Advice: Watanabe Korouchi bread knife

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erikz

erikz

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Hi guys, just wondering if any of you has any experience with the bread knife (well... knives - he has two different Korouchi finishes) of Watanabe. I really like the looks of it, the blade is about 30% serrated, the other 70% isnt. How does it perform, how's the steel on it?

http://www.kitchen-knife.jp/special/breadknife.htm
 
I saw that blade earlier today and just came here to ask the exact same thing!

I'm eagerly awaiting any responses.
 
Wow this looks pretty cool. Ive often read that a non serrated blade works well for softer bread without leaving crumbs (ie doesn't like hard crust) so I guess this combines a bit of both worlds
 
Looks cool, but I would not want straight blade for bread knife and those few teeth are very rudimentary. Now if someone would make forged bread knife a'la MAC Superior, that would be a different story :)
 
But guys! Samurai Bread!!!

Japan actually has world class bakers, again, if NHK is to be believed. I've never actually met a baker who owned a bread knife though, so ... FWIW...
 
Thanks for your replies guys. I usually just slice bread with my laser (Konosuke GS 210), but I wanted to gift myself a useful gadget. So, it should work good to great for the amount he's asking for it. Hope there's someone with experience with one of these.
 
For bread, I just use a thin parer or utility, use the point to get in, then the whole blade to make the cut. I don't use my serrated knifes at all.
 
I bake a lot of bread. Hard thick crusted sourdough loaves, anywhere from one to almost three pounds each. Wouldn't think of using a straight edge. The loaf would laugh. Have the Kramer, Mac, wustof and big Gude. They are all different. I cut very little soft bread like brioche. The Gude puts the rest of the pack to shame. The wustof is a distant second.
 
Might not go and buy this then, better spend half the money on a Gude, I like good looking knives but a knife should be practical even more so.
 
:zombiegrave: I'll bring this thread back to life to see if anyone has experienced any of these knives yet? Or, even no one's tried them, how about some input on how the half-serrated/half-straight blade in action would compare to a full serrated blade? And how useful are scallops for serrated blades v. the simple notches watanabe seems to employ in his design?
Is the purpose of a half-serrated blade to let the end serrations start to cut into the crust, then the straight blade actually cuts through the inner crumb more cleanly? Or is each section only supposed to be used for different crusts---i.e. use only the serrated section for crusty breads and use only the straight section for softer crusts?

Many people seem to like serrated knives from Gude, forschner, mac, tojiro, etc. However, I'd like to find a blade with more character...but performance is still the most important quality. I've been really impressed with Watanabe's product and communication, and I'd like to support a good craftsman, too.
 
Anton said:
It's just bread!
Click to expand...

Yep! I've honestly had as good if not better luck cutting bread with a gyuto then a so called bread knife. Especially when I'm trying to produce super thin crostini cuts. It's way harder on the edge, which is why I think most people shy away from it.
 
I have the tadafusa bread knife which had the serrated tip and flat section of about 220mm and, honestly, even amongst some pretty nifty knives it's incredibly useful. The serrations take you through the thickest crust. The blade thinness and low height make it a useful ham knife. You can cut your tomatoes with it. It's no slouch on most medium to hard cheese and it's SLD so wangs through pickles and onions without discoloration or smells. You're most of the way to a pretty decent sandwich with one knife.
 
Anton said:
It's just bread!
Click to expand...

Can you expand on this a bit? I.e., isn't everything we cut "just" meat or "just" vegetables, or "just bread?" Are you suggesting that the way a knife cuts through bread is cut isn't as important as the way a knife cuts through other products?
Do you, like brainsausage, find a gyuto to be superior for loaves?
Also, it wouldn't be a uni-tasker for me---I've found serrated knives to also be useful for tomatoes. Is your experience different?

I really appreciate your feedback!
 
Looks like someone from kkf likes them...since this thread was re-initiated three days ago, two of the eight available bread knives have sold.
 
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