Opinel - Les Forgés 1890 Fully-Forged Bread Knife – Ultra-Premium 21cm Artisan Kitchen Saws

Opinel - Les Forgés 1890 Fully-Forged Bread Knife – Ultra-Premium 21cm Artisan Kitchen Saws

The Opinel Les Forgés 1890 Bread Knife represents the absolute pinnacle of traditional French cutlery craftsmanship, masterfully engineered to deliver flawless slicing symmetry, exceptional weight distribution, and lifelong mechanical durability. Belonging to Opinel's prestigious flagship collection, this heirloom-grade culinary instrument is completely hot-forged from a single piece of premium European steel. This process ensures optimal structural density, perfect physical balance, and a seamless transition from the blade tang to the handle bolster. Equipped with a heavy-duty, aggressively scalloped 21 cm serrated edge and an ergonomic, water-resistant beech wood handle, it saws effortlessly through thick, artisanal crusts, dense sourdoughs, and robust tropical fruits with smooth, sweeping control.

Best For Professional chefs, artisan bakers, luxury home entertainers, and culinary purists seeking an unyielding, fully-forged master bread knife that provides superior hand balance and slices soft crumbs or hard crusts cleanly without crushing the interior food structures.

Key Features

• 100% Hot-Forged Construction: Forged from a singular, glowing-hot rod of steel at 1200°C, delivering an unbreakable, continuous grain alignment that creates unmatched structural rigidity and a perfectly balanced weight in the palm.

• Premium X50CrMoV15 Stainless Steel: Forged from elite European alloy steel enriched with Chromium, Molybdenum, and Vanadium, ensuring maximum resistance to organic food acids, oxidation, and heavy mechanical wear.

• Optimized Hardness Rating: Precision tempered to achieve an impressive structural hardness rating between **57 and 59 HRC**, providing a durable cutting edge that stays sharp under intensive daily workload demands.

• Stabilized Thermo-Heated Beechwood Handle: Crafted from premium European beech wood that undergoes a natural, high-temperature baking process, making the timber exceptionally water-resistant, structurally stable against shrinkage, and comfortably secure to hold.

• Aggressive Scalloped Serrations: The wide, razor-sharpened wave teeth bite effortlessly into ultra-hard bakery crusts or slippery fruit skins, executing uniform slices with a gentle pull motion instead of forced pushing.

Specifications

• Blade Length: 21 cm

• Handle Length: 12 cm

• Overall Length: 33 cm

• Blade Profile: Deep Scalloped Bread / Curved Serrated Profile

• Blade Construction: Full-Tang, Fully Hot-Forged from a Single Piece of Steel

• Steel Composition: X50CrMoV15 Premium Grade Stainless Steel

• Rockwell Hardness: 57 - 59 HRC

• Handle Material: Natural Heat-Treated (Stabilized) European Beech Wood

• Manufacturing Origin: Masterfully Crafted by Opinel France

Ideal For (Uses)

• Artisan Loaves & Heavy Sourdoughs: Gliding seamlessly through thick, crunchy wood-fired bakery crusts, hard rye loaves, and country miches without snagging or compressing the delicate, airy crumb structure inside.

• Soft Buns & Delicate Breakfast Pastries: Slicing light croissants, buttery brioche buns, tender panettones, and flaky puff pastries cleanly across without tearing the delicate layers or leaving messy countertop crumbs.

• Robust Thick-Skinned Fruits: Safely sawing through dense, slippery tropical produce including whole pineapples, heavy cantaloupes, watermelons, and large squash varieties with complete tracking stability.

• Large Roast Carving & Sandwiches: Neatly cutting cleanly through tiered club sandwiches, crusty pork belly crackling, or baked hams, ensuring a crisp, presentation-ready line every time.

Pro Tip & Les Forgés Maintenance: As a fully forged, premium artisan tool featuring a natural wood element, this bread knife requires traditional culinary care to protect its structural integrity. It should never be placed inside a dishwasher or left sitting inside a damp kitchen sink. Simply rinse the blade under warm running water after use, use a soft non-scratch sponge to clear away crumbs or fruit starches, and dry immediately with a fresh tea towel. Storing it safely on a magnetic wall strip or inside a protective knife block prevents the sharp serrated teeth from clinking against other steel surfaces. An occasional light rub of food-safe mineral oil onto the beautiful beech handle will lock out moisture, nourish the wood fibers, and preserve its luxurious satin finish for generations to come!

Oversized Item Delivery Options

Since oversized items require special handling, we may need to provide a custom freight quote for your order and will contact you with an updated shipping rate.

Available options include:

✔ Delivery to your closest depot for pickup - default method
✔ Direct delivery - requires forklift on site
✔ Direct delivery with tailgate lift truck (extra fees apply)
✔ Forklift loading at our warehouse (no extra charge if you arrange your own freight)
✔ Direct truck delivery (available in Victoria)

Important Notes:

• Shipping costs vary by location and method
• Because of the forklift requirement, delivery to the nearest depot is the default option and will be the method used unless you contact us to request otherwise.

Business Delivery:

• Business delivery is available for commercial customers only
• If you select business delivery and your products are bulky, it is your responsibility to ensure you have appropriate equipment (including forklifts) to unload products from the delivery truck
• If you select business delivery and you are not a business, you risk your product not being delivered and may incur additional fees to retrieve your order
• Business delivery customers must provide a valid business address and contact information
• Additional fees may apply for failed delivery attempts due to lack of appropriate unloading equipment

Let us know your preference, and we'll arrange the best solution for you!

Important Note on Availability & Shipping

Our warehouse serves as our office and logistics centre rather than a retail showroom. Because we ship from multiple locations and manage high-turnover stock, not all items are available for immediate pickup.

Lead Times:

• In-Stock Items: Usually ready for dispatch the same day.
• Supplier-Dependent Items: Usually take 2–8 weeks to arrive, depending on supplier availability. Products from Adloheat may take 8–12 weeks to manufacture—they are made to order in Australia by a small business, and longer lead times reflect the care put into quality.

While we strive for fast delivery, some timelines are subject to supplier availability and are beyond our control. We appreciate your patience as we source the best quality gear for your project.

Biosecurity & Interstate Shipping Restrictions

Due to strict state biosecurity regulations, we are unable to ship some products to certain states and territories:

• Potting Mixes cannot be shipped to Western Australia (WA), the Northern Territory (NT), or Tasmania (TAS).
• Seeds cannot be shipped to Western Australia (WA).

Orders placed for these items to restricted states will be cancelled and refunded. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the items being ordered can lawfully be delivered to their state or territory.