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Bread knives

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Rod Franklin View Drop Down
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    Posted: 03 April 2012 at 11:19
I started making bread again. Just easy no-knead boules. These taste great, but the crust is tough to cut. I have an old bread knife that I found behind a stove in an apartment I rented gosh knows how long ago. It has a serrated edge and a sort of saw tooth edge. And it's always just sorta worked.

I want to get a good bread knife, but I would like a word of mouth referral from folks who have used an awesome bread knife and can recommend a real winner.

Maybe I should look for an electric knife?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 April 2012 at 11:36
the serrated knives such as the one you mention are the best that i have found, but that isn't saying too much, since those are all i've used.Embarrassed
 
one thing i've found with those breads you mention with the tougher crusts is that if they spend the night in a large, covered tupperware bowl or wrapped in saran wrap after baking, the residual moisture in the loaves permeates the entire loaf, and the crust becomes much more tender and easy to cut, whilst still remaining quite crusty ~ might be worth a try on your next loaf.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 April 2012 at 12:58
First off, Ron, have you tried sharpening the old one? That might be all you need.
 
I don't care for electric knives at all, and certainly don't recommend them for bread. The off-set serrated knives, however, are ideal for slicing bread.
 
If sharpening the one you have doesn't work, let me recommend the LamsonSharp Rosewood. It's considerably less expensive than many others, but does the job just as well.
 
BTW, many bread knives only cut in one direction, either on the push or the pull. That can have an effect on how well it seems to be doing the job.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 02:26
Here's the one I use....a Shun offset and serrated. It also does a terrific job on tomatoes.
On the downside....quite pricy.
Go ahead...play with your food!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ChrisFlanders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 04:26
I absolutely agree on sharpening the old one. It's easier than it seems. I sharpened mine many months ago and it still works perfectly. Simply wrap a piece of waterproof sandpaper around a pencil and give a few strokes from spine of the knife towards the edge. No need to mention it has to be a round pencil. You may have to remove a little burr on the opposite side you sharpened on; simply slide that side of the knife along a piece of sandpaper. Works perfect with dry 600 grit waterproof sandpaper for me.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hoser Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 05:01
Originally posted by ChrisBelgium ChrisBelgium wrote:

I absolutely agree on sharpening the old one. It's easier than it seems. I sharpened mine many months ago and it still works perfectly. Simply wrap a piece of waterproof sandpaper around a pencil and give a few strokes from spine of the knife towards the edge. No need to mention it has to be a round pencil. You may have to remove a little burr on the opposite side you sharpened on; simply slide that side of the knife along a piece of sandpaper. Works perfect with dry 600 grit waterproof sandpaper for me.

Great tip Chris....thanks!Thumbs Up
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Rod Franklin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rod Franklin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 05:31
Thanks for all the great advice. I didn't even think about sand paper.  I used a round file that was pretty coarse(not the best choice), and a fine triangular file. I'll find some fine sandpaper to take the burrs off. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 06:15
Makes me wonder, Rod: How do you sharpen your other knives?
 
The most dangerous tool in the kitchen is a dull knife. Not only do they make the work harder (you are doing the work instead of the knife), they lead to serious cuts.
 
Anyone serious about cooking should have a sharpening system of some sort, and a steel, at a minimum. If you don't want to sharpen your own knives, send them out to a pro, but keep them honed with a steel. Or at least a set of those ceramic sticks.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rod Franklin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2012 at 06:49
I've got a few different hones around here, and I use them and a steel that gets used often to make quick re-alignments. I have a Lansky system, and everything gets a once over with that on occasion. However, I have nothing specifically designed to sharpen scalloped edge knives. I have a nice, cylindrical Arkansas stone that is of too large a diameter for this knife. The other edge of the knife has what I could only call a sawtooth edge. By that I mean, for an inch or so, closely spaced cuts were made in one side, with a sharply edged, I assume, grinding wheel. After an inch, the blade was flipped and the closely spaced cuts were made for another inch, making an alternating, non-directional saw type of edge. Easy enough to sharpen. This whole knife is rather abused. Gosh knows what the original owner was cutting with it, but it was quite dull. I'm sure it's at least better than it was now, and after I do some edge burr removal, I'll be checking it out later today when my latest no-knead bread comes out of the oven.

I tried to find a picture of this thing but no luck. It's called a "Tusten." The only other words are Stainless and Japan. What I could find was that Tusten is a place in Upstate New York, named after some military guy of some note and land tycoon. Not surprisingly, that's in the general area I was living in when I found this thing. So it appears some long defunct, small time importer marketed this Ron Popeil class knife at one time in the past.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 April 2012 at 17:13
Rod,
 
I use a Wusthof Trident Classic breadknife and highly recomend it, a bit pricey but it is fantastic.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rod Franklin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 April 2012 at 18:05
I have a small Wusthof Trident kitchen knife I got a thrift store. I had to put a new handle on it. Good steel, I gotta say. Easy enough to sharpen, keeps an edge well.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 April 2012 at 19:31
Originally posted by Rod Franklin Rod Franklin wrote:

I have a small Wusthof Trident kitchen knife I got a thrift store. I had to put a new handle on it. Good steel, I gotta say. Easy enough to sharpen, keeps an edge well.
 
Good steel for sure, hardened to a high Rockwell hardness that holds an edge well and cleans up nicely with a steel.  I have owned Wusthof, Henckels, and Lamson and all are great although I have relegated the set of Lamson knives to part time duty at our vacation home as I like the Wusthofs a bit better and I feel they hold an edge better; not sure if that is due to the grind, the steel, or the heat treatment.  All are fine knives.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 April 2012 at 07:30
You know, Andy, that you and I are dinosaurs? Apparently, if you listen to the "knife" guys, German steel is out. If you aren't using Japanese knives you're just out of date.
 
Yeah, right! I'm quite happy with my Germans, and will continue using them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 April 2012 at 13:07
Originally posted by HistoricFoodie HistoricFoodie wrote:

You know, Andy, that you and I are dinosaurs? Apparently, if you listen to the "knife" guys, German steel is out. If you aren't using Japanese knives you're just out of date.
 
Yeah, right! I'm quite happy with my Germans, and will continue using them.
 
That is so true.  I was surprised to read on some other cooking forums a few years ago about how bad the German knives are, and how they are out of date and how much better Japanese steel is and how much sharper their knives are...blah, blah, blah...
 
I love my Wusthofs and my Lamsons are also very nice knives.  The Lamsons are made in, IIRC, Massachusetts but I believe they use German steel.  I'm sure the Japanese knives are very good but the prices asked for some of them are ridiculous.  I too am very happy to keep using my outdated German knives. Wink 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rod Franklin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 April 2012 at 15:35
Knife snobs, food snobs, audio equipment snobs, beer snobs, 'sall the same to me.
I've got some real old carbon steel Henckels and they are made from some fine steel. I really am partial to the look of a good carbon steel blade. Oops! I probably sound like a snob!Tongue
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Boilermaker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 April 2012 at 18:11
Originally posted by Rod Franklin Rod Franklin wrote:

Knife snobs, food snobs, audio equipment snobs, beer snobs, 'sall the same to me.
I've got some real old carbon steel Henckels and they are made from some fine steel. I really am partial to the look of a good carbon steel blade. Oops! I probably sound like a snob!Tongue
 
I had a set of Henckels years ago with the forged what they call "Friodur" or "ice hardened" blades that were the best knives I have ever used, I think even better than my Wusthofs, no matter how much they were used a couple passes of the steel and they would shave hair.  I foolishly let them get away.  German steel, like everything else they make, is good stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rod Franklin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 April 2012 at 20:09
I've got a J. A. Henkels Twinworks #38-10". It's the go to for slicing steaks. And a couple of #58-5 1/2" for general removing meat from bones. Great knives, serious tools. I take real good care of these. The bread knife I started this thread about? Not so much.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AK1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 April 2012 at 20:56
I go this way... You get a knife... you like the knife... you use the knife... happy person.

I like the knives I use, my brother likes the knives he uses. I would never use his knives, I don't like them, they aren't comfortable for me.

Basically, anyone that tells you that one knife is better than another knife is full of shit( not really, but really). Find a knife that you feel comfortable with and enjoy it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 April 2012 at 04:26
You're absolutely right, Darko. Comfort is one of the top criteria when choosing a knife. If it ain't comfortable in your hand, you're not going to use it.
 
Comfort is usually determined by handle design and overall balance. But there are other criteria as well, such as the ease it takes an edge, and how long it holds it. Why are these important? Because the most dangerous thing in the kitchen is a dull knife. And, unless you want to spend your life sharpening knives instead of using them, good steel is important.
 
By every standard but one, carbon is a better material for blades than stainless. But carbon is high maintanance, so many people dislike it, and go with stainless instead: a perfect example of where subjective criteria trump objective ones.
 
Weight can easily be a factor, particularly for professionals who use their knives nonstop the whole day long. If the knife is tiring to use, you won't be happy with it, no matter how good it is otherwise.
 
Configuration of the blade is an important factor. For instance, Friend Wife much prefers the German model chef's knife, whereas I'm happier with the French model. So, for her, a knife with a lot of rocker is better than one with less.
 
What is most definately not, repeat not, a criteria is price. While it's true that within certain parameters you get what you pay for, that's not strictly true with knives. I've seen some pretty expensive knives that were uncomfortable in the hand and which wouldn't hold an edge. Meanwhile, there are really inexpensive knives that meet all criteria.
 
I've got a Chicago Cutlery paring knife, for instance, that I've used for about 30 years. Paid somehting like $2.98 for it, and wouldn't trade it for anything. More recently we bought some Faberware chef's knives at ten bucks a throw. Used 'em hard at work all last season and all they ever needed was steeling.
 
So, yeah, one knife can easily be better than another. But "best" is defined within the context of your hand, and what you determine are important factors.
 
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