Customer Reviews

Wusthof Wood Block and Steel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let's start with the fact that the box this is packaged in says "Your Gift with Purchase" in big black letters. Where I come from, that means this is a giveaway item when you buy something else, and the 79.99 "value" they base the $39.99 selling price on is completely arbitrary.

Now that I've established that this is supposed to be free, therefore couldn't possibly be worth $39.99, let's discuss the product's quality.

The seams where the wood pieces are glued together(we don't expect it to be one solid piece of oak) are uneven, and no attempts to sand them down have been made. There is glue on the sides of the block that apparently dripped out when the pieces were put together that wasn't cleaned up and is now a permanent part of the block. It just won't come off.

Then there is the putty. Yes, putty. In the places where the wood wasn't whole, or there were knots or other imperfections, they slopped wood putty into the spaces. Not smooth, filled, color-matched putty, but more like big gobs of brown putty. Hard to miss.

Finally, the rubber feet on the bottom are stapled on, not screwed on, and the staples did not penetrate the wood completely. Therefore, they are not attached properly, and instead of protecting your counter, the staples will scratch it even more.

One thing: The sharpening steel appears to be a decent, good, new Henckel's sharpening steel.

This is really quite disappointing. Normally, when you see a wood block filled with quality knives in someone's kitchen, it's an excellent sight to behold. In this case, it seem like a shame to put $80 knives into this sorry little thing.

I'm sure that it is functionally sound, since it's just a wood block, and the knives will fit into it, although the slots are small, and it looks too short to hold a bread knife(I haven't tried it yet because I was too disappointed when I opened the box), but the facts that 1)it's is supposed to be free when you buy something else, 2)it is really poorly made, and 3)it doesn't look good at all should be compelling reasons to buy something else.

It was packaged as a giveaway item because no one would pay for it by itself.

Well, I could not believe my eyes when I opened the package from Amazon. My girlfriend said she would not keep even garden tools in the knife block.

I will start with the good part though. The steel is a nice made-in-Germany piece (which can be had in Europe for about ten-twelve euros).

Now the bad part: considering the price amazon sells both items together, the block is valued twice as much as the steel. I do not like to use harsh words but the only word that could describe this block is 'junk'. Made-in-China no-quality-control-whatsoever junk in a knotted ordinary plastic bag. It is made from poor-quality wood and it looks like it was 'stored' outside in the rain for a month or so, then broken apart by throwing it into a wall and glued back together by a blind one-handed man in a hurry. Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the fact blocks are made from pieces, the one I received was literally broken apart and glued back.

Now, I do not know what to do: return this to Amazon or send it to Wushtof and suggest to close their factory in China? It is a shame that such junk (sorry, I can not call it a product) has the same trident mark as Culinar or Grand-Prix knives.

Why am I so angry? Because I like internet shopping and I rely on trust. This was a brand I could trust. Now I would not buy another Wushtof product without seeing it first.

My advice: if you want a good knife block, go to a local store and buy one. If you do not need a good one, still go to a local store (even a dollar store if they carry such things) and buy the cheapest block you can find - you'll be happier with that one than with this so-called Wutshof!

It's a shame when people rate products based on the defective example they received. Sure, consistency in workmanship is a consideration, but don't think bad things don't happen in transit.
That said, I really like this block. It is exactly what I needed and I couldn't beat the price (free with purchase of 3-peice starter set). And, it HOLDS MY 9-INCH BREADKNIFE, as well as the 3-peice starter set and steel. It came to me in great shape and feels solid. It's a lot heavier than I thought it would be. I plan to add kitchen shears and leave the other 3 slots open for knives I decide I need later.
The only thing missing is a place to put steak knives. You'll need a separate steak-knife block or a larger block to accommodate steak knives. I'm single and don't need many knives. I gave four stars instead of five for the small size that may not work for many people, and as stated above, the lack of space for steak knives.
: )

This is the set (block and steel) that some stores offer for free when you purchase $100 or more worth of Wusthof products. I have not seen them for sale seperately anywhere else. It's a wood block that will be perfect to start a collection with. It's got the logo that will show off your Wusthof preference. It's a bit bulky and doesn't go up as much as it goes forward. If you have enough counter space this will be perfect, it takes quite a bit of space on my counter.

This quality 9-slot oak hardwood slant knife block made by Wüsthof is perfect for those of us who begin collecting Wüsthof knives one by one, rather than by purchasing a larger set that comes with a wooden block and steel. It holds the included 9-inch steel, plus slots for seven knives, and a kitchen scissors. I have three different Wüsthof knife blocks, including this one, and I keep them in different places around my kitchen. This block is for storing some of my more frequently-used Wüsthof Classic knives: 8-inch cook's knife, 8-inch bread knife, 6-inch sandwich knife, 5-inch tomato knife, 5-inch serrated utility knife, 3 1/2-inch paring knife, 2 3/4-inch 'bird's beak' peeling knife, and my kitchen scissors. I've tried many methods for knife storage, such as a wall-mounted magnabar, a Wüsthof 'swinger' under-cabinet knife block, drawer storage with Meissermeister knife edge guards, and wooden knife blocks. I've found the Wüsthof oak wooden slant knife blocks to be the safest and most convenient means for storing my most frequently-used knives. I use a special oil on the exteriors of the wooden blocks when they appear to be dry, although one could use any non-toxic oil that isn't subject to going rancid for this purpose. The only drawback that I've found with this particular wood knife block is that it won't hold a cleaver, or some of the longer cook's, carving, and slicing knives, or carving fork. One needs either the Wüsthof Oak Mega Block with 25 slots or the Large 15-slot Block to store those items.

This is a good block, but I am quickly outgrowing it.

It fits a chef, slicer, bread knife and 4 smaller knives (paring, utility etc...). It also fits a steel and scissors which is nice.

The steel is great, and this is a great price.

The block itself is well made and attractive. It is made of pieces of wood glued together, but mine is done well.

It only has one slot for a chef's knife which is annoying because I have two.

I recommend this, but if you are like me, once you start buying Wusthof knives, you will want more and more.. thus, you may want a larger block.

I agree with the other reviews in some areas:

1) The entire item was packaged by Wüsthof as a bonus.
2) The list price is ridiculously high

I would add some things however:

1) Amazon.com was selling these at a vastly reduced price. I got mine for a song on Friday Sale for less than you'd pay for the Steel. That's a great buy!
2) The block I received is much nicer than some of the reviewers describe. It is a nice small block and certainly worthy of the Wüsthof label. The wood used is heavy and the construction good for a Chinese made bonus block. Mine had zero misplaced staples or visible glue. Some reviewers clearly got bad blocks but some like myself got a perfect block with zero defects. Amazon.com and Wüsthof are both great about returns.
3) All the top knife manufacturers bundle their sets with this type of Chinese made block. At least Wüsthof gives you a German made steel.
4) There is nothing wrong with selling bonus sets after market. If the price is fair, the fact an item is packaged as a bonus orignally should not matter to the buyer.

I am giving this five stars because the price I paid was less than you'd pay for the bundled steel and the block I received was of high quality with zero defects.

Yes the this item is poorly made the block is !!! I was going to give it as a gift but I am not going to give a block of wood slapped together for money!!! the 2 stars are for the steel!

The steel is very nice. I only bought this block and steel because the price was Cheeeeep. It looks ok, and works fine if you are slowly building up a collection of Wusthof knives. Some reviewers thought the block looked lousy, but I thought it was fine. It does take up a bit more horizontal space than some better blocks I have seen, and it would be nice if is took up more vertical space and less countertop. Its is quite narrow, however, and I felt this compensated nicely in the counter space consuming department Basically, I got this to fill out an order to qualify for free shipping and it was basically free, so I cant complain. It is functional if not terribly exciting, and as I said, it is the knives you fill the block with that matter.

Block is pretty basic. Not very attractive and seems pretty cheap in quality. But the worst part for me is that the knife slots are not very thick. I guess it is made for ultra poor knifes, because only one of the slots can take my good chef knife (Henckels five star), and I have other similar knifes that wouldn't fit. So... a block that can hold only one quality knife is a worthless paperweight. I ended up giving it away.