Seki Kyuba PAN Bread Serrated Knife 23.5cm
A serrated Japanese bread knife with a 235mm blade in Daido 1K6 martensitic stainless steel (59–60 HRC). It saws cleanly through crusty sourdough and soft pastry without crushing or tearing, and the added chromium keeps it rust-free. For people who take their bread seriously.
Lifetime warranty
Every knife we have ever made, covered for life.
Free UK delivery
Included on every order over £90.
100-day returns
Use it for three months. Send it back if it isn’t right.
Hand-finished box
Hanko-stamped certificate, 5 yen coin tucked alongside.
Why this knife
The blade, and the thinking behind it.
The Bread Knife
Our PAN line is made for bread. The serrated edge saws cleanly through crusty artisanal loaves and delicate pastries alike, giving you uniform slices without crushing or tearing. If you bake, or simply care about a good loaf, it earns its place in the kitchen.
The Blade
The blade is Daido 1K6 martensitic stainless steel, forged in Seki, Gifu. At 59–60 HRC it balances edge retention with the flexibility a bread knife needs, while 0.6% carbon and 13.5% chromium keep it sharp and rust-free. A touch of molybdenum and vanadium adds consistency slice after slice, and the generous 235mm length carries you through a full loaf in one pass.
It’s comfortable, light and fast, and the double bevel suits both left- and right-handed use.
The hands that make it
Seki. Seven hundred years of blade-making.
Seki, in Gifu, has been forging blades since the fourteenth century — first samurai swords, then kitchen knives. The workshop we work with forges five of our six lines.
The handle is finished in Małopolska, Poland, by craftsmen who shape every handle by hand: a stabilised maple burl body and a bog oak ferrule — the kakumaki. The blade and handle meet at a single hand-fitted copper ring, set with a soft tap of a wooden mallet, in an octagonal profile.
Care, briefly
Three habits, and it outlasts you.
01.
Hand wash, dry immediately.
Never the dishwasher. Sixty seconds at the sink, then a soft towel. Water on hard Japanese steel is the only thing that rusts it.
02.
Wood boards only.
Glass, stone and marble are harder than the steel and dull the edge in a week. End-grain hardwood is the right choice — hinoki cypress if you can find it.
03.
Sharpen on a stone.
Never a honing rod — the steel is too hard, it chips the edge. A 1000/6000 whetstone every three or four months keeps it keen.
What you receive
In the box.
- The knife, sharpened, oiled, wrapped in cloth.
- A hand-finished box for the knife.
- A Certificate of Authenticity, hand-stamped with the maker’s hanko, naming the smith and certifying the blade.
- A 5 yen coin tucked alongside. “Go en” — the Japanese for five yen — is the homophone for luck, connection and bond. Returning the coin to the giver turns the gift-knife into a symbolic purchase, neutralising the old superstition that a knife as a gift cuts the bond between giver and receiver.
- A care card with the sixty-second wash routine and a link to Knife School.
- Your lifetime warranty, registered to you automatically when the order ships.
Frequently asked.
Is it dishwasher safe?
How often will I need to sharpen it?
Can I use it to cut meat?
How long does shipping take?
What if it isn't right for my kitchen?
From the people who cook with it
Reviews.
This bread knife is a game changer! Glides through crusty sourdough without crushing it. The natural brown handle feels great in hand.
Sharp right out of the box! This bread knife makes clean cuts through even the crustiest bread.
The bread knife is a game changer! Makes clean cuts through crusty bread effortlessly.
Not sure this is the one?
Take two minutes.
Six questions about the way you actually cook. We’ll point you to the knife that fits.