There are plenty of practical reasons why folks would want to use a knife block in lieu of more obscured storage solutions. Limited drawer space might require one to sacrifice some counter surface ...
You could shell out $125 for a very clever Schaschlik knife block, or you could roll up your DIY sleeves and make your own version for less than $15 like blogger ...
The clever DIY folks at Instructables detail how to make your own magnetic knife block to hold your knives on the wall for easy access. In all, this looks like a relatively simple project to tackle ...