Buy our Winning Serrated Knife:
Behind the Testing:
Full testing details and ranking chart:
We tested 9 serrated knives to find the best one:
Mercer Culinary Millennia 10″ Wide Bread Knife
Miyabi Kaizen 9.5″ Bread Knife
Wüsthof Classic 10-Inch Serrated Bread Knife
Victorinox Swiss Army Fibrox Pro 10 1/4″ Curved Bread Knife with Serrated Edge
Dexter-Russell 10″ Sofgrip Scalloped Bread Slicer
Messermeister Four Season 10 Inch Scalloped Baker’s Bread Knife
Zwilling Pro 10″ Ultimate Bread Knife
Kramer by Zwilling Essential 10″ Bread Knife
Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition 10″ Serrated Bread/Slicing Knife
Why are some knives a pain and others a pleasure? Everything counts, from the number and shape of the serrations to the width of the blade.
We review the best (and worst) knife sharpeners:
Curious about carbon-steel knives? Watch our review:
WINNING TRAITS OF A GOOD SERRATED KNIFE
– Fewer, broader, deeper, pointed serrations
– Thinner blade angle
– Comfortable, grippy handle
– Medium weight
– Roughly 10-inch length
WHAT WE EXAMINED
CUTTING: We rated each knife on how well it halved cake layers widthwise and sliced through tomatoes, bread (soft and crusty), and loaded BLT sandwiches. Points were awarded for crisp, tidy cuts that required minimal effort.
COMFORT: We evaluated the ergonomics, grippiness, length, and weight of each knife; those that were comfortable and secure rated highest.
EDGE RETENTION: We used each knife to slice squishy, tactile tomatoes at the beginning and end of testing; those that started and stayed sharp rated highest.
AVERAGE SERRATION WIDTH AND DEPTH: We pressed each knife’s nonbeveled side into Silly Putty, measured three serrations on each knife with calipers, and calculated an average for each knife.
America’s Test Kitchen is a real 2,500 square foot test kitchen located just outside of Boston that is home to more than three dozen full-time cooks and product testers. Our mission is simple: to develop the absolute best recipes for all of your favorite foods. To do this, we test each recipe 30, 40, sometimes as many as 70 times, until we arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time, and equipment that yields the best, most-foolproof recipe.
If you like us, follow us:
22 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Miyabi is the best.
It makes sense that knives with sharper and fewer serrations would be better. The fewer serrations you have, the more force is applied by each of them.
Amazing review
It can't cut through crust. I tried it on paper. The paper won. I hate this knife. I don't think that it's manufactured the same way in 2022 as it was in 2017. I don't recommend this purchase.
mangled or not i eat sandwich is there a way to keep knife slicing like new
The Mercer is described as “wavy” on Amazon, unless I’m mistaken. Model number would’ve helped clarify. Update, knife you’re looking for is: “Mercer M23210 10” bread knife”
Can you sharpen these with a rod-shaped file?
They didn't try the English style bread knife with very fine serrations far superior
We don't have the mercer here in Europe,wich other one would you suggest?
Mercer is a great brand. Great for people looking for a good low-mid range knife.
Perfect revieuw ! NICE!
I see Mercer has two bread knives they offer. The M23210 and the M23880, both say they are 10" bread knives. What is the difference between those two knives?
They also come in different colors, with different colors different handle shapes. What in the heck, what is the difference?
Thankyou all for all the content. You have saved me a significant amount of money and prevented me from falling into a lot of marketing traps. Where Science meets the kitchen.
I think there is one crucial missing elements in this testing: the metal hardness. It's crucial because you want to keep the edge over years, especially for serrated knifes that cost fortunes to sharpen, with unreliable results.
Just wanted to say you deliver information that makes sense, is helpful and provide a service that is second to none. Huge shout out to the whole ATK squad.
The cheapest knife could do every culinary work perfectly. The exquisite knife is for the man who have the derivative demands such as better handling, better performance, personal taste, perfectionism…
Who eats all the food after the test? If ya’ll want a volunteer 🙋🏻
Shocked I am! 😮 for once not a Victornox knife wins.
I very much appreciate and enjoy all of ATK’s reviews but I’m a little surprised that you so quickly dismissed knives with scalloped serrations. I find they make a much cleaner cut without tearing softer breads or crumbling the crusts on a baguette.
My favorite is Forshner bowed bread has been my choice for the last 20 years in a professional kitchen.
I bought the winner on Amazon in January. It was a bargain at 22.00 dollars. I love it,
I have had the Wusthof classic bread knife at 10 inches for about7 years now and just love it