I recently got tired of super cheap knives and wanted to upgrade without spending a ton of money. I read reviews on here and all over the internet and settled on this set to go with a larger chef knife from a different Japanese brand. That one was a wedding gift and way more expensive, but I like these better. I use them every day and they maintain sharpness well. Japanese knives are not for everyone - you do need to wipe off and dry immediately and use a rod to straighten. I never sharpen myself - once a year I take them to a knife shop for that. The pairing knife is probably best for people with smaller hands - it's pretty small. For me, these work great for daily kitchen use and yield precise, easy cuts for everything from meat to potatoes to veggies.A great pair of knives for lots of veggies prepping. Also meats.I literally just took this out of the box washed it and tried it on a grape tomato and did paper thin slices. I like the size (7 in) of the knife and I didnt have tomatoes sticking to the blade. It feels good to handle and the weight feels just right. The mid range knives recommended by the culinary school is ginormous and felt cumbersome. This one feels like an extension of my hand. This was recommended by one of the chef instructors. The paring knife also felt easier to use. felt like a sharp butter knife without a bulky handle. glided over the apple easily.So far, happy with purchase. Will update down the road. Would be nice if it came with knife guards.Razor sharp and a pleasure to use. Best knives ever made.I bought this knife set because I used a Global paring knife for many years and wanted a new one when I moved. At around $100, these knives are a good deal for a 7" and 3" pair. The knives are sharp, and the seamless design from knife to handle is what sold me. However, the bane of online purchases, since I was not able to actually hold the knife, I didn't realize how thin the handles were. The paring knife I had previously used was more bulbous and felt more natural in your hand. These knife handles are very thin, think like grabbing a pair of craft scissor shears by the blades, and not shaped very well, so if your hands are wet, oily/slippery from food, it's quite dangerous as they just slide around in your hands. Same goes for the paring knife- your hands almost feel cramped trying to maneuver the knife. A pocket knife has more handle breadth. I think Global knives are great, so I don't want to knock the quality of the knife, it's just this generation/model of knives weren't thought out as well as current (?) models.I saw someone else review that the paring knife didn't feel that great to hold, and I agree. I can't exactly detect what's not right but I wish I'd just bought the fluted one, which I love. It does a great job and feels good in my hand.Excellent sharpness and quality as expected from Global. Packaged nicely. Love the sizes and shapes of these, slim and precise. Handles are comfortable, but I wish the paring knife handle was a little wider. Still, I prefer a knife from one piece as opposed to a bolster any day of the week. Once you use global knives it’s hard to use anything else. A cut above, in my opinion.Great chef knife for someone petite like me. Well balanced, cuts easily, good amount of weight and handle is easy to grip. Love these knives/brand.