I am reviewing this product after using them for 1- year and will address a few issues other posters have mentioned as either a question, or, an "issue".

First to address the customer service at Mercer. I initially had a small problem with my order
and after not receiving a response going through Amazon, I contacted the company directly.
When emailing the company I received immediate, helpful, 5 star customer service.
They went above and beyond to make sure that I was a happy customer.
A trait that is difficult to find these days. I learned that many companies do not see
the reviews posted here, and sometimes communication through Amazon to them,
(regarding a problem for example) may not even make it to the company.

That is what happened in my case. Once Mercer was aware of my issue they immediately
jumped through hoops to fix it. I admit to not being the nicest person when making
contact with Mercer as I believed they were ignoring me by not answering communication sent through Amazon, yet, they were nice to me. Proffesional.
considering my "tone".

The knives are a solid, heavy, (compared to cheap run of the mill sets), extremely sharp quality product. The handles are made of some type of rubber(?) material which assures a solid
easy to handle grip. This matters, a lot. I am not a chef by any means, not even close, but from my experience wood handled knives when wet are not only difficult to grip, but dangerous because they become slippery.

When the knives first arrive they are unbelievably sharp. After a few months they do begin to
dull a bit but I now have a knife sharpener that quickly brings them back. I'm a total novice in the kitchen so this was a learning experience. All knives get
less sharp and should be sharpened appropriately. Mercer was kind enough to educate me.

Now I see why in Game of Thrones every one is constantly sitting around
sharpening their Valaryan Steel swords. Sorry, couldn't resist :)

Others have posted questions about the glass block itself and how to clean it. One word. Easy. See attached picture. Extremely easy.

The other "issue" I have noticed posted about a lot is the height of the knives in relation to the bottom of your kitchen cabinets. Again, refer to my attached pictures for the overall "look".

When I each for a knife I do slightly pull the block forward (towards me) to remove it.
This has proved to be a non issue for a couple of reasons. One, you just get used to
doing that motion. If you place the block under a cabinet you obviously cannot lift the
knife straight up and out. However, it is not a problem at all.

Two, the glass block is surprisingly sturdy so it does not fall over as you tilt it forward a bit
to remove the knife. I'm so used to the motion now I don't even notice, it's just second nature.

I love this set. Apparently my undercabinet lighting has effected my pictures as they actually look
more "shiny" from a distance in person. A clean, updated modern design as opposed to the big old wood block ones.

And the quality is top knot here. Well worth the price! Would make a great gift too.

Excellent purchase

Handsome knife set that looks clean and takes minimal space on the counter. I forgot what it was like to slice into everything like butter! You won't miss the block set at all!

Great

This was a Christmas gift to my parents two years ago. They are still going strong. My mom instantly loved them and threw away her cheap block set she had used for over a decade. I think my family was so used to crappy dull kitchen knives that they were shocked at how a decent knife performed. Both my mom and brother-in-law cut themselves during that holiday week. They come out of the box razor sharp.

The handles are the best feature of these knives. They are a durable, textured rubber and are very comfortable. Very grippy when wet, unlike most knife handles. That was one of the reasons I bought this set and the handles outperformed expectations.

The steel is fine. It is an upgrade over a cheap $10-15 knife you'll find at Target or similar stores, but it is by no means a premium kitchen knife stainless steel. For this price, you cannot expect that. If you want an above average steel on a kitchen knife you typically have to pay >$100 per knife. For the average home cook this is good enough. The steel holds an edge well as long as you don't abuse it, and it sharpens easily. I beat it into my parent's brains to never put these in the dishwasher. They are washing them by hand but they are just like any typical home cook. They never hone the knives and eventually they lose their edges. Each time I visit, I hone the knives with a steel rod, and then finish with a leather strop. That is enough to restore a sharp edge. I've been doing this for 2 years and have only sharpened them once with 400-800-1000 grit stones, and that was likely overkill. If you know how to hone with a ceramic or steel rod, that could maintain a decent edge for years.

I'm not familiar with this steel composition, but I believe it probably has high carbon and low chromium for a stainless steel. Because of my parent's neglect at drying the knives, there are patina spots on most of the knives. It has no effect on the functionality of the knife as long as you don't let it sit in water for days. When people complain in the reviews about discoloration, it's because they don't understand patina and they aren't drying their knives. Don't less this deter you from buying them.

The glass block has a nice, classy look that is far superior to a cheap wood block, but is also not suitable for everyone. My parents keep the block under the cabinets. so you have to tilt the block to remove the chef, boning, or bread knives. Their cabinets are a typical height for a house kitchen. You can get the paring and utility knives in and out of the block without tilting. If you are a careless and clumsy person, maybe you should opt for the wood block to avoid an accident. An advantage with the glass is you can see if there's mold or mildew building up from moisture, and then take it apart to clean it. Just be careful taking it apart, the glass windows come out individually so you'll be holding a large piece of glass without any grip while washing.

For my family, the boning knife is by far the least useful knife in this set. If I could modify this set, I would add a second utility/paring knife or small santoku/chef knife. I considered buying a duplicate utility knife to replace the boning knife, they should fit the same slot. My mom said don't bother, she uses the boning knife like it's a utility knife. She uses the utility knife the most, paring knife the second most, and loves the bread knife for bagels.