Serrated Blade

A sharp-edged blade with saw-like notches or teeth formed into one side of the blade surface that enable it to slice cleanly through foods without damaging delicate or soft textures, such as bread or pie crusts. Serrated edge knives can be found with pointed teeth or rounded teeth on the cutting edge. The rounded serrated edge knife is sometimes referred to as scalloped or wavy. The rounded serrated edge is a little less abrasive than the serrated edge with pointed teeth, but may not work as well when cutting through the top crust of certain breads. A serrated cutting edge works well for slicing bread, soft fruits (peaches), soft vegetables (tomatoes), and food dishes such as pies, quiches, sandwiches, and pizza. Some knives made for specific functions will have serrations on both edges of the blade such as double-sided serrated blades formed into grapefruit knives that are used to section fruits and vegetables. Grapefruits, oranges, melons, or onions are common items that can be cut and sectioned with various styles of serrated grapefruit knives.

Serrated blades require less maintenance for sharpening than straight-edged blades however, they do become dull after long periods of use. Therefore, to lengthen the life of the blade, wash serrated knives by hand so that dishwater detergent which is harmful to the sharp edge of the blade does not affect the quality of the cutting edge.