Bread knives?

[skouri1]

Whats the deal with bread Knives?
Ive heard some claim they are disposable and one should just buy cheap and use till dulled...

Can a serrated blade be be sharpened at home and with what?

I wouldnt mind shelling out some coin for a nice one, if it will actually last years. The 10" wusthov looks pretty darn nice..
Will really crusty bread annihalate the blade?

Need it for this: image.jpg

Advice would be much appreciated!

[ericpmoss]

Many people like the Mac bread knife. I have a Shun. It's beautiful, but its blade is so thick that it is hard to get started, IMO.

Lately, for baguettes, I prefer the Wusthof Tomato knife, with the two tines on the end. It's sharp, small, cheap, easy to use on baguettes (or even boules if they are turned on their side when cutting), and you may already have one.

Sharpening depends on style of serrations. The ones I have can be sharpened with a round abrasive file or the corner of a worn grinder wheel, but I haven't needed one yet.

Nice loaf, btw. I rarely get mine to look nice.

[Too Tall]

I've got an old Wusthof bread knife I can not dull. Seriously.

[Mr B]

The surface upon which you cut the bread will dull the blade far more than the bread ever will.
Wood > Nylon > Marble > Glass, etc.
Even if your technique is gentle enough to never strike the blade on the chopping board, it only counts if you live alone.

[skouri1]

Thanks for the feedback.
Ive been cutting my weekly jim lahey no knead boule with a henckel chefs knife and while it works im sure there is something better. The crust can be difficult to get through. Im not willing to bake for less time as a bread lacking crust is also lacking in flavor.
Barring the token 1 star amazon review, both the wusthofs have crazy good reviews. Nice to hear some salonista endorsements though. Trust you guys more :)

[skouri1]

The surface upon which you cut the bread will dull the blade far more than the bread ever will.
Wood > Nylon > Marble > Glass, etc.
Even if your technique is gentle enough to never strike the blade on the chopping board, it only counts if you live alone.

Currently nylon... I want a nice big and beautiful wood board but had trouble selecting one. I have been careful to not press too hard. The board is already sliced up a bit, but Thats another discussion topic.

[zetroc]

MAC SB-105. Done.

[spopepro]

To expand on what epicmoss said: scalloped serrations are like the knife on the top:

These serrations are able to be sharpened on a stone, but of course there is a usable limit... eventually the serrations will be sharpened flat and you will have a non-serrated blade. This will take a very, very long time. The bottom knife is said to not be sharpenable, but you can with rods. Probably not worth it though.

Cutting perfectly even, crumb-less, smooth faced slices of bread with my chefs knife is kind of a fun party trick, but I don't use it on really crusty breads for fear of chipping. I use this as my bread knife:

And so does just about every restaurant you have visited (probably).

[Too Tall]

Pardon the OT comment BUT JIM'S no knead bread friggin' rules all.

Thanks for the feedback.
Ive been cutting my weekly jim lahey no knead boule with a henckel chefs knife and while it works im sure there is something better. The crust can be difficult to get through. Im not willing to bake for less time as a bread lacking crust is also lacking in flavor.
Barring the token 1 star amazon review, both the wusthofs have crazy good reviews. Nice to hear some salonista endorsements though. Trust you guys more :)

[Jason Musgrave]

I bought my wife a Global several years ago - that thing is absolutely incredible. And we too use it to cut no-knead bread baked in a Staub oven.

[Shinomaster]

A commercial bread knife with a 12" blade is best. The fancy foo-foo ones are almost always shortened to fit into a tidy knife block, but this reduces function dramatically if you want to saw into a big hunk of bread. My mom got this commercial one in 1981 and it's awesome. She regrets giving it to me, and I have sharpened it. All you need to do is wrap a piece of very fine sand paper around a thin dowel, or paintbrush handle, and file each tooth individually. Works great.

[rec head]

I spend the $5 to have my old cheap-o bread knife sharpened at the farmer's market each year. Works great and is over 10 years old.

[wgp]

I use this as my bread knife:

And so does just about every restaurant you have visited (probably).[/QUOTE]

Second this particular knife - inexpensive and fantastic. Cook's Illustrated recommended as well! Buy one -

[skouri1]

yes, quite a few options here. I'm sure it's pretty hard to go wrong, but the victorinox seems like a great option at ~ half the price of the others.
some still swear by the wusthof. apparently has a less flexible blade.
I'm tempted.
i love me a deal.
but i also love me some premium, multi-decade/lifetime product that can be had at ~100$. divided over that interval even a 60$ price difference is pretty meaningless.
thanks again for the input!

[Shinomaster]

This looks good for $13. http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/...w||pmt||pdv|c|

But, hard to tell from the photos.. looks like mine. Mundial also makes good knives ---> Mundial® Commercial Knife Series - 10" Serrated Bread Knife, Blue

[stephenb]

I'm partial to what I have...
hefty, attractive, and effective...

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/conten...arge/33398.jpg

[SpeedyChix]

Gude, it's the mother of all bread knives. Crazy heavy though.
Mill City Bread Co. - Gude Alpha Series 12.5" Bread Knife
Another awesome bread knife is the Tojiro. This one is much lighter, less spendy and cuts fantastic.
Tojiro 270mm ITK Bread Knife

The economy commercial kitchen bread knives work reasonably well too. No need to fuss with sharpening these.
However, the Tojiro is a better all round value.

[Shinomaster]

Gude, it's the mother of all bread knives. Crazy heavy though.
Mill City Bread Co. - Gude Alpha Series 12.5" Bread Knife
Another awesome bread knife is the Tojiro. This one is much lighter, less spendy and cuts fantastic.
Tojiro 270mm ITK Bread Knife

The economy commercial kitchen bread knives work reasonably well too. No need to fuss with sharpening these.
However, the Tojiro is a better all round value.

THat Mill City knife looks awesome.

[SpeedyChix]

THat Mill City knife looks awesome.

It's the Gude knife. Fantastic knife, $$$ but incredible to hold and cut with.
The Tojiro will work as well, just with less heft and you have $$ left over.

[skouri1]

Thanks for all the replies everyone.
Ebay sent me a $20 coupon randomly.
I made the emotional decision to go with the gut and trust our fromage de tête.
Wusthof 10" classic on the way to me for $80. :)
Length, german steel and mega deal made it hard to argue with.

wusthof-classic-4151-7-2.jpg