My Whole Family Lived in Fear of My Mom Cutting Bagels — Until She Got This $18 Tool

Every time my mom cut a bagel, I would get anxious. I saw it in slow motion; I dreamt about it. There she was, gripping a fresh bagel, inching an ultra sharp bread knife (or worse, a less-sharp chef’s knife) closer and closer to her exposed palm. After years of observing this horror (and admittedly doing it myself as well), I knew I had to jump in before tragedy struck. And it wasn’t just me: “Cutting bagels like that makes people in my family extremely upset,” my mom said of my otherwise extremely nice and relaxed family. “It started with my sister-in-law like 30 years ago, always yelling at me when she saw me slicing bagels that way.”

I looked all over the place for a better solution, but was disappointed by the fact that the bagel guillotine still seemed to be the top kitchen tool for this task. (You know, the device that was popular in the 90s, where you place the bagel in a vertical slot and chop it from above using a super dull, triangle-shaped blade.) But then, I found it — a genius product that is only $18 at Amazon. 

Urban Trend Premium Bagel Knife

The Urban Trend Premium Bagel Knife combines form with function. It features a sharp, stainless steel blade with serrations, thus being able to slice through bagels of any kind. But here’s where it gets better: There are also protective plastic rails on either side, making it virtually impossible to accidentally cut yourself, since the blade has less depth than the sides.

A few years ago, I bought one for my mom, and it’s been life-changing for my family. “It’s the best kitchen utensil I think I have, seriously,” my mom told me recently, adding that she’s never once come close to nicking herself with it. A longtime bagel palmer, she recalled a horrible bagel-related injury from her college years. “I remember cutting my fingers or the palm of my hand, and it was bleeding a lot.” While she didn’t need to go to the emergency room, she did continue cutting bagels that way. “I obviously didn’t learn my lesson,” she laughed.

This bagel knife isn’t only great because of how safe it is – it also produces a super clean and even cut every time. “It slices the bagel almost exactly in half, whereas when I did it myself with my hand, it would end up lopsided,” my mom said. The knife is also easy to store, and comes with a plastic sheath, so you can cover up the blade and avoid getting cut when reaching for it in the drawer.  

Even as someone who has worked in restaurant kitchens, I love it, and so does everyone who sees it at my mom’s house. “When Aunt Mindi saw it for the first time, she went out and bought one,” my mom proudly pointed out. “Grandma saw it, too, and said something, and we got her one as well.” It’s just one of those rare inventions that really blows everything that came before it out of the water. Still, I’ll never fully get over the childhood memories of bagel guillotines struggling to cut through my bagels, but instead just smushing countless beautiful circles into deformed ovals.

All-in-all, the introduction of the Urban Trend bagel knife has vastly improved my mom’s kitchen safety, and, by proxy, her experiences hosting brunch. “I like relieving the anxiety of my family,” she said. “There’s enough stress in the world without me adding to it.” For $18, it might just heal your family’s wounds – both literal and metaphorical – too. 

Shop More Genius Tools at Amazon: 

Chef’n Fridge Fork

Fellow Atmos Vacuum Coffee Canister

Microplane Classic Zester

Lodge Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle

Dorai Dish-Drying Mat

At the time of publishing, the price was $18.