Mercer Culinary M20608 Genesis 8-Inch Chef's Knife,Black

I am very impressed with the Mercer Culinary Genesis 8-Inch Forged Chef's Knife. It is, as a type, very similar to the Wüsthof Classic 8" Chef's Knife and the Henckels International Classic 8" Chef's Knife, both of which cost more, much more in the case of the Wüsthof. The Mercer Culinary Genesis Chef's Knife is a delightful kitchen tool, well balanced, made in Taiwan from high-carbon, German cutlery steel. This seems to be the method these days with Chinese and Asian knives: made in China or Taiwan to cut costs from imported high end German steel. The knife is definitely sharp right out of the box. Although I don't know for sure I would guess that it uses a standard 20 degree bevel rather than the 15 degree Japanese style that has become fashionable for super sharpness. For home cooking it should hold its edge for quite some time between stropping or sharpening. I especially like the feel and grip of the Santoprene handle. Of course synthetic materials like Santoprene always raise a small worry about long term wear and durability. But I have had Henckels knives with wooden handles that splintered after a few years and also Chinese knives with ABS handles that shattered or separated. So it's mostly a matter of quality and the Mercer impresses that no corners were cut in its manufacture. The bolster on the Mercer Culinary Genesis is, for me, especially well proportioned and makes it easy to grip the knife properly. The knife has a full tang that runs the length of the handle, something that many cut rate but otherwise good looking Chinese knives do not have. Be especially careful of such Chinese made knives that have ABS handles with faux rivets and no visible tang on the top or bottom. Mercer Culinary is not a brand well known to most consumers. Mercer knives are sold mostly to culinary professionals and food service businesses through restaurant stores and other commercial outlets. But in the industry Mercer Culinary knives are one of the go to brands for dependable high quality long wearing knives to be used in daily food service and food industry work that in one day probably does more work than the average home cook would do in a year. The Mercer Culinary Genesis 8-Inch Forged Chef's Knife can typically be had for about $30.00-45.00 whereas the Wüsthof Classic 8" usually goes for about $130-155.00. The Mercer Culinary Genesis 8-Inch Forged Chef's Knife is a solid, dependable, sharp high quality chef's tool at a very affordable price. RECOMMENDED.

After using Henckels knives for a few years and busting my knuckles when chopping I decided to upgrade. I have only used this knife for a couple of days so I can't speak to how long it holds an edge. The grip is great with the rubberized handle. There is plenty of room between my knuckles and the cutting board when using to chop veggies. This knife feels like it has a decent amount of heft with a sturdy handle and blade. Having said that I will say that the blade is a tad thinner than my other chefs knives which I feel is a plus when it comes to cutting thru thinker produce. Ok so how does it cut? It came reasonably sharp but I have a set of diamond stones and used these to put a razor sharp edge on this knife. It cut thru celery, bell peppers, carrots and onions like butter. I accidently touched the blade to the back of my finger and an now typing with a bandaid on one finger. No fault of the knife itself. The blade was just as sharp when I finished as when I started with about a half hour of cutting done which is not what I am used to. I usually have to sharpen at the start of a meal prep and again part way thru to keep a keen edge. I would buy a whole set of these knives if they offer them.

Dollar for dollar- these are great knives. Handles are easy to hold and blades stay sharp. Dishwasher safe. Hard to beat for the price. I own several different shape knives from this series- I like them all. They arrive surgically sharp.

Product arrived very sharp. Price was not bad. It seems to be a good quality product.

Ok, this is wild, when i took this knife from my drawer today i though i had to look it up and potentially gave a review. I checked and I bought this knife close to 10 years ago! (Dec 2016), for $25.56, what!! And its still my favorite knife, i have few expensive knives that i was gifted but somehow i 90% of times reach for this one. It has great balance, great weight, the edge is easy to sharpen and holds reasonably well. I was dicing and slicing today after quick honing and the knife cut like through butter. Its buy for life kind of item, i just hope current one is the same as the one i bought 10 years ago.

Before I go further, this replaces a Henkels chef's knife that I have used every day for 30 years or so. I use a wetstone regularly and keep my knives very sharp. Any difference in feel creates an issue for me; something that will take time to get used to. On the plus side this knife is very good value. That it is made in Taiwan is irrelevant - it seems to be well constructed of very good steel. The dry handle has a great feel to it. The blade has ample width and it came razor-sharp out of the box. On the minus side, the spine is rather thin for a forged knife. If you hold your knives correctly you will notice the thinness with roll cuts. There is additional stress where the knife's spine meets the hand at the webbing between thumb and forefinger. You can appreciate this in the photo (the Henkels knife is on the left). With a straight chop it makes no difference. The handle is a tad problematic if you rinse the knife while you are working with it. Due to the texture it is impossible to completely towel dry.

I am by no means a professional chef. But I really love this knife for home use. It came sharp and has stayed sharp for months after using it multiple times per week to cut a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. As with all high quality knives, I highly recommend only hand washing and immediate drying after each use.

Love it. Slightly heavier than a Wusthof but then I prefer a little weight to my knives. Liked it so much that I also bought the boning knife.

I have an array of knifes from shun to wustoff to Kuhn rink on .. for the cheaper end of 30 this knife is fantastic one of the best weighted fir me personally has enougth weight in it to cut veg good (were some of the light weight /Japanese knife fall short but is also light enougth to use for hours on end comfortably and sag dice cut onion . The retention is good I use my steel on it maybe once every 4-5 hours of use it's gets sharp. My wustoff are only the other knife I manage to get sharper but fir 30 pound this is a good all round knife and I would recommend it as a first knife . Handle is probably best Iv used tbh onfiryable and fits hand well

Knife performs well and has good ergonomics.

Excellent quality, pretty sharp factory edge and takes an ever better edge if you sharpen it. The grip is very good, I think it's the best grip of any knife I've tried. I weights about 250 grams, it fits a standard messermeister or any sort of blade guard you want to use (unlike my Victorinox). I bought it on sale for 20$, and for that amount I would wholeheartedly recommend picking this knife up, it is a sturdy workhorse and will not disappoint you if you're looking for a German-style, heavy knife.

Snaped tip

This feels good to hold and chop with. Has a reassuring weight to it that is easily applied when swiftly chopping herbs but also slicing through hardy stuff like carrots, root vegetable, and meat. I use this daily, several times a day and it is now my go-to knife. When recieved the blade was very sharp but I do recommend using a whetstone to regularly maintain the blade. The handle is sturdy and has a decent grip edge to it.