December 25, 2009 - 4:37pm
Victorinox or other bread knife?
I need to get a decent bread knife without breaking the bank. Still, I don't want to settle on anything too compromised. I have gotten recommendations for the Wusthof and Shun knives, and they look great, but are too spendy for my budget. The Victorinox 10" Classic seems to be a popular knife from what I can see, and at $30 delivered from Amazon, affordable enough. Anyone use this one? Like it? Does it have a single or double bevel?
Any other knife suggestions?
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Victorinox Forschner 10 1/4" curved blade, which is available at Amazon.
I purchased a Scanpan from Breadtopia.com and love it.
Betty
I use an offset blade LamsonSharp that I picked up at their outlet store in Shelburne Falls, MA. Works well for me.
I received a Wusthof 9" Brotmesser for Christmas (item# 4150). Seems to run about $75.
I received this as a replacement for my Wusthof Superslicer (#4400, $120), which I had been using happily for a year. For some reason, the gift giver felt that I had been using the wrong knife, and insisted on one specifically designed for bread (according to the marketing folks at Wusthof).
In my opinion, they both perform admirably, and would recommend either one as a lifelong kitchen tool. The serrated edge makes short work of slicing. I think the Brotmesser with its thicker blade might be more suitable for thick, crusty loaves. I prefer the Superslicer because of its lighter weight.
And that, my friend, is probably more information than you ever wanted to know or could possibly find useful.
Eric
1. Chicago cutlery: 7-1/8-inch blade; I bought this for about $27.00 to use in my RV in 1998. Works fine, but I wish it had a longer blade.
2. Henckels: approximately 8-in blade. This was my only bread knife from 1989 until 1998. Worked well. In 2004 took it to a "professional" knife sharpener who claimed he sharpened serrated edges. Completely destroyed the edge. I'd paid $68.00 for this knife in 1989.
3. Lamson-Sharp bought through KA about 7 years ago. Paid about $35-$40. Good sharpness, but blade is too flexible. Because of the asymetric edge design, i.e., one side beveled, one side straight, the blade tends to skew toward the straight side. If you conciously "steer" the blade to take a straight path the blade bends. One winds up with a bread slice thin on each edge, and fat in the middle.
4. Victorinox Forschner "wavy edge" bread knife; blade length 10-1/4 inch (same knife mentioned above by Paddycake). Paid $27 in 2007. Best breadknife I've owned, to date. It has the same asymetric problem as the Lamson-Sharp blade, but it's stiff enough that when you "steer" it to make a straight cut it, and cut gently, it cuts straight. Best breadknife I've owned, so far. Best price I've paid so far.
David G.
Victorinox bread knife. Excellent knife, reasonably priced.
My favorite is the same knife noted by David G. and San Diego Susan. The blade is strong, yet flexible enough to allow me to control the cut and width of the slice, even with crusty breads. It's a nicely balanced knife with a comfortable, well designed handle.
Thirty bucks at Amazon. An excellent product.
on America's test kitchen reviews. I have a Wustoff that was expensive ($89) but worth it. Over the years it has held an incredily sharp edge unlike the Chicago Cutlery one I had for a while. Also I am one to prefer a pointed rather than rounded edge, which is another destinction between the two knives. My principle with anything like knives and kitchen equipment is to buy the best products made of the best materials within budget. Ultimately you'll spend less money.
Thanks to all who responded, your thoughts and insights have been quite useful. I considered all the knives mentioned and I've decided to go with the Victorinox. It seems well liked by many. Plus the fact that the price dropped $2 since I looked at it last night makes me think that the Angel of the Crusty Loaf is telling me something.
We carry the RADA brand bread knives. They are wonderful knives and are very reasonable. They are made in the USA and carry a lifetime warranty all for only $10.50. They also come with two types of handle options. I will have photos of them on my website in January.
www.organicwheatproducts.com
The RADA bread knives are 14" with a 9 1/2" blade.
RADA knives(similar specs) are available from Breadtopia for $10.50 + $2.07 first class mail within US.
They also have the large Danish dough whisk for $8.00 plus 2.07 shipping, but if you order both, shipping bumps up to $4.90 but comes priority mail. Although one could just order them separately to save a few pennies.
I got one of these off Amazon a while back and have been using it for several months. It goes through bread like... Well like a hot knife through butter.
For 10 bucks (delivered) how could I go wrong. Other than the color that is.
All shun knives also have a lifetime warranty, They will even sharpen them for free.
I have the eight-inch Komachi bread knife, but the blade dulled quickly. That's when I switched to the ten-inch Victorinox, which remains super sharp.
Interesting about the free sharpening by Shun, though. Will have to check that out.
The Komachi tomato knife remains my favorite tool for scoring. Great little knife.
I've been looking to buy the Victorinox for a while now. It's difficult to source some things up here in Canada so I was lucky to find the knife online at BedBathandBeyond.ca
I was only going to get the plastic handle one but all they carried was the rosewood version...$32.99 plus shipping... if any other Canucks were interested.
edit: I just noticed the 8" knife is $44.99 so I think they've mixed up the pricing..so YMMV if you order.
Here is another vote for the Victorinox Forstner knife.
The are a GREAT value for the $$$. Be sure and get the longer 10 1/4" version with the dropped edge. It allows for better clearance when finishing up a cut.
Here is a link to the knife LINK
I will have to look into the RADA knives.
Tom
I love my new victorinox...it does a nice clean cut, as thick or thin as I like and no more wonky cuts ..all nice and even :)
I am going to give hubby the project of making a small block stand for it..for now it just rests laying across the bread board on the counter. It's possible it could hit the floor so I need some sort of a stand. If anyone has suggestions for a single knife stand I'd appreciate it..pictures are always appreciated...