A friend 3 months ago started making her own bread, don't know where she got the idea from !! I would like to buy her a good knife for slicing her bread – having at the beginning of this year bought a set of Sabatier knives in a closing down sale at a bargain price I have come to realise what a fantastic thing good knives are. She has good knives except for a bread knife and uses a rubbish 2 sided serrated / scalloped edge thing with a pointed front presumably for spearing tomatoes or whatever. My Sabatier bread knife has a scalloped blade, is a traditional shape and works like a dream – this set me off on a trip round the internet and there is a debate going on about which is best, serrated, scalloped or even smooth and I just wondered what others here were using.

On a seperate issue also I understand that serrated or scalloped blades cannot be sharpened although it may be possible to get scalloped done professionally. Having been unable to master a steel for sharpening knives (it's as easy as riding a bike!!! Yeh yeh) I am thinking about buying myself an electric sharpener for my other knives - any thoughts please ?

What are you guys, who have a lot more experience than me, using please ?

just ignorant Elsa.

Mike sharpens all ours on the grinding wheel – not sure if there are sharp intakes of breath anywhere…sounds like it porbably isn't a good idea, but it does a brill job.

On the bread knife debate, I like to use a scalloped edge knife, he likes a good sharp straight blade.

Amazing isn't it, the more you know the more you realise you don't or didn't know. For one I never realised the division between using serrated or scalloped knives or indeed smooth blades – incidentally my grandmother used a smooth blade and held the loaf vertically and cut it towards her after she had buttered the slice (that very old memory going back possibly 60 years has just come to me, I noticed it because it was so different from what my mother did) I still have somewhere, probably her old ivory handled smooth carving knife that she used for bread also – goodness knows where.

As for sharpening, I think that if the steel is good then probably a bread knife will not lose it's edge for many years so serrated or scalloped is all a matter of choice rather than practicality but for my own 'other' knives thanks for the info each, I will digest and make some decision regarding sharpener etc. anon.

Great stuff, thanks again…

No neither did mine, she used to lift the bottom of her apron on to the table for the cutting and then shake the crumbs into the fire (in the winter I guess) which always seemed to be on with a kettle in the grate.