4 Best Bread Knives of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
These top bread knives are durable enough to slice through crusty bread and gentle enough to slice a Roma tomato.
Our Top Bread Knife Picks
- Best Overall: Victorinox Swiss Army 10-1/4-Inch Serrated Bread Knife with Fibrox Handle
- Another Favorite: Kai Wasabi 9-Inch Bread Knife
- Best Value: Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-Inch Wavy Edge Wide Bread Knife
- Best Splurge: Shun Cutlery Classic 9-Inch Bread Knife
Tested by Stevie Stewart for Food Network Kitchen
While some may think of the bread knife is a single-use tool, it's actually as much of a workhorse in the kitchen as a chef's knife or paring knife. Bread knives are often a part of knife block sets, but having a quality bread knife in the kitchen can make all the difference, so it can be worth it to purchase one separately. The best bread knife can cut through the crustiest of breads without creating too many crumbs and without too much struggle, while also slicing through the softest loaves without crushing or tearing. Plus, a bread knife should be able to perform smaller and more refined tasks like slicing tomatoes and cakes cleanly. We tested 10 top-rated bread knives on the market to find the four best bread knives for the home cook.
Stevie Stewart
We sliced through soft loaves of bread with each knife to test how easily the knife sliced without much added pressure.
What to Consider Before Buying a Bread Knife
Weight: A good bread knife should feel well balanced and comfortable in your hand while cutting both small and large items.
Material: They should be made of strong quality materials like carbon or stainless steel with well connected, solid handles.
Size: Opt for at least a 9-inch blade. We found that knives with less than 9-inch blades were too short to perform all tasks.
Shape: Bread knives with pointier, more pronounced serrations tended to tear and shred food so we prefer knives with more rounded edges as they cut more smoothly.
Stevie Stewart
How We Tested
We tested 10 well-reviewed bread knives. Prior to cooking, we took into account the length of the blade, handle and weight of each knife. We took into consideration the packaging, use and care information provided as well as ease of cleaning. To test the cutting ability of the knives, we sliced Roma tomatoes, crusty sourdough bread, soft loaves of challah and full cantaloupe and watermelons. We looked for consistency, comfort, and the preciseness of each cut we made. We checked to make sure the knives did not shred, tear or smoosh anything we cut. We also cleaned each knife by hand (our preferred method of care) and noted which blades were deemed dishwasher safe by the manufacturer.
Stevie Stewart
We sliced cantaloupe in half to determine the durability of each knife and how cleanly it sliced through the skin and flesh without tearing.
The Victorinox was one of the most consistent knives we tested. It cut through a crusty sourdough bread without shattering the crust and creating a lot of crumbs. It sliced cleanly through tomatoes and sliced challah bread with very little effort. The longer length of the blade, at 10¼-inch, made it a cinch to cut through both cantaloupes and watermelons. The serrations are curved rather than pointy, creating smooth slices that did not tear or shred anything we tested. It has a rather bulky, plastic handle but it is comfortable to hold and feels very secure and safe. We loved not only the reliable performance of this knife, but also the price tag at around $60 (sometimes $50 on sale).
The Kai Wasabi was a surprising front runner. Made in a similar Japanese style to our splurge; the Shun Classic, it is made of high carbon stainless steel and sharpened at a 16-degree angle. This creates a stronger and sharper edge that lasts a long time. Different from some European style knives, it is sharpened on a single side of the blade, which helps to prevent food from sticking. We found it cut through everything we tested smoothly and cleanly. The low profile, smoothed serrations made clean, even cuts on bread and tomatoes. It is light and comfortable to hold and costs less than a third of the price of the Shun Classic!
At around $19, you cannot beat the quality of the Mercer knife for the price. The knife is well balanced, comfortable to hold and slices smoothly and evenly. While we had to apply a bit more pressure and back and forth motion cutting bread and melon than we did the other of our top choices, the difference was minor.
The Shun Classic bread knife is as stunning in its performance as it is in its appearance. This knife has a “Damascus” style blade, made of 69 micro thin layers of stainless steel making it superbly strong. It is a Japanese-style knife that is sharpened at a 16-degree angle which helps to hold its sharp edge for a longer period of time. The wide and low serrations of this knife (as opposed to high and sharp like some of the knives we tested) help cut through everything from tomatoes to crusty bread like butter. It is comfortable to hold and well balanced. It is a beautiful knife constructed of Pakka wood handle and unique damask grain design of the blade. At around $170, it was one of the priciest of our picks but with the added bonus of a lifetime of free sharpening, it is a worthy investment.
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