The 2 Best Serrated Bread Knives

Top pick

This versatile knife can handle any slicing job, but it is especially well suited to cutting crusty bread.

The Mercer Culinary Millennia Wavy Edge Wide Bread Knife M23210 was a top performer in our tests because it cut crusty bread with ease and was sharp enough to handle delicate tasks. All of our testers found it comfortable to use and hold. It was also the only knife we tested that handily peeled, split, and cubed a butternut squash.

It powers through bread. Thanks to its sharp, pointed serrations, which are moderately sized and well spaced, the M23210 bites firmly into bread crust and slices with little effort. We cut dozens of thin, even slices of sourdough with only a moderate amount of crumbs and without mangling the soft interior.

Fragile foods aren’t a problem. Despite the M23210’s considerable heft (it was the thickest blade we tested), it’s sharp enough to handle delicate jobs. We cut thin slices of castella cake and juicy heirloom tomatoes, and we didn’t have any problems with squashing or tearing.

Though we felt a slight sawing sensation when using this Mercer knife on cake and tomatoes (it didn’t slide through them without resistance), that didn’t hinder its performance.

It’s sturdy. The weight of the blade comes in handy when you’re cutting thick-skinned fruits and vegetables. We were able to peel, halve, and cube a butternut squash with ease and without fear of slipping.

It’s comfortable to hold. Though the M23210 is heavier than other knives we tested, it’s well balanced. People with large hands and those with small hands both deemed the ergonomic handle comfortable to hold, and the textured, rubber-like plastic provided extra grip.

It’s durable. Determining the lifespan of a serrated knife is difficult because you can’t easily sharpen it as you would a chef’s knife, but we expect the M23210 to last a long time. Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan has had his beloved Mercer Millennia serrated knife for four years and counting. He said, “It’s pretty much good as new. Realistically I know it must have dulled some, but it shows no obvious signs of wear or staining. It still works like a champ, and it has cut a lot of sourdough.” Owner reviews of Mercer Millennia knives speak similarly of their longevity.

It’s affordable. The M23210 has one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for a serrated knife of its quality, and it comes with a limited lifetime warranty that covers “defects in materials or workmanship under normal use and conditions.”

A left-handed version is available. Most serrated knives are designed for right-handed use, but the M23210 is one of the few serrated knives that also come in a version for lefties.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s a bit heavy. The M23210 is the heaviest knife we tested, weighing about 6 ounces (our upgrade pick is about 5 ounces). Though it is perceptibly heavy, it’s still an agile knife, and for the sake of comparison, it’s lighter than most chef’s knives.

The blade is relatively thick. Among the knives we tested, this model’s blade is the thickest, which we generally don’t prefer. In our tests, though, we found this Mercer knife sharp enough to cleave through even delicate foods; the thickness of its blade doesn’t interfere with a clean slice.

Cutting through the bottom bread crust is tricky. The M23210 did struggle a bit with cutting through the tough bottom crust of sourdough loaves. But we found that to be a challenge for most of the knives that we tested.