Have you ever bought a knife only to find you regretted it, not so much because it didn’t perform as intended but because you wished it were longer, shorter, taller, less tall, heavier, lighter…whatever? Ages ago I acquired a ten inch slicer. It works as intended, but I have long wished I had bought a longer one. A longer blade is, to me, simply better at neat, fine slicing. Also, once I bought a four inch parer. Now it sits in the block because I bought the two and a half inch parer I should have bought in the first place. Shorter and thinner paring knives are, for me, much more effective, not only for fine work but for boning. I recently acquired a larger chef’s knife, but the shorter and much lighter ten inch is still a beloved member of the household. I am glad to have two chef’s knife options.
For years I struggled with an ancient bread knife; it was a struggle to cut bread neatly using it. Then I bought a Mercer from Amazon for under $30, and was really impressed with it. My wife smiled indulgently when I received it, but when she first used it, she too was impressed with it.
I have an old Sabatier chef’s knife that I need to get professionally sharpened; pleased with it otherwise. I also have a Henckels chef’s knife that is a recent purchase, and that I like.
Still looking for the perfect biscotti knife.
And what is a biscotti knife?
Edit…never mind. I asked the Google. He/she/they said a THIN serrated knife. That invariably means stamped, not forged.
Something that will cut them neatly, and not destroy them. I’ve tried the Mercer bread knife, a bread knife with smaller closely-spaced teeth, a ham slicer, and a chef’s knife. All a no-go!
Try a Tojiro F-737. If that doesn’t work, the perfect biscotti knife may not exist. I often use my aforementioned ten inch Sabatier slicer on crusty loaves. Despite its not being serrated, it does a great job.
I picked up an inexpensive set of Cuisinart knives from Macy’s over the holidays. The set of 5 was less than $20. I know they are not a long term investment, but they are sharp and if someone tosses them in the sink I have no worries about replacing them. I was surprised at how comfortable the handle on the chef’s knife is, especially for the price. This set saved me the hassle of getting the good knives sharpened during a busy time, and honestly, I use them more than I expected I would.
I moved to Utah for a short time in the 1980s, and I got a block of knives from a department store. I didn’t know much about knives at the time. They’re kind of awful, not keeping their sharpness. Years later I found a block of Chicago Cutlery at a yard sale, and they’ve worked fine for me.
Which brings up a question: how do people dispose of knives? I don’t want to endanger the sanitation workers by just throwing them away.
Sounds like more of a win than a regret. Nice snag.
There is always some thrift store that will take them and sell them for a song to someone who will sharpen them and use them, imperfect though they be, or maybe @Eiron will be the buyer and turn it into a laser sharp work of art. If you have to pitch them, tape cardboard around them and label them. I put my used razor blades in an Altoids container and tape and label it.
My Henckels cleaver - it’s nice but too small. I honestly can’t remember when/where I bought it, I think someone gave me a Williams Sonoma gift certificate or something. It works and is solid, but if you wanna cleave, get a full size cleaver.
I bought the knife below a while ago specifically to try on biscotti; no improvement. It was another cheap Amazon purchase; I was unwilling to spend a lot on trying yet another knife for biscotti,
I looked up the Tojiro on Amazon : $60, which is a bit too pricey for me. Maybe I should just give up on biscotti?
I find that trying to cut through the nuts in the biscotti is what breaks it up, so I may try blitzing the nuts into oblivion as I make the dough in the food processor anyway.
I think giving up biscotti is a terrible idea, and I love the nuts whole. Maybe trying something like slivered almonds would help. The Tojiro can be found online between $25 and $30.,
When I was 9 or 10 my parents noticed I liked making food (sure I’ve told this story umteen times here) and my folks got me the old wok, utensils, Chinese cleaver set for $10. All of it was CS, and very NOT stainless. First wash, all were drying and rusting. I was devastated, not knowing carbon from stainless. I was pssed and didn’t know how to remedy the whole deal until my mom found them all boxed up months later. Too proud to seek her out after the rusting happened, she taught me how to care for my CS. Once pssed turned to elation when I frequently used that Chinese cleaver and it was my only cutter for many years thereafter.
My pride was faulty, not the knife. Everyone needs help from others from time to time, or so I tell kids during my suicide prevention lessons when they ask what to say to their friends if their friends indicate self harm. I now practice what I preach much more frequently from that little lesson. Still have bouts of stubborn stupid, though.
Sometimes the frustration from disappointment puts our stubborn selves into a quitting stupor. Often the knife, pan, etc. is fine, we need to find the the way to bring out the good in it and it will good us.
Yes, definitely a win. I picked up a set for my mom (who doesn’t cook much these days) and one for the vacation house.
I keep the good Henckels and Mercer in a drawer at home for my use only. They are all nice and sharp now 
I just remembered that my biscotti recipe specifies the use of an insulated cookie sheet, which I do have, but it doesn’t have a raised rim all around, so I’ve never used it for fear that stuff would slide off as it’s being moved. What is the difference between using an insulated sheet and stacking two sheets, one sheet on top of another? The stacked sheets technique was suggested to me by a professional baker, for baking choux.
I have never used an insulated sheet. I use a regular aluminized steel sheet with a Silpat.
Being a knife nerd and also a bit of a collector. That sure has happened to me several times.
Usually it’s when trying stainless powdersteel knives the disappointment is biggest.
In theory powder steels should be superior to any traditional carbon steel in hardness and wear resistance. They just feel so “dead” on the board. Usually stamped to make a thin and light knife that falls through stuff effortless.
For me it usually means a knife too light and without any real profile. They usually end up with a terrible food release due to being too thin and overly polished.
Just Borring and soulless 
For biscotti, i use my regular chef’s knife. You want something that is sharp and hence could cut through the nuts easily. I definitely would not use a serrated knife for that - a serrated knife will more likely push the nuts around, messing up your clean cut biscotti.
I cannot recommend this cheap knife enough (though I have the non stainless version which they apparently do not offer anymore at Bernal), still use it daily. This knife would work for biscotti - when I use mine to cut lemons I slice right through any seeds.
I second this sentiment strongly. All of my knives take fine edges and do their jobs well, but I have two that feel almost part of me, a very old ten inch Sabatier Jeune chef’s knife and a very pointy Nogent parer. The way they feel with their old, worn wooden handles is palpably different from micarta, and their blades are both soft and incredibly shop. They both love the steel.
Thanks for the tip. I had thought that a bread knife would be best, but I’ll give that a shot with a new Henckels chef’s knife that I have.
