Mercer Culinary M18134BK Bread Knife 6-Inch Millennia Black

My wife is on a sourdough kick (awesome). She bakes a couple loaves on the weekend. For months we've been cutting them with somewhat dull standard kitchen knives. This was an inconvenience for me (slow and awkward) and a little dangerous for my kids. We purchased this knife a couple months ago but I wish we had purchased it from the get-go. It's light, cuts like a dream, and has a blunted tip for safety and ease of use. Cleans with a quick rinse and wipe. The handle has a satisfying grip and the angle of the blade is ideal. Steady cuts and uniform slices are easily done. We're only two months into use but the quality seems like everything you could ask of a $16 knife. Read more

This chef's knife is very comfortable to hold and cuts very well. I have a couple other more expensive knives but this by far is the one I use the most. Blade retains it sharpness for a reasonable time. I usually would sharpen it with a 1000 grit then a 6000 grit stone every two month. Would recommend. Read more

Mercer knives are excellent quality at a good price. I replaced my expensive, brand name knives with these. The slicing knife is thin, has just enough give, and is extremely sharp. Sliced my roast beautifully. Read more

M23210 Bread Knife First off, Amazon accumulates reviews for all of Mercer's knives into one rating (which they do with many other items as well). So, how do customers know which knife gets which review? Yes, it got best of class from many sources and yes, in my first use it outperforms my current restaurant grade knife that I have sharpened several times, but it is not perfect out of the package. When examining the edge with a flashlight, 'grey line' can be seen on some of the tips and the sides of the gullets. Gray line means a flat surface that reflects light. A perfect edge has no flat spots and produces no grey line/reflection. Big Deal? It is to me. But to be honest, it's not uncommon for other knives, chisels and such. While this knife is not comparatively expensive (it is an above average restaurant grade knife with an NFS certification on the blade), I expected a clean edge from tip to heal. Why? Because serrated knives are a pain in the rump to sharpen. It's more than running a round file through the gullets; that's easy. But each of the tips must the sharpened with a micro file because they come from the factory slightly rounded (as does this knife), and they round over even more from cutting. That's why bread knives can dull quickly. They do not cut with the valley of the gullet but with the few tips of the serration. No matter how sharp the valleys are, it's the tips that do the work. Unless you are experienced and have the tools, sharpening a serrated edge is unrealistic. Taking it in for sharpening (if you can find such a service) might cost 1/2 the original cost of this knife. So, your best protection is to use the knife correctly and safely: - Hold it correctly. Wrap your thumb and first finger firmly against the contour of the handle near the heal of the blade to arrest movement. This knife has an excellent contour and soft, textured grip. - Use the correct handing. This knife is a right-hand knife with the flat side of the knife on the inside of the loaf and the beveled side on the slice side of the cut. Mercer makes a left-hand model as well. They otherwise will not cut well. - Use the correct posture. Address the counter with your left foot extended and come as close the cutting surface as is possible. Grasp the loaf with your left hand well away from the cut line and exert firm, appropriate, downward pressure. Keep your elbows tight to your sides. The idea is to minimize lateral movement. - Cut from the shoulder. The cutting motion does not begin with the hand, wrist or arm but at the shoulder. Keep the knife, your hand and your arm in alignment as you make the cutting motion. Your arm should rub against your right side. - Position the bread correctly. Because of your posture, the bread should be slightly rotated to the left, say 15 degrees. - Start the cut with one or more backstrokes until the cut line is established and then cut on the forward stroke. Do not cut with a back/forth rapid gesture. Cut on the forward stroke with a purposeful manner using the appropriate force for the kind of loaf you are cutting. - Roll the loaf. When you near the end of the cut and before contacting the cutting surface, roll the bread on its side, if safely possible, and complete the cut with less resistance (especially on thick crusted bottoms). Even wooden and plastic surfaces will wear down the edge far, far more than will bread. - Keep the blade clean. Carefully wipe the blade with a damp towel if moist crumb accumulates causing drag on the blade. - Wash and store correctly. Clean the blade with water and diluted liquid detergent as needed. Rinse and dry carefully. Then store the blade in a block or divided compartment. Otherwise, buy and use a blade guard made for bread knives. One more thing ... this is a bread knife, not a general slicer. The more you use it on a cutting board, the sooner it will dull. If your slicing knife will not cut tomatoes or onions, get it sharpened. This is an above average knife. I look forward to a long and happy marriage with just the occasional strife of sharpening. And, this knife has a limited lifetime warranty. 5 Stars. May the crust be with you. Read more

Great knife what is easy to use and clean. Super sharp and easy to cut through breads! Have put it through the dishwasher and haven’t seen any sight of rust! Read more

Cuts through the crustiest artisanal sourdough bread with ease. Feels high quality, the handle is nice-could maybe be a little more comfortable but it’s fine. The blade doesn’t flex at all when cutting through the crust. Very long which is great for boules. Looks sleek. Works great. I take it with me when I gift people bread so I know there won’t be problems cutting. Read more

I love the quality of Mercer knives. So far, it's at a reasonable price. The restaurant I used to work for uses Mercer knives; some Chefs and Cooks would still bring their own arsenal, but it doesn't matter if you have the most beautiful or the most expensive set of knives, if you don't know how to take care of the knives, it will be the dullest knife or you will totally messed up your knives and it will be unusable. For this knife I purchased, I am pleased with the quality and how sharp it is to this day. It is easy to use, lightweight, and the handle is good. Blade size is also good, and it came with a clear plastic sheath. Read more

I've been a home cook for more than 30 years. I've got a few dozen kitchen knives of all sizes, profiles, and makes. (Wusthof, MAC, Global, Miyabi, Shun, etc......) I received this Mercer Culinary kitchen knife as a gift about a year ago, and for just about every cutting, chopping, slicing task on a cutting board, this is the knife I most often grab. Comfortable grip, easy to use, very easy to keep a razor sharp edge, and if it gets damaged in any way, very inexpensive to replace. Excellent line of knives at the right price !! Read more