 1 1/2

6. 3 9/16; 1 5/16 X 1/2

7. 1 5/16 X 3/8; 1; 1 1/2; 2 1/16

8. 1; 1; 1; 1 5/16; 1 7/16

9. All 8 slots are 1" high and on 27/32 centers.

That's the best that I can do with a cheap tape but it's still better than Wusthof did for ya, eh?

This is the biggest knife block I could find and I love it. It is very well made, stable, and well designed (knife positions). Many other large blocks have the cleaver slot at the very top, even thought most cleavers are only 6 inches long while chef's knives are up to 14 inches. This block also fits many knives into a relatively small space. I have had blocks that only hold 10 or so knives and this one is not that much bigger. The only competition for this block is the Henckel 22 slot-block (with the cleaver on top) and the chef knife slots are not wide enough to hold serious chef knives (read the reviews for yourself).

My only complaint for this block (so really a 4.5 rating) is that it has slots for 5 paring knives. Who needs 5 little knives? This is a serious block for serious cooks who generally use larger knives, so I feel that 3 little slots would be sufficient. After all, a little knife can fit in a large slot, but not the other way around. I have modified mine a bit to hold more large knives, but everyone likes different knives.

The only thing better than this block is finding the knives to fill it with.

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A remodel of my kitchen left me with no place for the magnetic knife holders that I have used for years. Not having used a knife block before, I wasn't sure I could find one large enough for my blade collection. I picked this one from a large selection on Amazon and I find it perfectly satisfactory.

The block is heavy because there is a lot of wood but it is no larger (and thus no heavier) than it needs to be. There are slots in multiple sizes and the depth of the top slots is adequate for my 12" knives. Only the cleaver slot is too short. Asian cleavers may fit within it; American cleavers will not.

Fit and finish are excellent. All the joints are tight and the wood is smoothly sanded and finished for water resistance.

I still long for my magnetic bars but this has proved to be a fine substitute. Those with lots of knives can order it with confidence.

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This is a solid well-made knife block which saved me a lot of precious drawer space. It's great not to have my sharp paring knives clattering around in the silverware drawer, damaging their edges or my fingertips while scrounging around. Plenty of room for spreaders and other utility utensils. The vertical spacing is a bit narrow. The handles of some of my larger knives (and cleaver) bump the adjacent row causing them to rest at a slight angle. Not a big deal unless you're a neat freak. I was annoyed that my block came coated with dense hidden sawdust on the inside of the slots. I had to remove and clean all my knives, then used compressed air to blast out the dust.

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I bought the 25-slot without the swivel.

This block is a great value and reasonably made. A little rough on the underside but who is going to see that. I also noticed the MADE IN CHINA sticker on it as reported by another reviewer but that does not detract from its functionality.

It was purchased to go along with a 14 piece Wusthof Gourmet set that I bought, along with 8 Wusthof Gourmet steak knives and some Wusthof scissors, sharpener, etc. All together I think I only had a few slots left. Unlike another review that must have had some wider handle steak knives, the 8 Wusthof steak knives fit perfectly.

On the downside, I guess I was surprised at the mismatch between the size of the slots and the size of the knives I ended up with in my "set". Everything fit, but often in a slot that was 2X larger than needed.

I did notice that the 12" roast carver knife when installed in the longest slot (on top) was touching my granite counter top. So that knife had to go into a drawer. I suppose if I had bought the swivel version, that extra raised space would have helped. Still, the block is actually about 11-1/2" at its longest, and my 12" roast slicer blade is more like 12-1/2". So beware on your extra long blades if you don't have the swivel base.

For the Amazon low price, I can't complain.