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

Bought this and the Zwilling paring knives at the same time. This is a larger and rougher handle, and is heavier and more balanced to the handle. Either one will last a lifetime, and do the job. The Zwilling is two or three times the price of this, but they are of comparable quality considered as knives. The difference is a matter of taste and perhaps size of hands. I find this one's handle a bit too thick, but others may differ, and that and the extra weight are about the only substantial differences. They are both quality items, well made and finished. I would be guided by what you know fits better in the hand. If your budget is limited, don't think twice, get this one. It will do the job, last forever, and you will probably get used to the feel and weight of it very rapidly.An extravagant present with a brand name to match, the Zwilling fits the bill a bit better. But as said above, this is largely about taste.I also bought the Zwilling 16cm chefs knife, and like it very much - see separate review. I recently bought the Mercer similar 16cm chef knife for a different household. People might like to know how they compare.This size is not what professional cooks prefer, but for someone cooking in a home environment for a small number of people, it will be much better than the 20cm versions. Also the handles of these are much better than the more elegant looking two piece riveted handles, they fit the hand better and are pretty much totally non-slip.The Mercer is about half the price of the Zwilling. It has a similar handle. The blade is slightly deeper, and its definitely heavier. It apparently has a full tang, which the Zwilling may not. In sharpness and ease of sharpening they are probably about the same. Maybe the Zwilling is a bit harder and so takes a little more work to restore the edge. I slightly prefer the Mercer in this respect, but I slightly also prefer the Zwilling in the hand, to use.All in all I think, as with the paring knives, whichever you get you will get used to in a short time and not really notice the difference. The thing I would say about the paring knives is that the Mercer is a little bit shorter, and that makes it a bit less nice to use in some applications, so you end up using the chef knife more. But that's a minor quibble.Whichever pair you get (paring and chef) I think they will last a lifetime, so be guided by how important the pennies are. I continue to have a slight preference for the Zwilling, but if money is tight, buy the Mercers. They will last a lifetime and be a pleasure to use. I bought the Zwillings in the Christmas sales, well discounted, so the difference was not so great as it is now. Without the dscount I would have bought the Mercers and been very happy with them.

We’re a quality over quantity family and we’re browsing high-quality knives and thought we’d give these budget knives a shot and they exceeded expectations. They are super sharp straight out of the packaging with a beautiful handle.

This is the first of this type of sharpener I've bought (but I have used them from time to time). We had a silly little sharpener in the drawer (the type you can put the blade in between two sharpening surfaces) which worked a bit, but new knives didn't fit.The Mercer sharpener is a nice weight, simple design and looks and feels good to use. Gives a good impression of quality. We bought some simple plastic handled Tramontina carbon steel knives recently. I used the sharpener on these and the effect is a little mind-blowing.I've now realised just how bad the old sharpener and knives were. I have fairly good safe knife skills which you'll need if you use this sharpener. I still managed to cut my thumb while using a small sharpened knife to cut up an apple one-handed. I tried to score some sea bass skin and went right through the fillet.So some adjustments needed, but that's all good as my chef's knife will now effortlessly cut even ripe tomatoes. All prep is much easier and better.Just need to be ultra careful not to take any liberties with the blade edge and fingers.

This has been an excellent purchase, and I've enjoyed using the blade ever since I bought it. It's held its sharpness really well from straight out of the box. Whilst I think being able to sharpen a knife properly is an essential skill for keeping your knifes sharp, for those who don't have the time to dedicate to sharpening their knifes on a regular basis, having a knife that is sharp to begin with and that holds that edge well is a real benefit.The shape of the knife is great - the flat cutting edge and relatively thin blade is great for finely slicing veg in an accurate manner, whilst the slight curve near the tip (which you won't find on a traditional Santoku) allows you to rock chop and still use it like a Chef's knife that you'll probably already be familiar with. Feels very natural to use.I wish the knife had shipped with a sheath, but at this price I think it's understandable. Mercer do sell one that fits this knife, which works well enough.

A bit bigger than expecting but came very sharp and is really well made for the priceGreat comfortable handle and excellent quality.10/10 would blind buy again.

This knife is awesome very sharp be careful watch your fingers.

A perfect weight balance in my hand, with a nice stiff blade, and of course paper sharp out of the box.I will give updates as I use the knife for its intended purpose.But at the moment all I can say is :-I can highly recommend this knife to anyone wanting a butchers quality boning knife.

It has a good weight and seems to be well made. Great value if it lasts!