Eva Solo Knife Block

[jongchen]

I had been eying the Eva Solo Knife Block Block ever since I saw it in the MOMA store in NYC. I just got a new knive (a Nenox Guyoto) and my current knife block is out of space. That gave me an excellent excuse to buy the block.

The block is made out of plastic with a plastic accordion like liner. It has a fairly shallow angle and is tall and narrow. It has a brushed aluminum look for the exterior. Some web sites incorrectly describes it as made out of aluminum. The angle of the block is fixed. Some web sites incorrectly describes it as being adjustable to a flat version. It is not. Looking at the Eva Solo web site it seems like they sell two versions an angled and an flat version. I have the angled version.

Pros:

This is very subjective, but I really like the way it looks. It is very compact and holds a lot of knives. I have 2x 10" chefs, 1x 8" chef, 1x 10" steel, 1x 8" slicer, 1x 8" bread, 1x 6" chef, 1x 8" boning, 1x 3.5" utility, 1x 2.5" parer and 1 pair of scissors in it. There is a lot of room left over. The accordion like insert keeps all the blades separated and there is no chance of them contacting each other. The insert is also removable so you can clean it. That is a bigger plus than you can imagine. Especially if you have people in your house that puts knifes away dirty and wet. I am pretty fastidious about putting my knifes away clean but the bottom of my old wooden knife block was a little moldy. Ick! The manufacturers web site also recommends putting other stuff in the block like spatulas. Mine pretty full so I haven't tried it. Though I can see the utility of it.

Cons:

It is expensive. I paid around $120 for it plus tax at the MOMA design store in NYC. It is tall. If I slide it all the way under my cabinets I can't get the knifes out of it. It is "tippy." The block is made of plastic and thus very light. Due to the angle you have to be careful when pulling your knifes out. You need to pull your knifes straight out or you risk it falling forward. If you like your knives in a specific position you need to pay attention when putting it away. There really aren't any specific slots. You can put a knife in any "pleat."

Conclusion:

Even with the cons I still love the block. I like that it is compact. I like that it holds tons of knifes. I like that it doesn't only hold the knifes that the designer of the block wants you to store in it.

Close up of block with knifes

Another close up

block in its normal location

Edited November 13, 2007 by jongchen (log)

[OrleansAg]

Thanks for the info. It's nice to see it in action vs. the stock picture. I was thinking of getting that, but I'm also looking at their knife magnets. They are circular, so a bit different than traditional bars.

[forever_young_ca]

I have had the straight up and down version of this for several years http://www.evasolo.com/products-knifestand.html .

I love it. It looks very stylish on my black granite counter, holds lots of knives and does not take up as much room as the slanted version. It is also very easy to clean as the accordians pull out, they gets washed and put back in.