by Lisa Elbert, Tastemaker in Residence LISA ELBERT

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka

We tested 13 serrated knives and found the best one for slicing through bread and tomatoes.

If you’ve ever tried to make a sandwich with a crusty loaf of bread and a ripe tomato, you know how essential serrated knives are to the outcome of your lunch. Yes, bread knives are niche, but they're one of the few kitchen knives that you absolutely need in your arsenal. With that in mind, we set out to find the best serrated knife for home cooks, and as we found in our test, there's a huge difference between a great one and an okay one.

How We Tested

Along with Epi editors Emily Johnson and Joe Sevier, I tested 13 serrated bread knives on crusty sourdough loaves and winter vine tomatoes. We only tested knives with blades between 8” and 10”—we wanted them to be long enough to easily slice through a wide boule, but not too long that they’d become unwieldy. As for shape, we only tested straight knives with handles and blades that were in line with each other, or knives with blades that had a slight curve. Some serrated knives are offset, meaning the handle is above the blade, but we avoided these to keep our test as streamlined as possible, and because Senior Food Editor Anna Stockwell, who we ran our final contenders by, claims they aren’t as safe as advertised.

Factors We Evaluated

1. DOES IT EFFECTIVELY CUT BREAD AND TOMATOES?

We were looking for a knife that cut cleanly through the bread and tomatoes’ tough exteriors without mangling or tearing the delicate interiors, and one that didn’t require a lot of downward pressure to get there. The knives we found to be the most effective had narrower blades with 16° (or under) edge angles. The thinner the blade, the less surface area the knife has to destroy whatever it is you’re cutting. Points were awarded to knives that cut crisply through the top crust of our loaf, didn’t tear the soft center, and broke through the bottom crust with minimal resistance. For tomatoes, the most effective knives—still with narrower blades—glided through the fruit in one fell swoop, leaving even, thin slices perfectly suited for a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich.

2. DOES IT HAVE HEFT?

We recommend a knife that has enough heft to easily carve through tough crusts, layer cakes, tomatoes, and anything else with a firm exterior and delicate interior. However, it shouldn’t be so heavy that it becomes cumbersome and uncomfortable to use. It should be sturdy, durable, and balanced to increase control and productivity.

3. WHAT SHAPE ARE THE TEETH?

A serrated knife is essentially just a food saw, but you should definitely not be hacking at food like you would with a saw, which is where the teeth enter the conversation. The shape of the teeth is an important factor: rounded, more scalloped teeth get a bad rap for being less effective than pointy teeth, but this is not always the case. Plus, pointy teeth are not necessarily the bees knees of bread cutting—if they’re too pointy, they can get caught on everything from the crust to the squishy centers, and ultimately tear the bread. We actually found that we liked scalloped edges in some cases, and that the ultra-pointy teeth were unanimously unfavorable. Somewhere in between is the serrated sweet spot.

4. HOW DOES IT FEEL IN YOUR HAND?

At the end of the day, you still have to use this thing...a lot. The knives we liked best had ergonomic handles that felt comfortable in multiple grips, long enough blades to pinch without losing a lot of slicing real estate, and sloped bolsters, which are the pieces of steel between the blade and handle that keep the knife balanced, and our hands from slipping.

Our Favorite Serrated Knives

1. Misen Essential Serrated Knife

“That was lovely,” said Joe, as he held a perfect slice of sourdough in one hand, the Misen Essential Serrated Knife in the other. “I love the grip on this. I can hold it by the handle or hold it with a pinch by the blade, and they both feel comfortable.” The Misen is a classic bread knife. It handled slicing a tomato as well as cutting a boule, and cut clean and precise slices without crushing or mangling its subjects. It’s sturdy, comfortable to hold, and long but not unwieldy. The teeth are not too pointy, but they’re not as wavy as some of the others we saw. It’s like the Switzerland of scalloped edges, and a unanimous favorite. The knife, made from Japanese steel, has a sleek look, a sloped bolster for ease of use, and just the right amount of heft for our purposes. If you're looking for a high-quality, optimally effective, good lookin’ serrated bread knife that will do wonders for your sandwiches, this is your best bet. It’s worth noting that Misen’s serrated knife isn’t sold on its own—it’s sold as part of a set that includes a chef’s knife and a paring knife.

BUY IT: Misen Essentials Knife Set, $130 at Misen.co

2. Shun Classic Bread Knife

“The handle feels small, which is perfect for me because I have exceptionally small hands,” said Emily. “The handle is too small, it just isn’t comfortable for me to hold,” Joe remarked. Joe and Emily have vastly different hand sizes, and that matters with knives. Despite the size of the Shun’s handle, it ranked higher than the other knives we tested in effectiveness. It was also one of those knives with wavy teeth, which is unusual, but that’s why we liked it. This knife is proof that wavy teeth deserve a chance. Also, if you have small hands, you will love this knife.

BUY IT: Shun DM0705 Classic 9-Inch Bread Knife, $149.95 on Amazon

3. Kramer by Zwilling Essential Bread Knife

The Kramer cut through bread with a little less resistance than the Shun but struggled to get through the bottom. On tomatoes, though, this thing cut like butter, and was easy to control and keep even. It sliced perfectly thin 1/16” slices. The handle contoured to our hands nicely and had a nice heft to it. Honestly, anything that can cut a tomato that perfectly is never a bad thing to have around.

BUY IT: Bob Kramer Essential Collection 10" Bread Knife, $199.95 from Sur La Table

OTHER KNIVES WE TESTED

A few other knives we tested include the Knifey 8” Serrated Knife, the Messermeister Park Plaza Serrated Knife, and the Miyabi Kaizen 9.5” Bread Knife. The Messermeister was the first knife we tested, but it couldn’t cut through the surface of the extra-crusty loaf. At $55 though, it is an affordable option, but only if you expect to slice softer subjects (i.e. not extra-crusty bread). The Knifey is the most saw-like of the bunch, which, if that’s your thing, great. The blade isn't quite long enough to pinch, but the handle is ergonomic and comfortable to grip. We ultimately found the teeth to be too sharp after they ripped through the flesh of the tomatoes. To cut through the loaf with the Miyabi Kaizen, small-but-mighty Emily had to lean all the way into it and ended up with an oversized, crushed, nearly broken slice of bread, to which Joe remarked, “If it’s going to cut like that straight outta the box, it’s not gonna last.” Food is not meant to be hacked and mangled, and you should have total control of your knife as you cut. These things were not the case with the Miyabi. That said, it did eventually make its way through the bread, which is something.

OUR TAKEAWAY

The Misen is the knife you should get if you’re looking for a serrated knife that does exactly what it’s supposed to do, which is to cut through bread, tomatoes, maybe citrus, and other things with tough exteriors and oh-so-delicate interiors. It’s also gives you the most bang for your buck since at $130, it comes with a chef’s knife and a paring knife. That said, if you don’t need those two other knives and don’t want to clutter your kitchen, consider the Shun or the Kramer by Zwilling. If you have small hands and prefer a slightly shorter blade for that extra bit of control, we recommend the Shun. If you’re more concerned with the quality of your tomatoes post-slice than how your bread fares (hello, caprese salad), go with the Kramer. Assess your serrated bread knife needs and go with your gut—or what fits your price point.

Want more knife recommendations? Check out our guides to the best chef's knives, best paring knives, and best santoku knives.

All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn a small affiliate commission.

We Found the Best Serrated Knife