Mercer Culinary M20003 Genesis 3.5-Inch Paring Knife,Black

Bought several of the Mercer Genesis series as a gift, and am SUPER impressed with them!A chef told me about Mercer knives, and their high quality offerings. I have used Wusthof knives for many years, and really like them, however they are really expensive. Mercer seems to have similar steel characteristics, and I love the feel and grip of their Genesis series handles!As with many companies, Mercer makes various quality knives, and some of their lower end stuff I was not particularly impressed with (cheap handles, and non-German steel).The fantastic German steel of the Mercer "Genesis" series gets my highest rating. Very sharp, holds and edge well.The knives are made in Taiwan, out of high grade German cutlery steel (and tooling techniques), which brings the price WAY down, but maintains an absolutely fantastic knife. The quality is impeccable.They come with a limited lifetime warranty.I highly recommend Mercer "Genesis" series knives. Super high quality German steel, fantastic handles, and look amazing - all at a very reasonable cost.

My wife and I love to cook, and a good quality, sharp knife is an indispensable tool in the kitchen. We have a variety of different brands and blade styles, ranging from a high-end Damascus Shun chef's knife to several small Wustoff paring knives. My wife's favorite knife for most purposes, because it was lightweight, maneuverable, and easy to put a sharp edge on, used to be a very old low-end Wustoff paring knife, the kind with a stamped-steel blade rather than forged, and a riveted slab handle. Unfortunately, over the years it gradually fell apart: pieces of the handle broke off and had to be epoxied back on, and finally, two years ago the blade just snapped off at the handle. After doing some research, I bought her this Mercer paring knife as a replacement, even though I was not familiar with the brand. It is an exceptional knife! She loves how the handle feels in her hand and the blade balances, and I am extremely impressed with how long the blade holds a very sharp edge (much longer than a number of our knives that are considerably more expensive), and once it does lose peak sharpness, it is very quick and easy to resharpen (FYI, I use a small, folding, two-sided diamond whetstone to sharpen my knives). I very belatedly came back to this product page to rate the knife, and was excited to see Mercer also offers a boning knife. We live on a small farm and raise a herd of Heritage Soay sheep, so I do a fair amount of butchering. I've ordered the boning knife and am looking forward to putting it to work.

So initially, I just needed a new pairing knife. This one looked decent had good reviews. I figured I’d give it a try. It didn’t come in a fancy box so I washed it. I wasn’t expecting too much but then I used it. The grip was fantastic. The handle fit well in my hand and did not become slippery. The blade was sharp and precise cutting things easy.Fantastic value for the money excellent weight, grip and sharp!Highly recommend!

Favorite knife! Best in the knife drawer!Stays sharp! Top quality!

[Original Review: Feb 2, 2018]Culinary Genesis 3.5-Inch Paring Knife: The overall weight and balance feels good, handle feel is secure and size is about right, blade is very sharp, holds an edge reasonably well, does not rust (I only hand wash) etcetera as you would expect for a decent knife.One of the best things about this Genesis knife is the handle material and shape, it is very comfortable with no hard edges and importantly is just as grippy when wet as when dry. I can handle this safely in any condition. It also appears to be very durable, but only time will tell how this holds up long term.[Update: Jan 25, 2020]We've been using the Paring knife for light use at least a few times a week for the past two years. It's still working as good as new, and the handle material is holding up perfectly well - it is just as grippy as its always been with almost no signs of wear. This handle material is simply amazing, it's even has good grip when soapy which is great to avoid accidents during washing. I even tried cutting things with a soapy handle and had no problems. I've bought a couple of other Genesis knives and they are all equally great, however this paring knife was the first and gets the most use and serves as the best indicator for long term durability.

If you want a paring knife to peel apples and such, this probably won't be the best choice so that is why I rated it a 4. The shape reminds me more of a mini-chef knife than a parer. For peeling, something slimmer would work better. But, I have a vegie peeler so that doesn't matter to me. The Mercer genesis paring knife is great for quartering apples and other small items. I find the shape to be advantageous. I also concur with the many positive comments I've read about Mercer Genesis knives in general and I don't understand the negatives about blades rusting, chipping, etc. I've had a couple for over a year and they have held up well and even after getting scratched up in a junky manual sharpener there is no rusting. I will also add that anyone who has hand issues such as arthritis or carpel tunnel would find the Mercer Genesis line to be very comfortable. It is light weight and a handle with a comfortable non-slip handle and the knife seems almost 'self-propelled.' Minimum cutting force is needed. The only negative is the fact that the knives do go dull rather quickly but nothing a sharpener or whetstone can't fix.

PRO - My first MERCER knife, it’s the best cutlery value out there. I’ve owned all of the famous and very expensive German brands. For a fraction of the price of the German knives, this MERCER really delivers. It arrives sharp, and it responds well to a few strokes on a good steel. Excellent textured grip keeps the handle from slipping when wet.CON - This is almost insignificant, but the area where the handle meets the blade isn’t a perfect fit.