My experience with bread knives had generally left me feeling that they are never particularly sharp, but make up for it with a toothy serrated edge that digs into food. When you're talking about bread that counts for a lot. Bread isn't exactly the toughest thing a knife has to deal with.
Based on that previous experience, this breadknife didn't look terribly impressive. The serrations are smooth and rounded rather than aggressive and toothy. It didn't look like something that would bite into bread. But I'd read a rave review of it, and everything else I read about Kai knives was overwhelmingly positive. I've also had very good luck with Japanese cutlery, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
It cuts like a laser. Slides right through breads and salami (which I end up using it for all the time) very smoothly and with very little effort. The blade is razor sharp, which I learned when I got a little careless (didn't used to have respect for breadknives, remember) and it sliced off the end of a fingernail without the slightest resistance. THAT left me very respectful. The gentle serrations let it dig into it's target without tearing or throwing loose a crumb. It also has a nice, meaty asymmetrical D-shaped handle that really fits in the palm. This may not be for everyone, so give it a whirl before you commit to buying, but I think it's great.
If you need a breadknife and want a quality piece (and if you get a good knife and take care of it you should only need to buy one, ever) this is the hands down obvious choice. It's a bit more expensive than the Major German Brand cutlery, but easily worth it.
As a general comment, I think anyone looking for good kitchen cutlery should consider the Japanese brands first. I've used knives from Global, Kai and Kasumi, and up against Henckels and Wusthof there is just no comparison. We have the Kai breadknife, a Kasumi chef's knife, a Henckel's 4-star chef, Henckel's 4-star santoku, Henckel's 4-star slicer, Wusthof Grand Prix utility, Wusthof Grand Prix parer, Wusthof Classic granton slicer, and a Kyocera ceramic chef's. When I look at the knife block I really just see the Kai breadknife, my Kasumi chef and Those Other Knives.
Any knife shopping I do in the future, I will be looking at Kai first. Kasumi is also an incredible brand, and a bit finer and sharper than Kai, but they run about 50% more. I got my Kasumi chef's as a gift, and it's a treasure, but if I were laying down my own money it's such a close call I'd probably go with Kai, especially since I prefer their handles.
I am not hung up on Japanese knives I use both Japanese and German manufactured ones, depending on the task and which kitchen I am in. But I only use two bread knives, the Shun Classic and the Shun Elite. I don't know if either knife is particularly "pretty", there are blades around that have more layers than the Shun Classic and thus look nicer, and the (much more expensive) Elite has just a few layers and the blade is not any more attractive than others. The "D" handle of the Classic is nice, for right handed people. All I know about these knives is that whenever I have one of them in my hand no bread is safe I look for excuses to slice bread. It feels that good to use, and boy can you cut a thin piece. I have not had that feeling with any other top quality bread knife made in Germany or Japan. I bought others, tried them, and they do not compare. I don't know anything about longevity, ask me in ten years.
Buy Shun DM0705 Classic 9-Inch Bread Knife Now
Shun knives are beautiful creations period. Since I'm Asian, I love the tradition look and feel of this Japanese knife. I love the beauty of the blade and the dark, polished, Pakkawood handle. The unique "D"-shaped, Wood handles are preferable. The shape fits my hand perfectly, and the wood does not get slippery when wet providing a very secure hold. The steel is of utmost quality and sharpness. Do not put this blade into any old electric knife sharpener! Electric knife sharpeners are made to put one angle on any blade. These blades come with a 16 degree angle and you don't want to be changing that angle. There are electric knife sharpeners that can sharpen these knives, but you'll have to do some research and find out which ones can be a fit with these knives. I prefer to hone with a sharpening steel and manually sharpen with a stone if necessary (and I don't see it being necessary to touch it to a stone any time soon). The blade is sharp straight off the factory and as Alton Brown says it's the sharpest straight out of the factory edge as he's ever seen.
These knives are more expensive than most, but I think it's definitely worth it. To have the sharpest, most beautiful knife around it's no contest. If you are on a budget, build your collection slowly. It's been said that there are only 3 knives that are the absolute basics for any kitchen: A 8" Chef's Knife (or some kind of similar, large-ish chef's knife), a Paring Knife, and a Long Serrated blade for cutting bread and larger items. I would add a thin utility knife and a boning knife to that list next. Then I would add those "in-between" sizes as I get more money flow in. =)
If you plan on spending any time in the kitchen, good kitchen knives are a definite must. Preparation is the bulk of cooking and when you have good knives, it cuts down on the danger of cutting yourself, it adds pleasure to the work, and it cuts down on prep time. Knives are also a very personal choice and it's best to at least go to a store and try it out for yourself first. Shun Knives are designed by the Japanese, so remember it's designed for small hands. This makes it fit most women's hands perfectly, but I've heard of guys with larger hands not like it so much and going back to the German knives. So definitely try it out. It's a personal thing, it needs to fit you.
Why spend so much money on a knife? Well, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and you almost always have to bust out a knife to prep a meal from scratch why not use the best? Why spend that time with items that you love and brings you pleasure to use? Many times, it's the small things that brings us the most pleasure in life, and I consider my Shun knives as one of those things. Having something so beautiful and yet so sharp and perfect it makes my time cooking just that much more enjoyable.
Another good thing to know is that although the Shun Knives are usually offered for right-handers, you can get these knives for left-handers. You just need to find the guys who stock and sell those ones as they are less known, and less common.
Read Best Reviews of Shun DM0705 Classic 9-Inch Bread Knife Here
This is a great knife. It is far and away the best bread knife I've ever had, so good I just replaced it with itself.
Shun Classic is my brand & line of choice for "ancillary" knives (I'm happy with all of them. I just prefer a more exotic, and thus expensive, primary knife.).
Pros:
+ Really sharp. Most bread knives just saw at food, this is more of a serrated slicer.
+ Tip of the blade comes to a hook-ish point. This is amazing for getting through the bottom crust of "artisanal" breads.
+ Great length. It's long enough to really slice with but not so long that it's awkward in a small kitchen.
Cons:
The character on the blade is painted on. It will come off eventually and look dirty/bad as it does so. (True of all knives in this line).
The handle has a very strange smell when new. I've noticed this with all my Shun Classic knives; however, this one was the strongest. It goes away after 8 weeks or so.
Once it's dulls it is much less useful. Serrated knives can be sharpened in principle. I cannot do it and I'm yet to find a place that will. The shape of the teeth on this blade are such that once the cutting edge is dulled the knife really has very little to work with. This makes it a bit of a "disposable" knife. On the plus side it dulls much more slowly than a heavily used knife (chef etc). I got 3 years out of mine and replaced it with the same exact thing. If you deal primarily with sandwich loaves I suspect you'll get a much longer service life.
Suggestion:
I hate to speak use Amazon to prompt the competition, but I've found Shun knives are often less expensive at Bed Bath and Beyond using their 20% coupon (also true of All-Clad).
Shun FYI:
If you are considering a large Shun investment you should know that as of 4/1/2011 they are discontinuing their lifetime sharpening/replacement program. This was one of the big selling points of the line in my mind.
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I noticed before I bought this knife that ALL its reviews were five stars, and this one rates it that way, too. Bakery slicers always produce slices too thin or too thick, so I do it myself. Before I used this knife, I had to view this as a necessary but moderately difficult chore. Not any more! As one of the previous reviewers remarked, now I look for opportunities to slice bread!
The best surprise came when I read the sheet enclosed with the knife, telling me that I don't have to sharpen it myself. Send it back to the factory, and they'll do a professional job for no fee, for life.
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If you are searching for fully forged, qualities knives on a budget, I highly recommend the Mercer Genesis series. I am a bit of a foodie and have used ceramic blades, Wustofs and Henkels in the past. On a functional level, these knives pair right next to those. Used in culinary schools, the blades are of top quality and the knives are well balanced in the hand. Some who I have shown my knives to have objected to the synthetic "soft" handle, but I think they were mostly just mad at the price I paid when they compared these to their much more costly German ones. Are they as pretty as a set of Global knives? No. But they are sharp, durable and won't break the bank. If you are looking for a show set, you might want to look elsewhere, but if you have some cutting to do, these knives should please.
