D. Martell Bread Knife?

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Isn't a chef's/gyuto knife, a paring and a bread knife the recommended first three knife purchases? If so I'd think that would sell. Dave, what profiles are your biggest sellers? Are the basic profiles popular or do you sell more of the specialty-type knives?

I've used a lot of bread knives over the years and this style: https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Serrated-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B00093090Y?ref_=ast_sto_dp is by far my fav. The length and the curve is what does it for me. IMO.

So if you keep the length and the curve, and then make the rest of the blade profile and the handle your own you might have something. Just my two cents.
 
I bake ryebread every single week and wheat bread 2-3 times a month and only a serrated knife can cut this. In Denmark, baking at home is a trend (although, of course, I have been baking for the last 6 years). With Claus Meyer and Noma and the whole new nordic cuisine, old grains have been popularized and everybody now knows "spelt" for instance. I think a similar development has taken place in the US, fx Chad Robertson in San Francisco. All of these sour dough artisan breads needs serration.

I have a Tamahagane and it cut's super nice, but it aint nothing special, the handle is micarta. I think it's this one:

SAN Tsubame Brødkniv 23 cm fra Tamahagane » Gratis Levering (kitchenone.dk)
 
@Dave Martell I'm concerned that it is too much of a niche market within a niche market. There probably are a few people interested, and they are probably already hanging out in this thread 🤣

My main issue with breadknives is figuring out how to sharpen them well at home. I've been using a MAC superior 270 bread knife for a few years. It sees so little use that I've never felt the need to sharpen it! But it's getting there what with all the crusty comfort bread of the last year in lockdown. Still, I will probably outsource sharpening to a local shop. And I *really* don't want to send a high end custom to a rando commercial knife place for sharpening.

So even though you'd think that I'd be drawn to a custom in CPM154 at like 61+ hrc for the wear resistance, I'm much more likely to stick with my MAC in boring old moly steel at 58 hrc and just give it to a local shop for sharpening.

Now a custom rehandle on the MAC bread knife? Uh yeah sign me up, but just not until my wife starts a new job this summer. Then it's go time 😁

All that said ... if you decide to make bread knives, I'm sure you'll find an audience for them here. It's just a question of whether you can scale it up to where you can do it profitably. And that's where I think things get dicey.
 
Blenheim Forge did a limited run of bread knives. They sold out quickly.


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if people appreciate custom high end chef knives, why not a bread knife? I just sent cad files out to be plasma cut for my own bread knife. The serrations will be plasma cut in, I assume a slight bevel, then sharpening with a chainsaw file should give me a pretty nice bread knife.

Your Gen1 bread knife would be the only knife in our house that gets used every single day :).
 
I have 2 Henckels bread knives with 2 different serrations. One Henckels is a 5star and the other is a Henckels 4star. I kind of think the Henckels 4star is more of a salami knife with a more aggressive cut. It is hard on cutting boards. I don't use them very much only for bread and salami.
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I have a Tamahagane, which is very sharp, but way too short. I'd like my bread knife to be around 360mm for my homemade sourdough loaves. Being from Denmark, and being a home baker, I actually use a breadknife everyday. The whole family eats sourdough ryebread for lunch, and this needs cutting.

I'd seriously love a custom breadknife!
 
Try a 10" Mercer Millenia; quite possibly the best performing bread-knife on the planet. Probably under $30. in the U.S. Ultra-comfortable and "grippy" Santoprene handle. It may not be "pretty", but it's a dream to work with.
 
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