The Gunter Wilhelm Premier ProCut 10 inch Serrated Bread Knife is a superb blade with a wicked sharp cutting edge that is also drop dead gorgeous. This is no lightweight, it is built to cut through thick crust loaves, bagels, and tough hided melons. The offset handle leaves plenty of room between your knuckles and the cutting board.
The Gunter Wilhelm Bread Knife’s Construction
The Premier ProCut series knives are made with highly regarded X50CrMoV15 high-carbon rustproof stainless steel by the largest manufacturer in Germany, Thyssen Krupp. These knives are forged with a multi-stage heat and ice hardening process that takes them to a Rockwell hardness of 58, which is the norm for German-style knives. Known in the USA as 440 Stainless Steel, X50CrMoV15 is made of 15% chromium, 0.7% molybdenum, 0.15% vanadium, and 0.50% carbon, with no nickel.
According to the British Stainless Steel Association (BSSA is a standards organization), “the higher chromium plus small molybdenum addition gives a greater corrosion resistance than standard grades. Vanadium allows higher tempering temperatures to be used and gives greater toughness, and the moderately high carbon content of 0.50% creates a high hardness martensitic microstructure.”The Premier knives are drop forged. Forged knives like these are made from steel that has been heated and hammered and heated and hammered some more, so as to realign the metal’s molecular structure and make it stronger and more resilient. A stamped knife, on the other hand, is literally stamped out of a roll of steel and does not go through the strengthening process. These knives have superior cutting ability and edge retention ratings, according to the CATARA 8442:5-2004 standard.
Bolster
This blade has a full bolster. The bolster is a narrow wedge of steel that separates the handle from the blade. It protects your fingers from slipping on to the cutting edge. Many knives have minimal bolsters or none at all. With GW knives, the whole thing is made from a single piece of steel, so they are full-tang. (One piece of steel from the tip to the heel).
A full tang gives the knife extra strength, which does make it feel a bit heavy at first blush. However, it also helps the blade slice effortlessly. The balance point negates any concerns when you start to actually work with them even though they are relatively heavy at 0.487 pounds. Slicing is also enhanced by the fairly large serrations, and the gap between the teeth also makes sharpening easier. As with most good serrated knives, the edge is flat on one side and tapered on the other. It practically glides through baguettes.
“Double Tang”
The metal in the handle extends from the tip of the blade to the end of the handle. That’s classic single tang. On Premier ProCut knives, the tang extends from the top to the bottom of the handle, and that’s “double tang.” On the Premier ProCut knives, the tang also extends from side to side. If you cut the handle crosswise in the middle it looks like a plus (+) sign. That’s “triple tang.” As for handles, the 4.75 inch ergonomic handle is made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for durability. The Premier ProCut line handles are a beautiful wood grain sandwiching the triple tang handle.
Günter Wilhem also offers professional sharpening services. All GW knives come with a generous warranty.
