Device for slicing loaves and other bakery products

Device (1) for slicing loaves and other bakery products, comprising a frame (2), the frame (2) having a support means (4, 5) for supporting the loaves (7), the support means defining a path for the loaves through the device, a cutting-blade carrier (10), which holds a plurality of thin, elongate cutting blades (11) next to one another and at a distance from one another, each cutting blade having a cutting edge (13) which has cutting formations for cutting the loaves, the cutting-blade carrier comprising a top attachment body (17) which is common to the cutting blades and a bottom attachment body (18) which is common to the cutting blades, wherein one end of each cutting blade is connected to the bottom attachment body and the other end of each cutting blade is connected to the top attachment body, the top attachment body (17) and the bottom attachment body (18) are connected to one and another by a spacer means forming a unit which is handled as a single entity, wherein the spacer means (19, 20) allow the top attachment body (17) and the bottom attachment body(18) to move apart and to tension the cutting blades (11) with an axial operating tension for cutting the loaves, a tensioning means for providing an axial operational tension for each cutting blade (11) during a cutting operation, a drive means for creating a reciprocating movement of the cutting blades with respect to the support means for the loaves, the reciprocating movement being parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cutting blades, wherein the top attachment body (17) and the bottom attachment body (18) of the cutting-blade carrier (10) are displaceable with respect to one another, wherein the drive means are provided with top holding means (30) for releasably holding the top attachment body (17) of the cutting-blade carrier and with bottom holding means (31) for releasably holding the bottom attachment body (18) of the cutting-blade carrier, and further wherein the tensioning means provide the axial operational tension by changing the distance between the top holding means (30) and the bottom holding means (31), so that after the top and bottom attachment bodies have been arranged in the top and bottom holding means, respectively, the distance between the top and bottom holding means is increased to provide an axial operational tensioning of the cutting blades (11).