I'm mostly just commenting on why it was such a big deal in the time that it happened rather than today. Today, we do have more machines, easier access to knives, and generally less domestic work to do than was the case in this era. I do own a breadknife, though I rarely eat bread and it's mostly denser loaves when I do (a kind of sandwich bread the wife prefers or something like Baurenbrot for my tastes).