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The rubber is more gentle on the knife edges than wood, and you can slide the block out and stick it in the dishwasher. It holds quite a bit more than a traditional block, too - because you can (carefully) pack the knives in closer we were able to get rid of a whole extra block! Hopefully they will make replaceable rubber inserts in case they start to break down over time, and you can avoiding having to buy a whole new set...