Product Description

The Wusthof beechwood 25-slot mega block will hold your complete Wusthof knife collection. It has room for 3 chef's knives, cleaver, 8 steak knives, 2 steels, scissors, carving fork and 10 other knives of your choice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16831 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Size: 25 slot
• Color: Beech
• Brand: Wüsthof
• Model: 7259
• Released on: 2004-01-28
• Dimensions: 7.20" h x 9.40" w x 12.20" l, 10.95 pounds

Features

• 25-slot beechwood cutlery block for countertop storage
• Includes 15 slots for kitchen knives, 8 slots for steak (or paring) knives, and 1 slot each for carving fork and shears
• Solid beechwood construction ensures durability
• Rubber feet beneath base provide stability
• Clean with damp cloth; limited lifetime warranty

Amazon.com Product Description
People with a passion for cooking generally keep large cutlery collections, which take up a lot of storage space. This 25-slot beechwood storage block lets you hoard all your knives in one convenient location. The block holds 15 knives--including cook's knives, slicers, bread knives, utility knives, and cleavers--in its main slots, in addition to eight 4-1/2-inch steak knives or paring knives in its lower openings. It even includes slots for a carving fork and kitchen shears. In addition, the attractive beechwood construction is durable and appealing, offering an earthy companion to the stainless knives and cookware that dominate most kitchens. To improve stability, the base includes several rubber feet that keep it rooted to the counter. As with Wüsthof's elite cutlery lines, the block comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

Customer Reviews

The last knife block you will need to buy!!
This is the biggest knife block I could find and I love it. It is very well made, stable, and well designed (knife positions). Many other large blocks have the cleaver slot at the very top, even thought most cleavers are only 6 inches long while chef's knives are up to 14 inches. This block also fits many knives into a relatively small space. I have had blocks that only hold 10 or so knives and this one is not that much bigger. The only competition for this block is the Henckel 22 slot-block (with the cleaver on top) and the chef knife slots are not wide enough to hold serious chef knives (read the reviews for yourself).

My only complaint for this block (so really a 4.5 rating) is that it has slots for 5 paring knives. Who needs 5 little knives? This is a serious block for serious cooks who generally use larger knives, so I feel that 3 little slots would be sufficient. After all, a little knife can fit in a large slot, but not the other way around. I have modified mine a bit to hold more large knives, but everyone likes different knives.

The only thing better than this block is finding the knives to fill it with.

Five different blocks
This Amazon entry includes five different Wusthof knife blocks. I own the 9 slot and 17 slot blocks, so those are the ones I'll review.

The Wusthof 9 slot knife block is of beechwood, a softer European hardwood. It takes up just under 4"x9" of counter space, with maybe an inch of overhang in the front. Its slots are as follows, from top to bottom:

- wide slot for a chef's knife of up to 10" (25cm) blade length
- square hole for a sharpening steel of up to 10" (25cm) length
- two slots for narrower knives of up to 8.5" (22cm) length, such as a carving knife and a bread knife
- moderately wide slot for a knife of up to 8" (20cm) length; this slot is not wide enough for a full size chef's knife, but did fit my 5.5" (14cm) mini chef's knife, and would also fit a boning knife
- narrow slot, 8" (20cm) long; however, this slot will not fit most 8" knives and seems designed for the Wusthof 6" (16cm) "sandwich" knife
- two small slots, 7" (18cm) deep; these are too narrow for the sandwich knife, and seem designed for the paring knife and the utility knife
- short slot for kitchen shears; I don't know exactly how long this is because it doesn't go all the way through, but it works fine for my Wusthof kitchen shears

I used this block for over a decade, at which point it was replaced because I finally accumulated more Wusthof knives than would fit in this block. After all those years it was slightly dingy because I'd never washed it, and had developed a slight crack on one side that did not affect its utility (and which I only noticed when I pulled it out to measure the slot lengths for this review). It's a good basic knife block for a typical kitchen.

The Wusthof 17 slot knife block is made of finished oak. It takes up about 4.5"x10.5" of counter space. Its slots are as follows, from top to bottom:

- wide slot for a chef's knife of up to 10.5" (27cm) blade length
- square hole for a sharpening steel of up to 10.5" (27cm) length
- wide slot for a chef's knife of up to about 9.5" (24cm) length; you might be able to put a 10" knife in this slot, but the tip might protrude a bit into the space between the bottom and the counter
- slot for a narrower knife of up to about 9.5" (24cm) length, such as a carving knife or a bread knife; as above, you might be able to squeeze in a 10" knife
- two moderately wide slots for knives up to 9" (22cm) blade length; note that a 23cm blade would probably not fit, even though it would still round to 9"
- wide slot for a chef's knife of up to 8" (20cm) blade length
- narrow slot with a curved cutout, 8" length; my Wusthof kitchen shears will fit this slot, either flat or at an angle to avoid blocking the slot to the left, but the slot is not good for knives because the nonrectangulat outline can cause the blade to hang up when dropped in
- three small slots, 7" (18cm) long, but only wide enough for smaller knives, such as the paring knife, utility knife, or tomato knife
- six vertically oriented slots, 4.5"-5" (11-12cm) long, intended for steak knives

I received this block with a set of Wusthof Culinar knives. It appears to be of very nice workmanship. The finish does chip a little at the sides of the slots if you drop your knives into the block as I do; however, this doesn't affect the functionality of the block. This is a good knife block for someone with a moderately full set of kitchen knives, or someone who likes the convenience of keeping steak knives in the block.

It is big and it works
A remodel of my kitchen left me with no place for the magnetic knife holders that I have used for years. Not having used a knife block before, I wasn't sure I could find one large enough for my blade collection. I picked this one from a large selection on Amazon and I find it perfectly satisfactory.

The block is heavy because there is a lot of wood but it is no larger (and thus no heavier) than it needs to be. There are slots in multiple sizes and the depth of the top slots is adequate for my 12" knives. Only the cleaver slot is too short. Asian cleavers may fit within it; American cleavers will not.

Fit and finish are excellent. All the joints are tight and the wood is smoothly sanded and finished for water resistance.

I still long for my magnetic bars but this has proved to be a fine substitute. Those with lots of knives can order it with confidence.