I love mine. It's Fiestaware and it is colorful and happy (pardon the scissors being in the dishwasher!)

The knives work just as well as my much more expensive Calphalon ones in my PA house and the whole set was $57 (I paid more than that for some of the individual knives in my Calphalon line)

https://www.wayfair.com/Fiesta-11-Piece-Knife-Set-with-Block-RM-FIE3662-L3494-K~FIE3662.html?refid=GX103069589403-FIE3662_12034609&device=c&ptid=265235109483&targetid=pla-265235109483&PiID%5B%5D=12034609&gclid=Cj0KEQjw-73GBRCC7KODl9zToJMBEiQAj1Jgf0dzpcyIsHMoogQn1Pmr1_lv5Ch9vdKFCXA4rrYJ6_kaAl8r8P8HAQ

I am a foodie and all my knives are in a drawer.

Mine are in a drawer in the prep area of my kitchen. (I'm a foodie, too)

Invest in a good chef's knife instead. I have the Wustof 8" and 10" and have prepared every meal for the last 35 years with those two knives. You don't need a fancy bread knife, boning knife, or parer, but a good chef's knife is a must.

I'd have to rearrange a drawer.

Mayflowers - What about steak knives? You don't use a utility or parer? I actually do have a Wusthof 7" on my Amazon list. I just looked at the 8" is cheaper.

Now I'm here thinking it might be nice to have one more thing off my counter!

I dont' use them because of the potential for germ growth inside it. I like them in a drawer or on a magnetic strip on wall,

Another person here with all the knives in a drawer in a special holder so they are kept neat. I don't like them out on the counter. Mine have also been collected over the years and don't match. My absolute favorite, the one I cannot do without, is my long Sontoku knife. It does everything!

I love that Fiesta knife set, though!

I have a wood knife holder in the drawer like Lynn. I do have a set of Ceramic knives I love that have a clear acrylic stand which can be washed. Includes a Ceramic veggies peeler.

Ceramic knife set

I echo the good chef's knife. I use it constantly. Mine was made for me by a knife company in Tokyo that was the knife maker to the emperor's of Japan. It has my name on it in Japanese. It has been a workhorse of a knife and I've had it close to 40 years. And with knives you get what you pay for. I have a good bread knife and a good paring knife and a so-so filet knife. Actually, my chef's knife takes the place of some of those kitchen gadgets that they sell on TV!

I don't have a "set", I have certain knives I like for different tasks. Nor do I have them on the counter, mine are also in a drawer. (I also cook, not a foodie LOL Maybe I'm a cookie?)

Mine are also in a drawer. I don't like sets, though. I started with one really great knife and added to it. My husband also had some great knives, so when we married, we had a great set. We've added to it since then.

Shee, I have a Henckels steak knife set. They have wooden handles so they can't go in the DW, so I'd recommend you get a stainless set. The best paring knife I ever had is their curved blade one. It was great for apples.

http://www.zwillingonline.com/30720062.html

The chef's knife is the utility knife in my kitchen. I do have a thinner blade knife that might be a utility knife but it's awkward for preparing veggies and I seldom use it anymore. I've seen people try to chop veggies with those knives and it's absolutely torturous! I use my 8" Wustof chef for everything. They also make a 9". I remember paying $20 for those knives back in the early 80s! They went through the DW for many years until I saw how expensive they are now, so I only hand-wash them now. But if you buy a good knife, you'll have it for life, and the best knives have lifetime guarantees.

Our most used knives are in a wood block. We have three drawers with special knives and knives that are semi retired.

One thing we've done to prolong the blade sharpness is to store the knives with the sharpened side facing up and not touching the wood block. That means upside down from the way most people store them. I realized I was carving wood every time I put the knife in or took it out, so we stopped doing it that way. Take a look at the bottom of the holes in your block and see if they are getting cut up.

Mine are in a wood block, and when I move they will sit on the counter next to the hand-made wood cutting board my old housemate's father made for us when we moved in here around 25 years ago. The wood is similar on both units. I am looking forward to seeing them together and ON the counter.

The wood board is about 2 feet by 2.5 feet, and over an inch thick, so it stays out. (Currently, it has resided on a countertop and until just now has been unforunatedly mosly covered by kitchen stuff that I wanted to hand, not stuff I wanted to go find in the back bedroom since my current kitchen, well, is not made for anyone who cooks. The wood block has been by the range (working space about 15 inches on either side of the range) along with the condiments not requiring refrigeration. Yep, a MESS!

At my future home, the condiments will be in cabinets, and the wood block will be next to the cutting board.

The knives themselves: I bought a set early on from a friend's son who was working for Cutco, that knife company that seems to depend on people feeling sorry for friends' kids trying to get started in life. I still have a few.

However, my workhorses:

Victorinox chef's knife (recommended by Consumer Reports).
Cutco serrated knife with about an 8 inch blade.
Wustof paring knife (recommended by America's Test Kitchen).

I could live with just these three, but I do host (or plan to host now that I will have the space!) pot lucks where additional food prep may go on in my kitchen, and no sense in letting everyone wait for an available knife. Plus, I really don't want to share my Victorinox! I have a second, decent chef's knife that came from Cephalon when I bought one of my pots, plus several of those original Cutco knives are still around.

(I belong to a Meetup group where we gather together and cook in people's homes together, to whatever theme it is that date. I have never been able to host in my current home due to kitchen dysfunction, but am looking forward to hosting in the future.)

Oh, I did pick up a specialized Japanese cutting knife (which will reside in my future Asian Utensil Drawer) when I am ready to move that up there. I love Asian cookery, and am indeed looking for a good cleaver for Chinese and Korean cookery.

Frankly, it is comforting to me not to have everything tucked into drawers or cabinets. I just want all the tiny appliances and the condiments GONE from counter tops!!!

Edit: Dchall, great idea on knife-in-block storage!!!

Drawer full of oddities, but I do like the Fiesta set!

Nothing fancy for us, we’ve had the same block for several years. It could be stained to match your decor. Very handy and I like my knives within easy reach. Bed, Bath & Beyond.

We have collected many knives over time, so we have a big knife block.

Ours are in a drawer and I like them much better there. We used to have them in a block out on the island in our previous home, and I hated the way that thing gathered dust.

In our last house we redid our kitchen & I bought new knives for it. I have to say a small set of Wusthof knives but the best thing we did. It has made prep work more pleasurable. Sits on the counter where I prep.

I would have to get quite a few pairing knives. We somehow use a lot of knives throughout the day and then head to the sink, without water, and wait to be washed. Even though we use a dishwasher I always like to wash my knives and plastic lids to my glass containers by hand.

I never considered the possibility of germs with a knife block. I just assumed since they were washed and dried first this wouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for the recommendations. I do have some random knives in a drawer that were a gift but I always tend to grab the ones from the block.

I am sure it isn't good for my block but I pour boiling water through it occasionally. I have also sprayed it with rubbing alcohol.

I think the koosh (something like that....I forget) knife blocks like 4Hei pictured have a removable insert for washing, plus they fit anything.

I have discovered that I have too many knives with similar handles to have a knife block. :)

I love my knife block, but would never buy one with a "set" of knives. I've collected my knives over the past 50 years! A really good chef's knife will cost you more than $100.

If you have a knife block can you please post a photo of it in your kitchen? I was hoping to see more photos of them and how they related to your kitchen. Did you pick them to blend in or stand out?

I think if I had a large kitchen I wouldn't mind them on the counter. When I bought a new set I tried the block up on my tiny counter for a while and ended up putting them in the drawer. I hung on to the block for a little bit then finally shipped it off to goodwill.

If you have a knife block can you please post a photo of it in your kitchen? I was hoping to see more photos of them and how they related to your kitchen. Did you pick them to blend in or stand out?

I didn't choose mine as a decor item. Purely functional for me. I have good knives and I wanted a good quality block that was big enough to hold my knives.

I keep mine tucked in next to the stove like this. When I am doing a lot of cooking I will move it the island while I work. And gratuitous cat shot - I don't think I have an interior picture without one of them lurking!

oh I like the fiesta one. I have a fiest knife set, maybe a steak knife set, and I use them all the time, but all in a drawer. I don't like looking at them.

too funny brdrl!

I don't have a set of knives but have an angled dark wood block on my counter for storing my collection of knives. Have had a block for nearly 40 years and no ill effects caused by germs. My original block cracked and I had to search far and wide to find a good block that didn't have a brand name emblazoned on the front. I bought dark wood to go with dark cabinets in my new kitchen in last house. It came with me to my new house that has lighter wood. I'm fine with that as I prefer an eclectic mix vs. matchy-matchy.

Another user of a magnetic strip with knives collected over time rather than bought as a set. Steak knives (several different sets) are in their boxes in a drawer. I love having them on the strip.

Mine are in the drawer but with not with an insert. Just loose, laid on a triple layer of cushiony shelf liner. The knives are the only things I keep in that drawer.

Shee, I bought mine to blend in with its friends in the prep corner. Like Ida said, it collects dust, especially because of the proximity to the range.

We're due for a good scrubbing and rearranging our cabinet/drawer space; I will likely move them to a drawer with our better knives.

I am another with my knives in a drawer insert - I just don't like to see those blocky blocks on my kitchen counter. I've linked below to mine but there are others sold that are similar. It holds a set of 6 steak knives, and my kitchen knives. I detest "sets" (other than a steak knife set). The knife sets always have many knives you don't need, but pay for, and take up room. My knives are either Wusthof or Victorinox. I de-cluttered and pared (haha) them down to paring knife, chefs knife, boning knife, and serrated bread knife. I also have a spare chefs knife and paring knife for the rare times someone actually helps me prep in the kitchen.

https://www.amazon.com/Henckels-13-Slot-Drawer-Knife-Tray/dp/B0000632SX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490205659&sr=8-1&keywords=Henckels+knife+drawer

Thanks for the additional pictures and links.

Anglo - I know. My point was I wasn't planning on paying over that.

Johnsoro - I like your cutting board.

Brdrl - I like how yours is tucked against the wall.

Panko9 - I like what I can see of your kitchen!

Frieda - Thanks for the link. I was going to look for some drawer knife trays tonight. I'm not sure if I'll have room but the drawer could use a good cleaning out. :)

Honestly, no offense to anyone, but I couldn't do the magnetic strip thing. Seeing knives out like that makes me uncomfortable. Uncomfortable as in how some people may feel towards seeing a gun out.

The new one(I wanted to get something copper. Because I couldn't have a copper faucet, and I really wanted one. So since our old knife block was so old..):

the old one is Henckels all right and is in the wooden block as well just in the under cabinet lazy suzan..I usually need to get used to use new things lol. So i use mostly old knives, some are missing though. But my kids don't hesitate as much.

We also have plenty of other miscellaneous knifes in the top drawer..I use it for cutlery..the knives are in the separate flat basket. I put a folded towel on the bottom of that basket.

I also started to try and wash them by hand rather than putting in the dishwasher. since they do go dull.

I'm no chef, especially these days..but yes, the right knife -you can't overestimate it.

I really want Henckels with two little people on it..higher quality..had their paring knife and it disappeared. Magically. So I try to get a different one. For years already:) I ordered one on sale-and then they sent me an email with apologies they sold out. Was in a store with my Mom when she visited-and they were on sale, both of us wanted that same knife. but the store had only one left, so I said "you buy it". In short, no luck yet.

Here's mine - didn't have a photo when I posted earlier

I am bringing my just-refurbished wood cutting board and my knife block up to my new build this Saturday. I'll take a photo and post it this weekend. (It won't include the best knives, since I need them down here!)

You really don't need to see the setup in the current kitchen. Nothing to see... move on!

One of the goals of my kitchen remodel was to reduce/eliminate clutter on the counters. Things that used to live on the counter but now live in drawers (or in the super susan) include canisters, knife blocks, chargers, and toaster. The only thing permanently left out on the counters are the MW (tucked into a corner) and a paper towel holder. I love my knife drawer!

My Mom has a small kitchen in an apartment, with very little counter space, and downsized a lot when she moved from a big house. She added a small knife insert to her flatware drawer - the knife insert is at the very front, and the flatware organizer behind it. I wish I had a photo. I think her insert holds 4 or 5 knives, which is all she needs.

3katz, love your backsplash!

Thank you Cynthia. I can't take any credit for it as it came with the house when we moved in. After obsessing for months and spending way too much time on this forum when we remodeled the kitchen in our last house it's a bit weird moving to this place and just taking the kitchen as is - golden oak and all. But I like it and it all goes together nicely and I'm never again spending a small fortune on a kitchen remodel. I'm at a different stage of life now and don't care as much about that kind of thing any more. I did get fabulous new under cabinet lighting yesterday though which was one thing I really wanted to change.

Have you tried looking on Etsy? Lots of really wonderful woodworkers there often customizing to what you need.

I have a magnet strip with wood detail from lee valley. I couldn't go back. It is so darn convenient.

Here is mine. I stored original knives but kept block for daily use. Put a set of KA for daily use. It is located in the primary food prep section

Daisy I didn't even think of Etsy. I'll check it out, thanks!

After this thread I'm now thinking why not store my knives in a drawer. I may end up going that direction. I'm going to wait until we're no longer using bottles/bottle drying rack to really look at the counters again.

B/c you need one handy if Freddy Kruger shows up...

I'm yet another knives in drawer girl and I love it. Highly reccommend it. My old block would get dusty/dirty as well. This is cleaner and eliminates some counter clutter.

Good luck deciding what to do!