Choosing the best all-purpose knife

Do we really need a bread knife, a tomato knife, a sandwich knife, and a cake knife? asked Lisa McManus in Cook’s Illustrated. Or is there one knife that can slice equally well through crusty bread, a club sandwich, a 9-inch layer cake, and large ripe tomatoes? Our panel recently put 12 serrated knives through those four tests. The three winners were, in order:

Wüsthof Classic Bread Knife, 10 Inches ($79.95) Well-balanced, with “deeply tapered pointed serrations.” Even good for left-handed testers, though “not as good for large hands.”

Viking 10-Inch Serrated Slicer ($108) “Lethally sharp forged blade with deeply tapered pointed serrations.” Not too good for lefties or those with large hands.

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Victorinox Forschner 10-inch Curved Blade Bread Knife, Black Fibrox Handle ($24.95) Almost as good as the top-rated knife. “Sharp blade and pointed serrations.” Also “good for lefties.”