Do Bread Knives *Have* to be Serrated?

[roaduck]

I've got two Appalachian fiddle bow knives - the blade is only 0.04mm or 1/64th of an inch thick - the same as commercial bread slicing machines and they both do sourdough loaves straight from the oven with hardly any crumbs - brilliant.
I've been baking bread since I was little and got a few bread knives.

 

[VCM3]

Great insight folks, thanks. I'm probably going to start looking for an easier-to-sharpen scalloped breadknife then.

I never had a problem of sharpening production type ( lower Rc ) serrated knives ( of any serration pattern) with various round rods ,using it like a chef's sharpening steel. And I know tons of knife guys that all would say pretty much the same

 

[Aardvark]

Those bow knives are freaking deadly, kind of like a bandsaw without its wheels.

Mr. Roaduck, are you left-handed?

 

[eveled]

My Grandmother made homemade bread weekly until she was in her mid 90’s.

She used a rotary meet slicer. Then froze it all.

 

[JB in LV]

Banana bread is very simple to make, I usually make two loaves and freeze one for a week or two before I pull it. Meanwhile the next bananas can be over-ripening on the counter.

Victorinox Fibrox bread knife used to be dirt cheap, still not completely unreasonable.

Never had to touch the edge, though I could without any issue. It could still take a finger off.

 

[roaduck]

Those bow knives are freaking deadly, kind of like a bandsaw without its wheels.

Mr. Roaduck, are you left-handed?

I was a right-handed kid Aardvark but my hobbies eventually made me ambidextrous haha !

Both knives are right-handed but I can use my left; just slicing a bit slower.

You only have to lightly touch a bow knife blade accidentally and there's red everywhere - it's like a long razor blade lol !

They make a normal knife blade look like an axe in comparison.

The bottom Appalachian bow-fiddle knife is Chinese and has a bigger gap which is better than the mid seventies Oklahoman handcrafted one for wider slices, buns and baps.

The original blade for the American knife was carbon and was still lethally sharp after over fifty years but I swapped it to a stainless one for easier maintenance.

The spare blades will each last decades so I've got plenty haha !

 

[BigMoney]

Definitely need serrations. Almost gotta grab the hacksaw

 

[Aardvark]

Fine looking loaf, sir.

 

[Gottagofishn]

I've got two Appalachian fiddle bow knives - the blade is only 0.04mm or 1/64th of an inch thick - the same as commercial bread slicing machines and they both do sourdough loaves straight from the oven with hardly any crumbs - brilliant.
I've been baking bread since I was little and got a few bread knives.

Top 3 favorites? If possible?

 

[roaduck]

Top 3 favorites? If possible?

Mmm that's not easy but, I'd say, top set, second pic down below the white Granton one - the wide Chinese fiddle bow bread knife (nearly invisible blade) for delicates and pastry, then second group down, third image down black-handled wide English Granton 12" slicer for carving, bread and everything- then third group down, bottom black-handled Japanese Tojiro because it's designed for frozen gear and can do any bread easy-peasy.

The fiddle-bow knives are the best though - like the blades on commercial bread-slicing machines - 0.4mm - 1/64th" scalloped blades plus hardly any crumbs because it's not a fine-toothed or thick-bladed saw - P=F/A - pressure equals force divided by area = more efficient.