I have collected 8-9 of the Henckel Pro-S knives over the past 15 years. I love them. BUT, I'd never recommend somebody purchase a particular brand or even type of knife. Everybody's hand shape, strength, & needs are different. So, IMO, you should look around holding all types of knives/brands & choose what is the most comfortable for you. I also don't like those block sets of knives. Buy the type knives you will use. In the Henckel's Pro-S, I have: 3" paring knife; 7" boning/filet knife; 8" chef's knife; 5" tomato; 6" heavy cleaver; large vegetable cleaver (my favorite knife in the kitchen!); 8" bread knife; ham slicer; & a small 5" Santoku. I keep them on those oak/magnetic strips hanging on the wall right above my prep center 'cause I think the blocks aren't sanitary.

It doesn't matter whether your knives all match in brand. Buy what works for you. The Pro-S just happens to fit my hand very well & the weight is perfect. Everybody's different.

/tricia

Trica is right. You must be happy with the way the knifes fit into your hand. Comfort is the best !!! If you go with Henckles ( which is the ones I love ) then make sure that you get the ones with the two men on them. Go to a store that helps you find the right ones and spends time with you. These are the ones I have and I really love them. I have the set. Diana55

I have 25 year old Henckles that I use, package deal with ex. I have "custody" as he doesn't really cook for himself. They are fine but if I were buying new for myself I'd want to hold the knives and get a feel for how they work in my hand. And I'd buy individual knives, not a set unless each one in the set felt fabulous.

Ditto! Two of my kids (DS and DDIL) recently received a fabulous set of Henckle knives, and it's definitely the groom's favorite wedding gift! :) BUT...he's the cook in this new family, and he'd carefully checked them out before they registered for them. Maybe instead of actually buying knives, you could give him a gift certificate from some place like Wms-Sonoma where he could have a number of great choices. There's a good chance he'll choose several different kinds instead of a 'set'. Most of the time, I detest the idea of g.c.'s because they seem so impersonal. But I think in a case like this, it would make your present seem even more special if the birthday boy got to have the fun of choosing what was absolutely perfect for him!

Listen to barnmom in regard to holding the knives before buying.
Personally I prefer Whustoff, #1 in the industry, awesome balance, just impossible to find fault with! SO what do I have, a complete set of Whustoff that weren't cheap!!!!!!

What do I use: 90% of the time I use the Wusthoff boning knife and paring knife! I also have a Henckels cleaver that has become so useful I don't know how I ever got along without it (recommended by friend)!! All the other knives in the set are practically useless for me! I use the bread knife and carving knife occasionally, but was it worth spending all those big bucks for a complete set? Only if you want to impress someone, cause you just don't need them!

Thanks for all the great replies... I love this place!
After 100 years of gifts, I'm just groping for something to give him. He's so stubborn I don't think a gift cert would work. We live at the end of the road and no reasonable shopping here... so Overstock, Ebay or other on-lines are my shopping mall!! He has a 8" Wustoff chef (which he uses for almost everything), and he was looking at the Henckel at Costco... so I thought aahhaa! What would be the next most useful knife/knives to have? and would love to buy a magnetic strip for them.

Speaking of a magnetic strip...I found mine at Ikea at a terrific price...somewhere around $12, which is a heck of alot cheaper than other places I've looked.

Well, I ended up buying 3" Vegetable, 4" Paring/Utility, 5" Serrated/Utility, 5" Santoku Hollow Edge, 8" Chef's Henckels Twin Cuisine knives from Ebay. That line seems to be for bigger hands - DH bday is in 2 weeks so won't know if they fit till then.

Here I am again with more questions. DH loves the knives and they fit his hand fine, but they're so heavy they won't hold on the supposedly heavy duty magnetic knife holder strip.
I agree that the knife blocks aren't very sanitary - I really like the magnetic strip and having them so handy - no room for them in a drawer either - any other suggestions for storage?
Thanks.

If you use a knife block, put the knives in so the blunt edge is down; this saves the edge & is more sanitary.

We retired our block in our new kitchen because I didn't want it sitting in the middle of our island, where we prep. We put a long magnetic strip in our top drawer for our knives, which are Four Star Henkels.

How about installing two magnetic strips parallel to each other?

Jankey,
What type of holder is it?
I bought mine at Ikea and it holds even the large butcher knife firmly. It stands away from the wall about a 1/4" and is 1 1/2" wide.
Jimster has a great solution though.

Jankey:
Go with the 2 Magnetic Strips ( Matching )if you can.
It's a shame they don't have holes in the Handles for hanging.
Or!!! you could have a Custom made Block that opens like a book for cleaning.
Lou

We're planning to put up the two magnetic strips - when a little bit of renovation is finished.
I bought them thru Ebay and don't know the brand, but they were for restaurant use and heavy duty.
I just discovered the "Cookware" section and found some glass knife blocks that are beauties - one cost $1000!

tricia, really nice to see someone "that knows"!

I go with the "you have to feel the knife in yoiur hand" brigade. My DH wanted to buy me a new knife as a gift, and was considering the Global knives as they're so popular (so was I), but he was smart enough to know knives are a personal thing and so he took me to the shop to try them out. As it turned out, I HATED the way the Global felt in my hand and ended up (after hefting about every knife in the store) with another Wusthof Classic chef's knife which feels so right.
If you get the Henckel's by mail order, is it returnable if it turns out your DH doesn't like it after all once he's hefted it? Or could you physically take him to a knife store and get him to pick one out?