They are mostly disposable, just buy a decent one and throw it away when it won't cut anymore.
Knives are so personal. Since you have some time, I'd suggest you "wind up" at some good kitchen stores and get to know what he might be interested in. I tend to cook more "peasant French" food than anything else, but I use a Chinese vegetable cleaver instead of a classic chef's knife. He may have similar quirks in what he likes- a sheep's foot paring knife instead of a standard, etc.
edit: I will plug one knife, it's a bread knife that I love and it's dirt cheap: Tojiro Bread Slicer
It's survived and thrived through a year of crusty sourdough and rye.
I agree. I also have a Wusthoff bread knife which is fine, but this one actually does a better job at cleanly getting through crusty sourdough than my Wusthoff ever did.
I use the Mercer Culinary Millennia Bread Knife. It was on an America's Test Kitchen video where they tested a bunch of bread knives—this one won and it was the cheapest! I love it.
Those are two separate knives.
You want a serrated bread knife for both bread and cakes. I recommend the Mercer.
For slicing meat, you want a long, straight-edge with a granton blade, something like this.
Reminds me of our bread knife.
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https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-M23210-Millennia-10-Inch/dp/B000PS1HS6
Anything by mercer or victorinox is pretty great, their other knives are great too!
This is the one I use. I love it. All my other knives are Victorinox Fibrox, but the bread knife was stupid expensive. This one does a great job. Super sharp and great for thick crusted heritage breads like this.
Mercer Culinary M23210 Millennia... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PS1HS6?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I used to use a bread knife that came with my knife block. It was awful. It tore bread and gave me awful and inconsistent slices. I also couldn't slice as thin as I wanted. With crusty bread, it would slide off of the crust and there were many near misses.
Now I use the Tojiro F-737. I originally wanted the Mercer Millenia 10 inch bread knife that was reviewed favorably by Americas Test kitchen. However, amazon didn't have it available on prime when I needed it (and I'm impatient). I looked up other reviews and Serious Eats gave this knife high praise so I figured it was a $22 experiment. It works great. I get beautiful even slices as thin as I want. I'd highly recommend it.
This is an adorable request and has been asked on another forum I sometimes use.
As for other gift ideas, a wonderful lame made a huge difference in my breadmaking. There is a walnut one for sale on Amazon I recommend. Other good ideas- linen tea towels, a dutch oven, a heavy duty set of custom oven mitts, a custom made apron, specialty flours, different shapes of bannetons, etc.
I recently purchased a Mercer bread knife on Amazon, and I love it! It works really well with crusty bread and large boules. Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PS1HS6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4pW2BbNPACA2E
Bread lame. It holds a double edged razor blade and used for making cuts in bread dough prior to baking. Here is a modern version: https://www.amazon.com/Bread-Lame-Designed-Stainless-material/dp/B079G7WC79
I have this bread Knife.
Mercer Culinary Millennia Wide Wavy Edge Bread Knife, 10-Inch, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PS1HS6/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_A8qYnF3pdE6Of
My brother worked for an Outback Steakhouse and it’s what they used. I also have a Henkel one that tried to cut my finger off. It’s prettier to look at but I don’t like it nearly as much.
You can't really go wrong with the Victorinox Fibrox knives. They are affordable, hold a sharp edge and are comfortable to use. For about $35, you can get their 10" bread knife on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Serrated-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B00093090Y
The Mercer Culinary Millennia 10” bread knife.
As tested by America’s test kitchen, and I can confirm this is an amazingly awesome bread knife for the price! I love it so much, it has replaced a much more expensive henckels knife that I previously used.
Check this out: Mercer Culinary M23210 Millennia 10-Inch Wide Wavy Edge Bread Knife
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PS1HS6/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_86QLCb4VQ31M0
Also make sure to get a blade sheath for it.
Yeah, I decided I wanted that Mercer 11" Granton edge; price @ $17 looked great. Estimated shipping, though? More than $16😳. Exact same knife at AMZN is $21 with free shipping for Prime members ...
I've found that the best way of knife shredding cabbage is with a long knife. I have a granton edge slicer (something like this) that does a wicked job on small batches of cabbage for kraut. Split the cabbage down the middle, two cuts to remove the core, lay it flat, then long thin cuts perpendicular to the axis.
I bought the Victorinox that is similar style and love it. The serrations are great and I use it all the time.
Victorinox Swiss Army 10-1/4" Serrated Bread Knife with Fibrox Handle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00093090Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_eoO1FbXXMGWJ9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Yes. This Knife is the one I have and was identified as the best bread knife by America's Test Kitchen, and is under $20!
Get a Tojiro bread knife and you'll never have this problem again.
https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-Bread-Slicer-270mm-F-687/dp/B004LVIO3O
I use this walnut lame from Amazon, except I use a thicker razor blade from home Depot (like typical box cutter thickness). The blades that it came with were too thin. I used to use just a regular razor blade, so I just attached it to this lame.
Black Walnut Bread Lame - Made in the USA! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B3L8P70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dazYCbA6AJV55
Definitely invest in a quality bread knife. Doesn’t have to be expensive, like this one I recently purchased totally changed my bread game, as like yourself was having a hard time making nice slices. I also started baking an extra 3 minutes to get a firmer product.
I've usedthis one for the last 4 years. It's secure and your hands are far enough from the blade that I haven't cut myself - also good storage and easy to change blade!
Let the bread cool completely before cutting. It will stay together better. This is a fantastic bread knife that I recommend. It will help you cut more evenly.
Get the Tojiro bread slicer. It's lethal out of the box, so be careful, but if you are careful, it'll slice all of your bread with extreme ease.
Tojiro makes a good one tojiro
I've been baking quite a bit this year but I'm having a terrible time scoring my loaves... I'm using a lame I bought from amazon and it always tugs on the dough and never makes anywhere near a clean cut. I've tried it in a straight setting and curved with no luck. I've read that it might be dough that has been over proofed but I tried doing it early in the rise last night and had a very similar horribly torn top. Any tips? Am I maintaining it incorrectly? Are there better, more highly recommended razor blades to buy?
I don't actually need it because I have plenty of humble tools to get the job done, but I've always been envious of bakers when I see that they have a very fancy/decorative dough lame to score with....so I think that would make a great gift because it's something nicer than just more supplies.
I'm talking about something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Walnut-Bread-Lame-Made/dp/B00B3L8P70/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OLFJSD7EA779&keywords=decorative+bread+lame&qid=1664842958&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjUyIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=decorative+bread+...