Mercer Culinary Genesis 6-Piece Forged Knife Block Set, Tempered Glass Block

I am reviewing this product after using them for 1- year and will address a few issues other posters have mentioned as either a question, or, an "issue". First to address the customer service at Mercer. I initially had a small problem with my order and after not receiving a response going through Amazon, I contacted the company directly. When emailing the company I received immediate, helpful, 5 star customer service. They went above and beyond to make sure that I was a happy customer. A trait that is difficult to find these days. I learned that many companies do not see the reviews posted here, and sometimes communication through Amazon to them, (regarding a problem for example) may not even make it to the company. That is what happened in my case. Once Mercer was aware of my issue they immediately jumped through hoops to fix it. I admit to not being the nicest person when making contact with Mercer as I believed they were ignoring me by not answering communication sent through Amazon, yet, they were nice to me. Proffesional. considering my "tone". The knives are a solid, heavy, (compared to cheap run of the mill sets), extremely sharp quality product. The handles are made of some type of rubber(?) material which assures a solid easy to handle grip. This matters, a lot. I am not a chef by any means, not even close, but from my experience wood handled knives when wet are not only difficult to grip, but dangerous because they become slippery. When the knives first arrive they are unbelievably sharp. After a few months they do begin to dull a bit but I now have a knife sharpener that quickly brings them back. I'm a total novice in the kitchen so this was a learning experience. All knives get less sharp and should be sharpened appropriately. Mercer was kind enough to educate me. Now I see why in Game of Thrones every one is constantly sitting around sharpening their Valaryan Steel swords. Sorry, couldn't resist :) Others have posted questions about the glass block itself and how to clean it. One word. Easy. See attached picture. Extremely easy. The other "issue" I have noticed posted about a lot is the height of the knives in relation to the bottom of your kitchen cabinets. Again, refer to my attached pictures for the overall "look". When I each for a knife I do slightly pull the block forward (towards me) to remove it. This has proved to be a non issue for a couple of reasons. One, you just get used to doing that motion. If you place the block under a cabinet you obviously cannot lift the knife straight up and out. However, it is not a problem at all. Two, the glass block is surprisingly sturdy so it does not fall over as you tilt it forward a bit to remove the knife. I'm so used to the motion now I don't even notice, it's just second nature. I love this set. Apparently my undercabinet lighting has effected my pictures as they actually look more "shiny" from a distance in person. A clean, updated modern design as opposed to the big old wood block ones. And the quality is top knot here. Well worth the price! Would make a great gift too.

This was a Christmas gift to my parents two years ago. They are still going strong. My mom instantly loved them and threw away her cheap block set she had used for over a decade. I think my family was so used to crappy dull kitchen knives that they were shocked at how a decent knife performed. Both my mom and brother-in-law cut themselves during that holiday week. They come out of the box razor sharp. The handles are the best feature of these knives. They are a durable, textured rubber and are very comfortable. Very grippy when wet, unlike most knife handles. That was one of the reasons I bought this set and the handles outperformed expectations. The steel is fine. It is an upgrade over a cheap $10-15 knife you'll find at Target or similar stores, but it is by no means a premium kitchen knife stainless steel. For this price, you cannot expect that. If you want an above average steel on a kitchen knife you typically have to pay >$100 per knife. For the average home cook this is good enough. The steel holds an edge well as long as you don't abuse it, and it sharpens easily. I beat it into my parent's brains to never put these in the dishwasher. They are washing them by hand but they are just like any typical home cook. They never hone the knives and eventually they lose their edges. Each time I visit, I hone the knives with a steel rod, and then finish with a leather strop. That is enough to restore a sharp edge. I've been doing this for 2 years and have only sharpened them once with 400-800-1000 grit stones, and that was likely overkill. If you know how to hone with a ceramic or steel rod, that could maintain a decent edge for years. I'm not familiar with this steel composition, but I believe it probably has high carbon and low chromium for a stainless steel. Because of my parent's neglect at drying the knives, there are patina spots on most of the knives. It has no effect on the functionality of the knife as long as you don't let it sit in water for days. When people complain in the reviews about discoloration, it's because they don't understand patina and they aren't drying their knives. Don't less this deter you from buying them. The glass block has a nice, classy look that is far superior to a cheap wood block, but is also not suitable for everyone. My parents keep the block under the cabinets. so you have to tilt the block to remove the chef, boning, or bread knives. Their cabinets are a typical height for a house kitchen. You can get the paring and utility knives in and out of the block without tilting. If you are a careless and clumsy person, maybe you should opt for the wood block to avoid an accident. An advantage with the glass is you can see if there's mold or mildew building up from moisture, and then take it apart to clean it. Just be careful taking it apart, the glass windows come out individually so you'll be holding a large piece of glass without any grip while washing. For my family, the boning knife is by far the least useful knife in this set. If I could modify this set, I would add a second utility/paring knife or small santoku/chef knife. I considered buying a duplicate utility knife to replace the boning knife, they should fit the same slot. My mom said don't bother, she uses the boning knife like it's a utility knife. She uses the utility knife the most, paring knife the second most, and loves the bread knife for bagels.

Very sharp, well made, and excellent quality steel knives! I bought a gift set for my daughter and family last holiday season, and after visiting them and falling in love with how great they slice and feel. . . . . .I decided to buy this set for myself! Superb quality, for a very reasonable price!!

Did a lot of research on these and they are holding their reputation. Plus the sleek, glass holder fits and looks so much better than wood block. Highly recommend.

Good knives and attractive stand. The knives are very sharp. After a month of using it, it is still sharp. My girlfriend have cut herself several times already. Anyone that buys this, please be very careful as it has no forgiveness like a regular set of knives. The rubber on the handle is really good and provide amazing grip. I think it is also the perfect size for a handle. Overall, the weight, balance and handle is almost perfect. That is just my humble opinion and I am not a professional chef. I have not noticed the wear on sharpness yet. It is still as sharp as the day I received it. I will update when I need to sharpen it. I just use these for cooking daily. I only cook dinner on weekdays and breakfast/lunch on weekends. According to many other reviews, regular usage should make the blade dull after 2-3 months. I am prepared and bought an electronic sharpener. I told my girlfriend "I bought these knives this electronic sharpener to help you stay in the kitchen and keep cooking".....and now I'm the one cooking all the time while she watches TV :( UPDATE 12/1/2014 After over a year of use, the knives are finally starting to get dull. It's not terribly dull and works for everything we use daily. I'll be looking into an electric sharpener soon. The knives' construction are solid. There is very little wear and tear on the handle and the blade(besides the edge getting dull). It didn't bend or twist like other knives I used to own. I do not follow any recommended methods for washing. Sometimes I washed it in the sink and sometimes in the dishwasher. It held up and looks like it will have many more years. The glass stand looked good at first but now it's a pain to clean. Update 8/3/2017 - I've finally sharpened it. Just keep in mind that my usage is typical of a normal person. I don't cook all the time but definitely about 3 days a week. I also have to disclose that I probably should've sharpened it last year when it was noticeable. I used an electric sharpener. It's called Chef Choice 220. Took about 15 minutes to sharpen all the knives. Real easy to do and it is as sharp as before. I also slightly bent the tip of two of the knives trying to crack open those damn oysters. It was a bad idea and I shouldn't have done it. For the past several years, the most annoying thing about these knives are the display case/holder. It gets dirty and you have to take it apart to clean it.

These knives are an excellent value for the money. Prior to ordering this set (three years ago!) I had a set of very expensive forged Henkels that I sadly lost in a divorce. Being on a budget, I purchased these and expected a mid-grade knife commensurate with the price point. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these knives compared favorably against my old set and less than a third of the price. They are solidly forged, thick spined, well-balanced, full tang with nice bolsters. They feel great in the hand, came shaving-sharp, and have held an edge through daily use (I love cooking) for three years. In fact, I am just now getting ready to sharpen them for the first time, and they still aren't that dull (I recently cut myself down to the bone when I slipped while washing my chef knife, and my babysitter didn't heed my warning and got a nice set of stitches from the paring knife). To address some of the negative reviews I have seen, I'll share some information about good knives. First, these are stain-free steel, NOT stainless. Stainless steel is generally far inferior for forging knife blades. The fact that "surgical stainless" is stamped on every junk knife is not a coincidence. A knife that doesn't rust when abused is probably not a great knife, will be difficult to sharpen, and won't have good edge retention. These knives will rust if you don't take care of them. Use your knife, was your knife, dry your knife thoroughly, and put it away. Secondly, these have excellent edge retention if used properly and maintained. Learn to use a honing steel and use it before each session with your knife. It will realign the microscopic serrations that are on the very edge of the blade and keep it sharp MUCH longer. Don't cut on glass, stone, hardwood, or cheap plastic boards. Get a bamboo cutting board and use it. Again, your blade will stay sharp almost indefinitely. Finally, never put your knives in the dishwasher. You are blasting them with abrasive soap and minerals and letting them rattle against other metal and glass objects before subjecting them to extreme heat and humidity. This will ruin your knives. Instead, get a long handled nylon brush and wash with hot water and mild soap. Don't use scouring pads, ajax powder, steel wool pads, or harsh cleaners. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you, and provide years of trouble-free service. Get a cheap set of beater knives and keep them in the drawer for the abusive tasks. If I had to find a complaint, after many many many hand washes, the logos on the blades have significantly faded. I can easily see which knives I use most. Do I care? Nope. This is a fantastic set of knives appropriate for any level chef and an incredible value.

I finally broke down and bought a good set of culinary knives. I've gone thru several cheap sets and finally realized I'm only throwing my money away. This brand came up during an internet search as being a quality knife that is very reasonably priced and customer reviews were favorable. These are very, very nice and I'm not used to using such a good, sharp knife. They look great in the glass holder and don't take up much room on my counter. Very pleased with this purchase and the price I paid for them. Update: I've been using this set for 2 years now and they're holding up beautifully. I had purchased the knife sharpener at the same time and it's so easy to use and does a fantastic job at sharpening.

Can’t go wrong with the Mercer Brand. Now I know why chefs choose these knives as a standard. It does the job well. No need to spend more. These knives will last decades before I buy a new set.

The Mercer Knives are great quality, super sharp and well balanced. They also look beautiful on your counter as they are not your usual knife block

Brilliant grip and excellent sharpness. Wife and Mom just love the feel and use of thr knives. The knife holder is great too.

This really is a very impressive Knife Set Stunning to look at and will grace any kitchen with minimal space taken up because of its slim design. The knives look and feel of exceptional quality light in the hand but beautiful safe grip and they feel every penny of their premium price. As a result of being so impressed by this set I will save my pennies and buy some more Mercer knives (carving set etc) and I highly doubt given the superb quality that I will ever need to buy another knife set again. Only note of caution as this is not an angled knife block I would advise not to place under a cupboard as there is not adequate clearance to pull knives out.This is not a criticism just a common sense observation from a safety perspective. I highly recommend this beautiful knife set and as ever superb service from Amazon. STUNNING!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Me encantaron super bien los cuchillos y es fácil de limpiar la base además esta muy moderna y bonita

Chulada de cuchillos y el mejor precio