I can't answer about a dark stained knife block but I will say if you invest in a few good forged knives you will be thrilled how much easier it is to prep. As for the diff in All Clad, without doubt they will both perform excellent -the SS can be go into the DW.

Thanks for the info on the All Clad - dishwasher use would be an important factor. As for the knives, I have them - I just added a couple new ones and need a block with more slots and I'd like my kitchen shears in there as well. I think I'm going to be stuck with the lighter shade as that's all that seems to be out there right now.

All Cald SS can be used with induction while the MC2 can not. So there must be a difference. Owning induction now I think that this type of cooktop will become popular, so I would never buy cookwear again that is not induction capable.

Can you stain the light block?

Gee glassquilt, that's a great idea. I may have to consider that. I imagine I might have to sand and "refinish" if the one I end up getting has some kind of poly like finish on it - but that would be easy enough with such a small thing like a knife block.

What about this?

It has 22 slots - so you would have an excuse to add more.