In this article
Serrated knives aren’t used as frequently as a chef’s knife or paring knife, but that doesn’t make them any less essential. There is simply no substitute for a long and hefty bread knife when cutting bread. And a shorter blade that’s reliably sharp is always nice to have for delicate prep tasks.
There are two basic categories of serrated knife: larger bread knives with eight- to ten-inch-long blades and smaller utility knives with a four- to six-inch blade. If you only want one, make it a bread knife. “All the things I would do with my small knife, I could do with a big knife,” says food writer Christina Chaey. “I don’t want to cut through a cherry tomato with a large serrated knife, but I could.” If you’ve ever used a too-short knife to cut bread, you know the opposite is not true.
Even so, Chaey says, “If it were me, I would always recommend a big one and a small one.” Smaller serrated knives are more maneuverable, which is why culinary artist Jen Monroe of Badtaste.biz prefers smaller blades when making the ornate cuts for her elaborate tablescapes. Chef Jeremy Salamon of Agi’s Counter also prefers small knives for bigger jobs, where agile blades make quick work of fruit and vegetable prep.
I asked experts for their favorite serrated knives and tested them in my own kitchen over the course of several weeks. They all agree that you should avoid lightweight, flexible serrated blades. My choices are weightier knives that won’t bend as you cut with them. To find these picks, I went to Otway Bakery and asked for its two most-burnt batards of the day. I cut half of one loaf that same evening — leaving the other half to get super-stale. I cut up the second one for breakfast and lunch the next day. Then I sliced into the stale loaf when it was hard as a rock after a few days. I also sliced tomatoes as thinly as possible, peeled a whole watermelon, and tested the knives on some citrus.
Note that serrated knives have different maintenance requirements compared to straight-blade cutlery. “I’ve actually never owned one where I’ve noticed ‘oh, it’s time for me to replace this,’ the way I do with my Microplane every three months,” Chaey says. The brand Shun offers free lifetime honing service for the cost of shipping on all its serrated knives. You can also send them to a mail-in service like KnifeAid, which sharpens serrated and regular knives for about $15 apiece. And if you’re looking for other knives to round out your collection or a place to put all of them, we have guides to knife sets as well as magnetic knife blocks.
What we’re looking for
Blade shape
Maurizio Leo, author of The Perfect Loaf, says that a good bread knife should have a slightly bent blade shape because this allows you to use the full length of the knife without bumping your knuckles into the cutting board. Modern serrated designs also tend to get wider as they approach the handle, resulting in a more triangular blade shape with better clearance. In my testing, I found that either design can be effective.
Serration shape
Leo also says that rounded, or “scalloped,” serration is beneficial for cutting crusty loaves because it slices through hard crusts without shattering it. This was supported by my own testing, where I found scalloped serration preserved the integrity of both crust and crumb on even cracker-thin slices. By comparison, blades with a classic serration style (i.e., pointier, taller triangular teeth) would crush the crust before tearing through the crumb on thinner slices, leaving large, undesirable holes in the middle. Some cutlery manufacturers are also experimenting with their own serration profiles, such as Zwilling’s Z15, which alternates between scalloped and pointy teeth.
Blade length
For bread, a nine-inch blade is long enough to cut a slice off of even large loaves in a single stroke yet short enough to fit in most knife-storage solutions. Chaey says that she has a ten-inch blade that sees almost no usage because it doesn’t fit in her knife drawer. For smaller tasks, such as slicing tomatoes or prepping citrus, a four- to six-inch blade is preferable for better maneuverability.
Handle
Unsurprisingly, the restaurant chefs I spoke to agreed that handle comfort was of utmost importance. Salamon prefers a rounded heel because a squared-off handle can cause blisters and calluses when you’re cutting identical slices for 150 to 200 tuna melts a week. Leo says that handle size is also important because a too-small handle makes it difficult to control such a long blade. As for materials, a high-quality plastic in a nice color works just as well as the lacquered wood on a high-end blade. A rubberized nylon grip like you’d find on a commercial blade can inspire confidence and is dishwasher-safe but also unsightly to many people. It ultimately comes down to personal preference.
Best overall bread knife
Blade shape: Triangular | Serration shape: Classic | Blade length: 8.6” | Handle: Plastic, brass rivets
The Hedley & Bennett knife sliced bread and tomatoes as well as or better than most of the knives I tested and excelled in cutting the slippery crust of the stale loaf. But what really set it apart was how well balanced it felt in my hand. The narrow tip of its 8.6-inch German steel blade was easier to pull through the very bottom bit of tough crust to obtain a clean slice of bread in a single stroke. It also lightens the blade relative to the handle, so it feels easier to control as you slice. The handle itself has the comfortably rounded heel that restaurant chefs love and features handsome brass rivets that distinguish it from a typical western-style handle. I also appreciate that it’s available in four colors to fit a wide variety of kitchen décor. The only minor disadvantage is that its pointy serration profile can tear delicate nooks and crannies when slicing cracker-thin pieces of bread. Chef Danny Garcia, winner of Top Chef season 21 and executive chef of the Kent Hospitality Group, was unequivocal in his endorsement of this knife: “The Hedley & Bennett bread knife is great. It’s incredibly sharp. Really, really sharp.”
Best less-expensive bread knife
Blade shape: Triangular | Serration shape: Scalloped | Blade length: 9” | Handle: Plastic, steel rivets
This is the sharpest bread knife you can buy for under $100, let alone $50. Its scallop-edged, high-carbon Japanese stainless-steel blade is sharpened to a 16-degree angle (much steeper than the typical 10-degree edge on a German-style blade), which helps it glide effortlessly through delicate tomato skins. The tall, rounded teeth need a bit of a push to take that first bite out of a stale bread crust, but once it’s going, it slices cleanly and smoothly through every nook and cranny. Its cylindrical handle shape isn’t the grippiest, however, and it’s a bit lightweight relative to the heft of the blade. But it is NSF-certified for use in commercial kitchens and dishwashers (although I recommend hand-washing if you want it to stay sharp). In the end, it was a close call between this and the Hedley & Bennett for the best overall bread knife — you really can’t go wrong with either, but I think most home cooks would appreciate the Hedley & Bennett’s balanced handling and slightly better bread performance compared to the KAI’s sharpness advantage.
Best even less-expensive bread knife
Blade shape: Curved | Serration shape: Classic, shallow | Blade length: 8” | Handle: Plastic, steel rivets
When I asked our experts how much one should spend on a decent bread knife, most said they wouldn’t trust a knife under $50 because it was unlikely to have a full tang (meaning that the blade steel extends through the full length of the handle) and that you should ideally pay closer to $100. That’s why I was shocked when the Henckels Dynamic not only met all my requirements but also tested comparably to knives costing three times as much or more. My only complaint is that its eight-inch blade struggled to cut a whole slice of bread in just one stroke. The stamped stainless-steel blade won’t stay as sharp over time compared to the high-carbon German and Japanese stainless steel found on higher-priced knives. But for less than $20, it’s a great value for unfussy cooks and for sharing with roommates.
Best utility knife
Blade shape: Triangular | Serration shape: Z15 (semi-scalloped) | Blade length: 5.5” | Handle: Plastic, steel rivets
This medium-size serrated knife is always ready to go for all the classic serrated tasks: cutting tomatoes of all sizes and peeling and supreming citrus. But it’s also big enough to halve a sandwich, peel a melon, or prep a pineapple. And it’s “the one that I’m most happy to own,” says Chaey. The blade’s serration alternates between round and pointy teeth, which is smooth enough to maintain the integrity of delicate tomato skins while still having enough bite to peel a butternut squash.
Best high-end bread knife
Blade shape: Curved | Serration shape: Scalloped | Blade length: 9” | Handle: Wood over forged steel
This is Leo’s favorite bread knife, and it was easy to see why after I tested it against other top competitors. Its scalloped, premium Japanese steel blade sliced through even the toughest, stalest loaves in a single stroke, like a hot knife through butter. It sliced so smoothly and cleanly that I would have no qualms recommending it as a slicing knife for anything short of sashimi (and even then, my concerns would be aesthetic not performance related). At one point, I wanted to see just how thin of a slice of bread I could get without compromising any part of the crust or crumb — I even brought out my calipers to measure the results. The answer? Two millimeters. I have no doubt that I could have gone thinner, but confidence in my own ability to avoid cutting my knuckles was the limiting factor.
Leo has used his Premier Bread daily for over ten years now and he’s only once had to take advantage of Shun’s complimentary honing service for serrated blades. “I swear, when I got the knife back, it was like brand-new.”
Best less-expensive tomato knife
Blade shape: Curved | Serration shape: Classic | Blade length: 4.3” | Handle: Plastic
The Victorinox knife is a classic commercial-kitchen workhorse for good reason. The 4.3-inch Swiss steel blade isn’t long enough for halving sandwiches or slicing bread of any sort, but it’s the perfect size for doing the two most commonly cited tasks for a serrated utility knife: slicing tomatoes and prepping citrus. And because it’s so cheap, you don’t have to think twice about maintaining it or tossing it in the dishwasher. That’s why it’s a favorite of Garcia’s. “They’re fairly inexpensive; you can find them anywhere,” he says. “At any given time in my toolbox, I have a stack of about ten of them.” To be clear, Garcia keeps spares because they can dull quickly in a restaurant kitchen, but a home cook can expect to get many years of use out of a single blade.
Best German bread knife
Blade shape: Curved | Serration shape: Z15 (semi-scalloped) | Blade length: 9” | Handle: Plastic, forged steel
This knife is a very good option for anyone looking to complete their set of German-style knives. The updated semi-scalloped-edge profile combines the smooth slicing of rounded teeth with the bite and grip of triangular teeth. After comparing it head-to-head against the Zwilling Pro Bread Knife with regular serration recommended by Chaey, I’m confident that it’s worth the extra $20. Both knives cut confidently through fresh and stale crusty bread, but the Z15 did a better job of keeping the crumb intact on thinner slices and had better grip on the stale crust. It also cuts more smoothly through tomato skin. While it was no match for the Shun on the thinnest slices, it outperformed all other blades, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who prefers German-style knives.
Best extra-long bread knife
Blade shape: Curved | Serration shape: Classic | Blade length: 10” | Handle: Plastic, forged steel
When it comes to splitting a cake into layers, every inch matters. Even a nine-inch blade might not cut it, when “it” is a nine-inch round cake. That’s why Monroe prefers the Wusthof Classic bread knife for this purpose. This German knife may look chunky, but, as Monroe says, “having a slightly heavier knife really helps when you’re cutting through something lighter weight” because it provides stability as you slice.
Our experts
• Christina Chaey, cooking writer at Gentle Foods
• Danny Garcia, executive chef and partner at Kent Hospitality Group (formerly Saga)
• Maurizio Leo, baking writer and author of The Perfect Loaf
• Jen Monroe, chef and owner of Badtaste.biz
• Jeremy Salamon, executive chef and owner of Agi’s Counter
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
