A place to share practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last, with an emphasis on upcycled and sustainable products!
Guidelines:
Things that are well-made and durable (even if they won't last a lifetime) are A-Okay!
Unlike that other BIFL place, Home-made and DIY items are encouraged here, as long as some form of instruction is included in the body of the post.
Videos links are not allowed as post titles, but you may use them in a text post.
A limited amount of self-promotion is accepted, IF the item you are selling aligns with this criteria:
I guess pretty much any bread knife is a bifl one, but in the twenty odd years i've had this, i keep thinking to myself that this knife is awesome basically any time i use it. That's why i want to recommend it. When I bought it it was quite cheap too, does not seem to be the case anymore. Is a Victorinox 5.2930.26
For some reason, unclear even to myself, I have a serious dislike for Victorinox.
There are a few of those in the kitchen (didn't bought a single one) and I can't feel comfortable using it; it's as if it doesn't quite fit into my hand properly.
But if it that knife does the job for you, good!
The bread on the background, is it homemade or store bought? Looks nice.
I remember being a bit turned off when they recommended it to me in the shop, because of it being a Victorinox, but they told me it's the standard bread knife for all the restaurants etc, so i thought why not, it was also only around 20€ or something. I bought it for my parents too, they somehow lost their old bread knife (how can you lose a bread knife?), they also like it a lot.
The bread is from a bakery.
The ones with the Fibrox handles I find very uncomfortable, they do not fit my hand at all. Not so much of an issue with a bread knife, but I really don't like sharpening their blend of steel.
I was once told their knives are not supposed to be sharpened. Or at least at a home setting. I was in a store, so I automatically take every word told to me with an extra grain of salt.
Never done it, but sharpening a serrated blade is not an easy task. Most will just wear down such a blade until rendered unusable and discard it afterwards.
I meant their regular knives, not serrated ones. I sharpen all my knives and straight razors as well. I find Victorinox difficult.
Serrated bread knives are usually only sharpened on one side, the other side is flat. You can do what is called 'back sharpening' where you lightly sharpen the flat side.
In any case when someone wants an inexpensive knife recommendation I say the Thai Zebra brand, much cheaper and better quality.
i know many ppl like to use fancy diamond sharpeners. but for all my kitchen knives i use the same stone sharpening tool. you know, the one that looks like a lense (another buy for life btw). with a bit of exercise you get really quick at sharpening anything to a razors edge. my victorinox paring knifes also comply with that tool very well - might be worth a try.
maybe just don't use your 10'000$ japanese chefs knife on the stone ;-) anything else 'good quality but affordable' i have a great experience.
I don't know what kind of sharpener you are talking about. I use regular whetstones. I have some diamond stones that were a gift, they only get used on cold chisels and knives from the flea market to re profile them.
I had a partner who loved Victorinox, we are not together any longer so I don't have to sharpen them. As I said, they are uncomfortable in my hands, and I find the steel sub par. A Zebra is usually 1/4 the price and better quality.
not mine, but a you get the idea. i prefer natural stone. when you have the movement in muscle memory, you are really fast - and you don't need to keep track of strokes per side.
looks like you have a setup, which you like already. so just disregard this comment 😉
Interesting, I have never seen those before. Thanks
I understood you were referring to regular blades.
My respect for caring for your knives as you do. It's something I find challenging, to say the least.
I have to look up for those Thai Zebra. Never heard of it before. I usually buy domestic knives (IVO); we still have a few good manufacturers but I don't know if they export enough to be widespread.
Zebra brand can often be found in Asian markets.
I am unfamiliar with IVO, they look similar, though I could not find what type of steel they use.
No stain x55 CR Mo V14
Have that information stamped on a blade.
That should sharpen quite easily. It is towards the softer side of stainless (inox) steels, I very much like them. They are easy to work with, durable, don't discolor vegetables.
I'll have that information in mind the next time I try to sharpen the knives. Last time I tried, I think I made the blades even more blunt then it already were.
It takes practice, but isn't hard to learn. You can do it. I find it very satisfying and relaxing. Using a steel often will mean your knives need to be sharpened less frequently too.
I have one and use it but I use my knives daily and use them well, as I carve my own meat cuts, prepare vegetables, fruits, etc.
For someone that enjoys cooking, I am aware I am lacking on the knives upkeep department. Sharpening by hand always fails me and my only mildly successful atempt involved using a belt sander on a moderate speed to try to emulate a grinding stone.