Mercer Culinary Millennia Color Handle Cutlery 6" Narrow Boning Knife Red

Well with prices rising and all I've recently started boning chickens again, something I haven't done routinely in 30 years. But I noticed I was doing a terrible job! Had I lost all my old skills due to severe rust? Then I examined my knives. Oh, oh. I had upgraded my knive set about 25 years ago and dang if I hadn't replaced my boning knives. Oops! As usual I went on a search of reviewer sites like Serious Eats and America's Test Kitchen. But I do not neglect other reliable sources like, Good Housekeeping, Consumer Reports, the Strategist etc... There were about 3-7 boning knives that tested consistently well. They split into two categories, one better for professional and the other more suitable for home cooks. How I drooled. I adore kitchen porn... Alas most of these boning knives were $50 plus... Then I snapped to my senses. I bone chickens every 1-2 months. Also my previous boning knives were from Chicago Cutlery. Way back when, it was the highly rated econo knife. Now, it's barely in any ranking at all. But they worked great for me even though the edge was, ahh, needed some work. Also the knive's shape was... generic. I was very happy with my boned chicken. So then I went after the really high end reviews from working chefs... Mercer is the number one brand for culinary schools. Their most affordable line is what students use. However this was not recommended for home cooks because these knives required frequent honing, as in several times a day. The second most affordable line (this one) is much better suited for home use because the blade retains it's edge longer. I have other Mercer knives and I like them. They have comfortable handles (hey, female hands, size large but it's mostly the long fingers...so I prefer smaller handles than the glove size implies). For comparison the Victorinox's chef's knife, the handle is actually too big for my hands. After a couple of years I managed to find a grip that worked but it was a significant deterrent at the beginning. The mercer blades start off really sharp and are reasonably easy to sharpen. The edge does stay sharp for a very reasonable amount of time. However, compared to a Shun (sharpens very easily), it is more work to get that edge back into shape. OK, no fair, Shuns command respect when it comes to sharpening and a quality edge. However the price point for a knife that I'm going to use one a month made this the most reasonable choice. Notice the handle has that streak of color. No other knife I own had handles like that. Mercers are instantly identifiable BUT color matching them gets to be a pain! I notice the Amazon review hints wants to know about rust resistance. Don't be ridiculous. I haven't owned a knife that rusted in 45 years. And I wish I'd appreciated it more because it was high carbon steel and had an edge to die for. But it rusted if you breathed on it. It was such a pain (and it cost about $2) that I ended up getting rid of it. Now high carbon steel knives are fashionable and they cost a bomb. But of course if I'd kept it it would be a pile of iron oxide. But how does it bone? Way better than my utility knives! Compared to the memories of my ancient boning knives, this blade width is more narrow, and consequently the blade is more flexible. This is a huge advantage when it comes to maneuvering around joints. It's also got a bit more curve at the tip. That extra blade length is good when you want to make that long slice. With extra curve you don't run out of blade when you make your cut. I gotta admit the handle makes the knife more comfortable than some of the competition but all of my mercers are not nearly as well balanced as the Globals and the Shuns and the Wustof and the Victorinox... In fact, I would not call them balanced at all. The only knive more unbalanced is the Chinese cleaver and that's a feature not a bug. You're supposed to smash that baby into the carrot that dares defy you. Be careful not to cut off a finger. So if I were boning meat 2-3 time a week, I'd probably upgrade. But I'm just not using it enough that the flaws are really noticeable. Also I brought this knife because I'd granted myself a budget for my Christmas treat and I have my eye on some serious kitchen toys.

great boning knife .. makes deboning deer and piggies a more pleasant job its sharp and the textured handle makes no slip and comfortable fit

One issue is the red/black & yellow/black handle, the black part seems to melt or fade off. Some residue gets on my plastic dishes, but very little. I found this out by wiping the handle with a white paper towel and it had black residue all over the towel. Don't know if it's the soap I am using, sometimes I wash my dishes in a half cup of white vinegar to save on dishwater detergent.

Very sharp, easy to handle. If you don’t want anything fancy but you want a good knife, this is the one.

Great boning knife for the price! Handled 4 deer this year without having to sharpen once. Would definitely recommend to a friend

Really professional commercial quality knife. We used this brand in our grocery store years ago. Top notch. I have the curved blade version, now have the straight blade. I use this many times a week. I suggest you buy a good hone and sharpener too. It will need sharpened at some point, so buy the sharpener now.

This knife is an excellent value, if you don't mind working extra to keep it sharp. Mine hasn't held much of an edge, but will take one if you invest the time on a proper stone. It's great for frenching chops, boning out roasts, and flexible enough to work decently for skinning fish. The red handle is a bonus, makes it easy to spot and/or tell apart from others' in a big kitchen.

It does go dull very fast compared to my other knifes but I like the flex it has, and the handle, it fits in my hand better than most other knifes do, I would say 4 stars because the blade does go dull very fast