Is that a hand saw???

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Monty

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Pearland, Texas, USA.
Had several people ask that question when they spotted my bread knives. Any one else get that question when displaying bread knives?
 
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Never made bread knives, but always got question "Did you make these" for my bowls and sometimes they would ask "What are these" when looking at my pepper mills or else "Are these salt shakers".

Maybe use a day old loaf of bread with one of the knives partially cut through the loaf.
 

AllanS

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New Mexico
Had several people ask that question when they spotted my bread knives. Any one else get that question when displaying bread knives?
I don't do knives but if I did and I DID get that question I don't think I could resist answering

"Yes. Yes they are but only for very very VERY soft wood"
 

Woodchipper

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Cleveland, TN
People are spoiled with all the prepared foods, etc. I don't of anyone who bakes bread now. No need for a bread knife. How many of us oldtimers can go to an antique shop and see things that were new when we were kids? How many youngsters would know what they were?
 

Monty

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Pearland, Texas, USA.
People are spoiled with all the prepared foods, etc. I don't of anyone who bakes bread now. No need for a bread knife. How many of us oldtimers can go to an antique shop and see things that were new when we were kids? How many youngsters would know what they were?
A lot of people bake their own bread or buy the "special" bread from the store bakery.
 

Curly

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Nov 20, 2010
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Saskatoon SK., Canada.
I don't buy bread that is sliced. Period. I buy from small bakeries that make more than just white bread, preferably still warm if I can get there early enough. 😋 I have to admit I rarely use a wave edge bread knife, preferring to take a few seconds longer with a nice sharp knife. Fewer crumbs left behind that way. 😉
 

penicillin

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Feb 27, 2019
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We make our own bread at home. I learned when I was young. Making your own bread is easy and takes less personal time than driving to the store to buy bread. We do not waste our money on store-bought bread. The ingredients for a loaf of sourdough bread costs less than forty cents. A comparable loaf of sourdough bread costs well over four dollars in the store.

If you can make pens, then you will find bread making easier and tastier. :)

Note: I lied about how much time it takes to make bread. The truth is that it requires very little total personal time and effort, but long gaps between short steps. You must be available to perform those steps at the correct times, but you also have some control over timing.

Edit (added later), About Bread Slicing:

Obviously home baked bread does not come pre-sliced. I slice our bread using an ordinary bread knife that came with our Henckels "four star" kitchen knife set. That bread knife is merely "good enough". It works well for me, but I do not recommend it for others - there are so many better bread knives out there. It takes practice to get straight and even slices of bread, so don't get discouraged. Keep practicing, and soon everyone else will admire your bread slicing skills. DAMHIK.

Here are a few tricks that I discovered on my own through trial and error, but they work for me:
  • Before you start the next slice, take the time to line up the serrated teeth in position on the top of the bread. The knife blade should be parallel to the face of the loaf (the previous slice). Keep the blade perfectly vertical.
  • Start the slice slowly. Be sure the teeth grab along the line you just set; they should not float or drift on the crust.
    • If the crust is very hard or very soft so that the teeth won't grab, then angle the blade on the back corner of the loaf to engage the teeth, than slowly rotate the blade until it is full engaged along the line you want.
  • Once the blade is engaged, use fast strokes to get a clean cut.
  • As you slice, you can tilt the top of the blade slightly as needed to "steer" the cut and keep it flat and straight.
  • Pay attention where the blade pokes out of the back of the loaf and make sure it stays straight to avoid a "tapered" end. The tapered slice problem usually happens on the last few slices.
  • IMPORTANT: Pay attention to the position of your fingers on the hand that holds the bread in place.
    • For the last few slices, you can curl your fingers back, away from the bread. Use the palm of your hand to steady it, keeping your palm away from the blade.
 
Last edited:

leehljp

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Feb 6, 2005
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Tunica, Mississippi,
"Is that a handsaw?"

Over the years here, It has been fun to read the questions people ask. This is one of the funniest!
A few years ago, another funny question to a pen maker, which he posted here: "How did you get the wood to wrap around the pen like that?"
 

sbwertz

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May 11, 2010
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Phoenix, AZ
A lot of people bake their own bread or buy the "special" bread from the store bakery.
I bake my own because we have to eat low carb for my husband's blood sugar and my low carb bread is better than the store-bought stuff! But I have a little 8" electric circular blade slicer I use to slice mine.
 

penicillin

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Feb 27, 2019
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But I have a little 8" electric circular blade slicer I use to slice mine.
Does it look like this?

Dewalt-DWS780-2.jpg
 

penicillin

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Feb 27, 2019
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Slicing bread seems like a perfect way to use a bandsaw...
My spouse needed a bunch of perfect walnut shell halves for baking. I rigged up a safety holder with a handscrew clamp to cut the walnuts on the bandsaw. As they say, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The walnut shell halves turned out perfectly and my spouse was very happy. :)
The bandsaw made a big mess to clean up and I was not as happy. :-(

Walnut Shells on Bandsaw.JPG
 
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