Classic Ikon Knife Block Set, 6-Piece

Received this knife set as a birthday present and fell in love immediately upon opening the box. The beautiful dark wood with the gleaming high-quality steel are visually appealing, but the true reward comes in using these knives. Beautifully balanced, incredible sharpness (even straight out of the box) and they hold their edge. I've yet to attempt the day-time TV ad staple of cutting a can, a shoe and then an onion, but the knives do make short work of everything I've thrown at them in normal cooking. The lack of a sharpening steel is disappointing, but other than that, an excellent addition to your kitchen! Read more

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Classic German product with a modern design.

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I have had my set for 5 years already and the blades are still very sharp!
I use the set daily on the Wusthof cutting board to ensure the blade does not go dull.

High-quality items and highly recommend this set!

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This is a great set of knives. I selected the Classic Ikon as I prefer not to have a full finger guard as it makes sharpening easier on a stone.

This is a premium consumer/home-oriented style of knife. The balance is rearward tilted (they are handle-heavy) which is good for a regular knife grip, but a little less ideally balanced for a pinch grip with the larger blades. The Henckels these are replacing were more centrally balanced which is my preference. That said, the pinch grip is very comfortable and perfectly usable on the Chef's knife and Santoku. I like that these are ideal for family and guests to use no matter how they grip the knives.

In terms of the knife selection in the set, this is a nice base set to have, I really don't think you need more than this for general prep.

The Chef's knife is a pleasure to use, and comfortable no matter your grip. I like that this one is a little taller than my old Henckels as it makes for an easier pinch grip. Just watch the heel of the blade — the lack of a full finger guard means the heel is sharp.

The 16cm Carving knife is fantastic. I might ideally replace the Santoku with an additional 20cm carving knife to complement the 16cm blade, in fact. The 16cm blade is great for fruit and smaller jobs and also for narrower, more manipulative work like parting out a chicken, where you are getting in between the joints. If you're using a more cleaver-style brute force technique the Chef's knife is the way to go, of course.

The Santoku is a bit of a novelty IMO — though it is my go-to garlic smasher blade now! I find with the thicker, German style knives (vs Japanese) I tend to use a rocking cut, and the Santoku works best with a push cut, so it takes a switch in technique to use best. The Santoku also feels 'safer' to folks who feel a chef's knife is daunting, so it's actually quite nice to have from that perspective.

The bread knife is fantastic, it looks like it might have a sort of saw/ripping effect but that is not the case at all. It slices smoothly and with good control.

The sausage knife is a great jack of all trades, master of tomatoes as much as it's geared towards meats. The family loves this blade!

The paring knife actually benefits from the rearward balance, and is so easy to use for delicate work - it is so well controlled due to the balance and ergonomic handle.

Overall I'm very happy with the set and can highly recommend them to folks looking for something that falls between a utilitarian set of knives and a hardcore chef's knife set. They are well set up for general family use (with a bit of respect for the minimal finger guards) yet also great for enthusiasts flexing those knife skills and wanting to sharpen them on a whetstone or with a system like the Lansky at home. Read more

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