Chicago Cutlery 1109176 DesignPro 13-Piece Block Knife Set

I purchased an 8" chef knife similar to whats included in the set individually at a world kitchen store a while back, thought it was pretty unique w/ the grip design. Been pretty pleased with it for a year now and has kept its edge and polish. When i saw this knife set go on sale from an email i received i had to buy it right away with the idea that if one chef knife was well made just image having a complete set with the quality that i expected. Received the block set couple of days ago; the block was nice, thought they could've cleaned(debur) the wood better inside. Now the knives will do its job; cut, slice whatever knives do. For me i expected a bit more above standard experience, like i did w/ the. 8" chef. Comparing the two identical chef knives, i find that the set were not polished as fine as the individually purchased one; black handle piece did not have that dark black color. The Full length of each knife seemed to have skipped the polishing stage, which resulted with more friction with what was being cut. Washing the knives by hand just didn't give that clean feeling as if i had to keep wiping for a shine to appear. This effected the cutting quality, stain retention and overall experience. Attached: the 8" chef purchased individually. Notice the polish after i've already cut veggies and just wiped it off once.