Bread slicers for left-handers – is there such a thing?
The answer is kind of There are bread slicers where the food is sliced from left to right – yes. Are these really only for left-handers – no! Why should they be? Bread slicers where the food is sliced from right to left are not only for right-handers. The following therefore applies: regardless of which direction the food is sliced in, left to right or right to left, , bread slicers may be used by left-handers and right-handers alike. But why are there two different food slicing directions then? The explanation is relatively simple as well as straightforward: it is purely a matter of habit. But it is of course advantageous, especially for left-handers, to maintain the general habit. Some prefer to push the food to be sliced to the knife with their left hand, others with their right. The bread slicers do not differ in terms of their function, because they are all designed to slice food. However, it is often simply the case that in some kitchens a "left-handed machine" fits better than a "right-handed machine".
By contrast, built-in bread slicers where food is sliced from left to right are planning alternatives for the right to left version. It makes sense to use this if the right to left version cannot be integrated into the kitchen for space reasons, e.g. if the built-in bread slicer is to be installed next to a tall cabinet or a worktop bracket. For further information on our built-in food cutters' slicing direction, please refer to our installation instructions.
ritter-fact: The slicing of food from left to right can be traced back, among other things, to slicers that were operated manually with a crank and are now being operated with this again. The first ritter bread slicer operated by crank was launched in 1932 by our founder Franz Ritter: the B 50. Even then, the food to be sliced was guided to the knife on the left and the crank was operated with the right hand to "set the knife in motion". In fact, at that time, the crank was placed on the right because cranking requires more concentration and strength than pushing the food to be sliced. This arrangement was chosen at that time, based on the theory that there are more right-handers than left-handers. Even in the wake of electrification, this operation was maintained and ritter introduced the first electric bread slicer in 1968. Until the 90s, the majority of ritter's electric bread slicers were offered as versions that slice food from left to right. Only then were machines added to the range that slice food from right to left.