If in doubt, add curves. It's a design motto that has served many companies well, from modernist Apple to Orb Audio. And today's company takes design to the kitchen and household, adding flair to your countertops and meals. We've seen an awesome kitchen scale and chopping board from them recently, and today's find brings an edge for you to use while chopping and dicing.
The Joseph Joseph Elevate Knives Carousel Set is a fun and functional take on a knife block. Not only does it offer a rotating design that makes finding your proper cutlery convenient and fairly space-efficient, the included knives are quite good. A lot of knife sets include options that you won't need or use, or feature blades that are sub-par, but we liked each and every one of these. They won't replace our lovely set from Kai Shun anytime soon, but the weighted handles are great. And we liked the built-in tool rest that prevents the blades from touching a surface when you set them down (hence the Elevate name).
The blades themselves are stainless steel that has been coated in a non-stick coating, and they are color-coded as well, a cute touch. The set includes a 4″ paring knife, a 5″ serrated knife, a solid 5½" santoku knife, 6½" Chef’s knife, 8″ carving knife, and finally an 8-inch bread knife. That's pretty much everything you need to complete a kitchen collection. And while you can't tell from the picture, the design doesn't rely on something as old-school as gravity to hold the blades- you slowly dull your edge when using traditional knife blocks. We're a big fan of magnetic ones for that reason, and the Elevate Carousel Set uses magnets to hold the blades in place, and allows you to put any of the knives in any slot, unlike your mom's wooden version.
They do suggest hand washing and drying only, which is fairly standard practice for good cutlery. These might not be the sharpest or the most durable blades- but it's an excellent deal for a good set that covers your bases, and offers one of the best knife block designs that we've seen. Joseph Joseph offers a wide range of gifts that would be great last-minute buys for Father's Day, and the Elevate Knives Carousel is available online and in stores for around $80.
