A Choice of Two Bread Blades/Knives

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DerSnap

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So I tend to eat bread a bit as its available here in Germany. Been using a Zwilling Blade for a while, and to be honest its ok, but really nothing special, and also very heavy. So besides that I was looking at the larger Güde knives, but well I was at the shop I noticed Miyabi has a 5000MCD bread knife. I am wondering if this type of steel is really ideal for a bread knife, and which anyone would choose?

I do love my two Miyabi blades I have, especially the 7000MCD line, but perhaps too brittle for hard bread?

Chime in if you please,

Thanks
Shamus
 
I don't think you have to worry about either one. Gude has a great reputation but if you're just using it in a home setting being cost conscious is probably where to go. Tojiro and Mac also make a fine bread knife. I also like an offset Dexter.
 
The Güde also has many other knives with a Damascus line and bread knife in the 3500 euro range ;)
OK that one is out of cost but it looks very nice. Not sure about their steel though and hence why I posted here.
Either knife is in my price range, and yes this is more for the home knife and will be likely on display. Sure a sort of trophy piece :)
 
The Gude 320 is certainly a show stopper as well as a great bread knife. There may be a 240 Gude in my future as it would be a little easier to wield. And two is better than one...

Recently looked at Myobi and International Henckels bread kniives side by side to gift one (on sale cheap). As far as I could tell the serrations on were identical, the whole blade looked identical. A previous Henckels of mine got very dull, very quickly in home use but I bought the gift.
 
If you want a trophy then the big Gude is certainly more impressive. I call it a "bread deba" because it a really thick, heavy blade made for hard, crusty loaves. It's crazy and over built even for that task. The steel has as good of edge retention that I think I'd need for it's given application. I've had it for at least a year and hasnt needed sharpening yet/ still slices paper but granted it did come with an edge from Dave Martell....
Still though the really aggressive serrations means that it doesn't slice softer bread as cleanly as thinner knives with better serrations for that task (like to Tojiro ITK).

I wouldn't want a bread knife made from the MC steel, just because bread knives are a PITA to sharpen anyway and that steel is just going to make things more difficult and burn though more sheets of sandpaper. IMO the slight advantage that you might get in edge retention would be offset by the increased potential for chipping and the extra fuss when sharpening.

I have yet to use a bread knife that I feel is a better cutter than the Tojiro ITK with it's wavy scalloped pattern. It also serves as a good sandwich maker: it can slice the bread, meat cheese, tomatoes all cleanly, the rounded tip makes it a decent mustard / mayo spreader and then it can even cut the whole finished pile neatly in half.

If you want something very versatile and functional, that also has "bling" and knife-rack appeal, then I doubt you can do better (outside of full custom) than an ITK with a upgraded handle. Even with some snazzy wood and nice 3D contouring, this may still be the cheapest option too.

However, if you want something that just awesome for it's pure, unapologetic absurdity, then it's Gude all the way.
 
The Gude is going to be even heavier than what you are used to.

Try a Tojiro, Mac or JKI bread knife.
 
Heavier than the Zwilling I have?
Starting to check out the other brands also mentioned. Worst case I have a few knives :eek: *heaven forbid*
 
I've heard good things about Gude. I had a Henckels that I gave away when I got a Tojio ITK which doesn't look like anything special but it works great. I still feel guilty that I passed such a crappy knife to a friend. Surprisingly, they still like it. :shrug: Anyway, I no longer use my Tojiro. I don't like the way it damages my cutting boards. Instead, I take a slicer that isn't too hard <60 hrc and sharpen it on coarse grit only. It rips through most loaves very easily and it works great for barbecue, etc. Most harder steel chips a lot on crusty loaves.
 
I was double checking today where they had the Miyabi. Its MOSDEF a no go. Too small.

The Gude I have seen before and so far I think its top. What is the steel they are using? I was sort of under the impression their steel was basic stuff like the typical German knife?
I wish I could check some of the Japan knives in person in some store here.
 
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