... as advertised and Mercer Knives are some of my favorite knives. They are super sharp
593016
This set came as advertised and Mercer Knives are some of my favorite knives.  They are super sharp, made of high quality, and have a comfortable handle.  I am a Mercer man for life unless the really change their knives.
2478004
Great Knife.  Lost its edge a little faster than my Wustoff, but its 1/5th the cost.

UPDATE:  This knife developed a little bit of discoloration in the blade after a year and I contacted Mercer about it.  They asked for a few pictures of the blade so I sent them in, and within 2 days I had a brand new knife from them on my doorstep.

FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SERVICE.  Company's like Mercer that sell on Amazon are the reason many of us buy ON Amazon.  They are an AMERICAN company located in Long Island, New York and their customer service is second to none.  Absolutely no hoops to jump through to get a replacement blade - identical to my first one, which I have been thrilled with.
3555076
These knives are fabulous!!  Very sharp and the sleeves that come with them make them an excellent purchase.  I would love to get more in additional sizes.  Awesome purchase
4183950
As mentioned by some of the earlier reviewers, this set of knives tends to replace the 6 1/2 inch Santoku with a 6 inch Chef knife. These seemed to be selective cases, but it happened to me less than a week ago and a replacement set I received today. Amazon, with their usual excellent customer service, provided me with a credit for a free Santoku knife while I keep my replacement set, and promised to correct the matter before they resume to sell the set. It is a hassle, but I am very pleased with their customer service. The knives are beautiful. The block is huge, but it keeps the knives away from one another, and I have enough counter space. Hopefully, future buyers will not have the same problem as I do.
1018849
Mercer Culinary is not a brand well known to most consumers. Mercer knives are sold mostly to culinary professionals and food service businesses through restaurant stores and other commercial outlets. But in the industry Mercer Culinary knives are one of the go to brands for dependable high quality long wearing knives to be used in daily food service and food industry work that in one day probably does more work than the average home cook would do in a year. The Mercer Culinary Millennia 8-Inch Chef's Knife, and the whole Millennia series of Mercer knives, is an extraordinary value for a knife of this quality. It is a straightforward no non sense tool, made from high carbon Japanese steel. The knife that it is most similar to is the Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, that is made in Switzerland. The main differences in quality come down to the handle, and your preference for the grip of one over the other, and that the Victorinox blade has a higher chromed sort of appearance whereas the Mercer has more of a polished type finish. They both have excellent cutting sharpness out of the box. The Mercer Millennia is slightly lighter at about 175 grams versus the Victorinox at about 200 grams. The blade shapes are more or less identical. Where the Mercer wins is on price with no obvious difference in quality. The Mercer Culinary Millennia 8-Inch Chef's Knife can typically be had for about $15.00 to $17.00 whereas the Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef's Knife usually goes for about $30.00 to $45.00. The Mercer Culinary Millennia 8-Inch Chef's Knife is a solid, dependable, sharp high quality chef's tool at a bargain price. I am a long time owner of several Victorinox Fibrox knives but I was so impressed with the first Mercer Culinary Millennia 8-Inch Chef's Knife that I purchased that I immediately bought two more, plus a 10 inch model of the same knife. RECOMMENDED.
3919486
I was so excited to get this knife it looked so great in pictures and I was not disappointed. It looks just as advertised and it is one beautiful knife. This knife is so sharp I love how the company takes their time to package everything into a nice box. I can't wait to buy more of Dalstrong knives.
1019205
These are good looking as well as very sharp knives.  We like them sooo much that i just ordered the steak knives (they don't have the pattern but they are the same 420jc series).  Well beyond my expectations and am very pleased with the purchase of both sets.
4788274
I purchased this set to replace another set (different brand) that I recently purchased but was unsatisfied with.

This is a beautiful set. The blades are thick, wide, and heavy. I am impressed with how sharp the knives were and appreciate the ceramic sharpening slots in the block - although I'm not really sure how useful they actually are but I supposed we'll see over time. I like that the types of knives are noted on the tips of the handles - saves me time hunting for the knife I need.

The knives have a full tang blade and a handle which feels very comfortable in my hand. The handles are smooth wood which is much more pleasant than the plastic handles I've found on other knife sets.

It is made in China, from German forged steel, not stainless. I'll have to take their word that its German steel. The sheers are a no-name brand but have a bottle opener on them (which I'll probably never use but nice to have in a pinch).

I've been saving up and doing my research on knives as I cook from scratch almost daily and having been wanting a good set that would stand the test of time. I'm really hoping my research and patience paid off and these are it. I'll update the review should this change, but I think I'll be very happy with these.

UPDATE 12/7/16: Now that I've had a chance to use these a little more, I'm even more in love with them. Last night they passed the tomato test - slicing and dicing Roma tomatoes. I kid you not, it was like slicing through softened butter. The slices were amazingly easy and clean.  then thinly sliced a red onion into nearly paper thin slices. Still thrilled with my purchase.
2922751
I will start by saying that I purchased these for $99 not the $95.99 they are currently listed for.  WHAAATTT???  Philyodaddy never gets conned like that!

Here is a ranked order of things I look for in a Knife Set:
1) Sharp as hell
2) Sharp as hell
3) Sharp as hell
4) looks pretty

That is the entire list. I am not nearly proficient enough in the kitchen to have other requirements. The knives are sharp as hell. They cut the crap out of stuff. I enjoy showing off their sharpness to amazed visitors (more realistically, I just show my girlfriend over and over again). Look how easy it is to cut through lemons! You try! Case closed. They are also a pretty good looking knife set. I'm not sure I needed 18 knives, because I only know what about 8 of them do, but it is impressive looking and really makes people know that I'm the boss.

I purchased them about 1 month ago, so I cannot objectively weigh in on the rust-issue (I have none at this point). Therefore my only real con at this point is that this point is that the block is really big and awkwardly fits in my small New York City kitchen. Please note the massive size before you follow me to sharpcity.

Update 11/15/13 - I can now objectively weigh in on the rust-issue.  Non-factor.  That is all.
819229
Be careful!  These knives are super sharp and don't loose their edge.  Not perfect for everything but good enough for almost any task.
2528241
They're definitely sharp. I accidentally hit my knuckle on one in the dishwasher and it bled pretty well.  They chop celery really well which my other pairing knives don't so well
2373052
I have a set of ceramic knives in my personal kitchen and ordered Daltstrong for my commercial kitchen.  They seem sturdier and have a great grip handle and I am excited to use them.  The only deceiving description that you have to read thoroughly on Amazon, is the "Set of 8"... it's 4 knives, and the 4 sleeves that cover each knife that make up the set of 8. If I were Dalstrong, I would re-write the description. They arrived, beautifully packaged and on time!
2454665
The knives are very nice , Just love how well they cut. Like the way the handle fits my hand.
4760827
My Sabatier knives showed up yesterday.  Let me preface this review with the fact that I'm not a food person, I've been known to use the bread knife to cut a fresh bottom on a Christmas tree or two, and like all guys I like shiny things.
I took them out of the box and was immediatly impressed with the weight and ballance.  I had a set of Farber knives before, and these have much more substance to them.  I really liked the way they looked, and I was able to sharpen them beyond their factory edge with the included knife sharpener.  Which is fun.  The paring knife worked great on an apple i tried out, and I was able to cut a penny in half with the scissors and then cut paper.  I saw a Cutco demo of this so I knew that penny cutting is a "must have" for knife purchases.  I searched through the box twice looking for the "missing knife" only to figure out that it wasn't missing, there's just an extra slot in the knife block.  The block orrients the knives vertically, and if it had horizontal slots instead, they blades would stay sharp longer, but for [the price] I really can't complain.  I would recommend these knives to anyone that won't mind buying another set in 5 years or so.  Personally, I love to have new stuff, and the prospect of carting around the same set of anything for more than that time isn't really appealing.
1826003
Yes, these knives are very sharp. They have a solid,quality feel. They are also attractive, the
color coding allows you to quickly select a knife. They come with plastic holders, which I don't use as they are tight and it seems will scratch the non-stick coating on the knives. I'm not sure of the long term durability of the coating, but so far makes it a breeze for cleaning.
3572524
These knives are my favorites.  I have a set of Henkel 4-stars, and these definitely don't feel as nice, but they're very sharp and the handles have great grips.
3006807
Yes,Im a Mercer culinary fan boy. Ive yet to be disappointed by any of their products. This steel is thicker than my old one and a much overdue upgrade