Voodoo 5 Piece Knife Set with Block > Reviews (4)

*~*Introduction and reason for purchase*~*

I have a predominantly white coloured kitchen where my main wall is tiled white with a contrasting red grout whilst my flooring is black. Because of this my appliances tend to be either of these 3 colours to fit in with the colour scheme and when looking for a new knife block I had red in mind.

My old knife block was black with rainbow coloured handles and whilst it has served it's purpose the knives are now quite blunt and the handles are faded having been kept on my window ledge and subsequently catching the rays of the sun.

Around September of last year I was idly flicking through Studio catalogue which I don't often order from these days but there were a few small items I wanted to order for stocking fillers for Christmas and as I neared the end of the catalogue I spotted the household products with this - Voodoo Man Knife Block - instantly catching my eye, and I decided to order it in red.



*~*Appearance*~*

What caught my eye immediately is the fact this knife block is in the shape of a man and the knives literally pierce through him. As one of my favourite TV programmes is Dexter (about a 'good' serial killer) this instantly reminded me of the show and it was so quirky that I liked it's originality as it was different from the norm.


This can be purchased in the following colours:

*Red
*Black
*Chrome
*Aubergine
*Olive

The knife block contains five high quality knives all made from molybdenum and vanadium stainless steel which is supposedly sharper than standard stainless steel.

The knives included are:

*Two chefs knives
*One pairing knife
*One utility knife
*One carving knife

The five knives all have their own individual sized slots on various parts of the 'voodoo man' with one through the head, two through the chest and the other two on each leg and each is held in place by not only the slot but the addition of a magnet meaning they wont just fall out. The voodoo man is made of a sturdy plastic and the height is 39cm, with the rather large circular base being 26cm in diameter and if including the length of the knives the width is 39cm.



*~*Price, packaging & availability*~*

I first came across this knife block through the Studio catalogue as mentioned and this was the first time I had seen it, though I have since spotted it online on various sites including Amazon. I paid £49 in Studio which at the time I thought was expensive but now I have looked around I have found my purchase was actually the cheapest as it is in excess of £59 everywhere else and on one site I spotted it at £79!


The knife block arrived in a large cardboard box with each individual knife in a cardboard covering. Though the covering was thick I wouldn't say it was ample enough to protect the knives as you could see where the serrated edges were tearing through. The voodoo man himself came intact though the large round base was separate and simply screwed into the base of the man. Setting up the knife block was relatively easy and it took only minutes to unpack everything and screw the base to the voodoo man.

The plastic sheaths that the knives rest on are already attached and whilst they don't look very sturdy the actual knives are held in place more securely by magnets that are hidden inside voodoo man's 'wounds' so there is no chance of them just falling out despite how unstable they do actually appear.




*~*My experience of using this product*~*

I was quite surprised given the size of my voodoo man knife block as it simply didn't look that large in the Studio catalogue and apart from a mention on which knives were included there was little else in the way of measurements. This wasn't too much of a problem as I do have quite a large work surface area in my kitchen and it fitted neatly next to my hob and my tea/ coffee/ sugar jars and fitted in with my kitchen colour scheme perfectly.

I liked the look of the black and chrome voodoo 'men' at first though on closer inspection at photos online I found the I preferred the red and thought it would blend in more with my colours in my kitchen and when it arrived I knew I'd made the right choice.

I must admit I bought this primarily for it's appearance and was just taken in by it's unique and unconventional looks, though I have to say on how impressed I have been by the quality of the knives. I'm not a grand master chef and spend hours upon hours chopping and slicing by any means but when I have used these I have found them to be of the highest quality. I mainly use the bread and pairing knives and they are extremely sharp and get the job done, not to mention how durable the handles are as they are all moulded from the same piece of stainless steel as opposed to having plastic handles which can break with forceable use.

Voodoo man is made from a shiny plastic material which I must admit gathers dust quite quickly, well probably no more than usual actually but because of it's polished appearance it just shows the dust particles more. The knife block is easy to keep clean though as a simple wipe down with a damp cloth and soapy water then buffing dry brings him up looking sleek and polished once more.

If you like quirky products then this is ideal though it wont be to everyones taste. My husband's aunt said it was disgusting and why on earth would I want something like this to which I replied that I have a True Blood calendar in my kitchen featuring vampires but it doesn't mean I go round sucking peoples blood from their necks! At the end of the day the knife block's appearance is a bit of fun but the actual knives are of the highest quality and that's all that counts for me.


***Sizes are taken from official website www.voodooknifeblock.co.uk though everything else is purely in my own words***