Bread knives: to cut all kinds of bread and more

Looking for a good bread knife?

When you purchase a bread knife you need to pay close attention to the length of the blade, the serrations, shape and the handle material. Bread knives are longer than regular kitchen knives to make sure you can easily cut large loaves of bread without your hands getting anywhere near the blade.

The blade of a bread knife

A bread knife is one of the few knives that, by definition, is enhanced with a serrated blade. Because of the serrations you won't crush the bread as you cut it. The serrations get caught in the hard crust, because the pressure of the blade focuses on the tips of the serrations.

We sell a large number of bread knives. Most bread knives have classic serrations. We also sell bread knives with saw-shaped serrations. Of course, we put them to the test and these scored best!

The blade length of a bread knife

Most bread knives have a blade length between 20 and 30 cm. The longer the blade, the less you need to move to cut a loaf of bread. As such, you are left with more even results. In addition, a longer blade enables you to easily cut longer breads, such as baguettes. The tips of the bread knives can differ. Some have a blunt tip while others have a sharp tip, which has to do with general safety and design of the knife.

Bread knife: left-handed users and right-handed users

Of course, the knife needs to feel great in hand. That is why you should always pay close attention to the design and the thickness of the handle. There are no differences between bread knives for left-handed users and right-handed users when it comes to the blade. Most bread knives can be used by right and left-handed users without any issues. The blade was designed to easily cut through all types of bread, without crushing it, regardless of the dominant hand of the user.

The handle of a bread knife

Even though there might be no differences in blades when it comes to left and right-handed use, you can choose a bread knife with a specifical handle for your dominant hand. The specifically designed handles provide lefties with a natural and comfortable grip. So, for bread knives only the handle changes if the user is left-handed, the blade remains the same.

Bread knives with a wooden handle need a little extra TLC. We will tell you all about it in our how-to: how do you maintain a wooden handle. We do not recommend cleaning bread knives in the dishwasher, as this would negatively affect the knife.

Sharpening your bread knife

Many believe you cannot sharpen a bread knife because of the serrations. This is not true. You do, however, need to use a different technique. And perhaps other sharpening materials. To sharpen a bread knife, you need a sharpening steel or sharpening system with triangle-shaped sharpening rods. Find out how in our info topic about how to sharpen bread knives.

Safely storing your bread knife

Always use knife guards, an in-drawer knife organiser or preferably a good knife magnet or knife block to store your bread knife. When you store your bread knife in a drawer you run the risk that your knife will come into contact with other steel objects which could affect the sharpness of the bread knife. Also, it is never a good idea to reach into a drawer with sharp knives.