German Bread Slicer (Brotschneidemaschine): The Name, the Brands and What Is Really Made in Germany

“German bread slicer” is how US shoppers, reviewers and headlines describe a whole group of hand-crank machines – Eater titled its 2025 Zassenhaus review that way. The phrase mixes two things: a German word for a device, and a promise about where it is made. This page separates them.

The German name

Wikidata keeps “bread slicer” and “Brotschneidemaschine” as the English and German labels of the same item (Q21043216), classed as a subclass of machine. Neither the German nor the English word says anything about a motor: a Brotschneidemaschine can be turned by hand or driven electrically. Manufacturers add manuell or elektrisch – the Graef H9, for example, is sold as “Allesschneider Manuale”.

The brands behind “German bread slicer”

Three brands carry the label in US searches. All three sell hand-crank slicers with a round serrated blade and an adjustable fence; they differ in carriage, slice range and in what they document about origin.

Sources: Culinaris, graef.de and ritterwerk.de product pages, read 22 October 2026; country of origin for Zassenhaus per Galaxus (research dossier).

Zassenhaus

Zassenhaus is a brand based in Solingen, the German city known for blades. The Classic is the model most US buyers mean: a die-cast body with stainless parts on a beechwood base, four suction feet and a stepless 1–18 mm setting, per Culinaris. What Culinaris documents as “Made in Solingen” is the blade. For the finished machine, Galaxus lists the Czech Republic (Classic) and China (Vintage) as country of origin, and we found no statement from Zassenhaus itself. The brand and its models are on the Zassenhaus page, the origin question in detail on where is Zassenhaus made, and the Classic on Zassenhaus Classic.

Graef

Graef calls the H9 an Allesschneider Manuale – a manual all-purpose slicer. Its product page names a 190 mm serrated stainless blade, a stepless 0–15 mm dial, a removable stainless carriage and an end-piece holder in the box. Graef markets it as “Handmade in Germany” and says development, production, shipping and repair happen at its Arnsberg plant, where the company says it has built slicers for more than 70 years. More on the model: Graef H9.

Our pick: bread, cheese & cured meatGraef

Graef H9

All-metal hand-crank slicer with a stainless carriage, thumb guard and end-piece holder.

Why here: The German-made hand-crank slicer with the clearest origin statement – and a carriage with thumb guard for bread, cheese and cured meat.

Best for: Kitchens that slice bread and also firm cheese or cured sausage without electricity.

Strengths

• Removable stainless carriage with thumb guard, end-piece holder included
• 7.5-inch (190 mm) serrated stainless blade, slice length 150 mm (about 5.9 in)
• Made at the Graef plant in Arnsberg, Germany, according to the manufacturer

Weaknesses

• Large footprint: 14.8 × 14.4 in (375 × 365 mm)
• Slices only up to 15 mm (0.6 in) – no thick toast slices
• Premium price class

Type

Hand-crank food slicer with carriage

Blade

7.5 in (190 mm) serrated stainless steel

Slice thickness

0–15 mm stepless (up to 0.6 in)

Size

14.8 × 14.4 × 9.6 in (375 × 365 × 245 mm)

Weight

6.2 lb (2.8 kg)

Carriage & holder

Stainless carriage with thumb guard, end-piece holder included

Price class: Premium

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ritter

ritterwerk, based in Gröbenzell, lists the manus 3 as Made in Germany with a full-metal body and a TÜV Rheinland GS certificate. It has a 17 cm serrated blade, a carriage with about 20 cm of travel and a stepless setting up to about 20 mm. ritterwerk's safety note asks you not to run the slicer without the carriage or an end-piece holder unless the size or shape of the food prevents it; the holder is sold separately.

Bread slicer or all-purpose slicer?

The German vocabulary also explains a design difference that US listings blur. A bread slicing machine such as the Zassenhaus Classic is built around the loaf: board, fence, blade, crank. An Allesschneider such as the Graef H9 or the ritter manus 3 adds a carriage that moves the food past the blade, which also suits sausage and firm cheese – at the cost of a larger footprint (the Graef measures 14.8 × 14.4 in). If you only slice bread, the Classic's smaller size is the advantage; if cold cuts matter, the carriage is. How the crank mechanism works is explained on hand-crank bread slicers, and the motor question on manual vs. electric bread slicer.

“German” is not a quality grade

We found no standard or label that defines a “German bread slicer”. What the label can tell you is limited to three checks:

1. Brand base. All three brands are German companies.
2. Stated manufacture. Graef and ritter state German production for the H9 and manus 3. Zassenhaus documents only the Solingen blade.
3. Certification. ritterwerk names a GS mark from TÜV Rheinland; for the other two we found none stated.

There is no independent lab test comparing the three, so we compare them by spec sheet. All hand-crank slicers side by side are in our comparison of manual bread slicers, and the homepage gives the overview of manual bread slicers.