Thread: knives

Oddly enough, I've found that the bread knife that comes in most basic knife sets will work really well for all of those (except maybe cheese--I've never tried that). I bet you can pick one up for cheap and give it a shot.

Oh, as far as keeping it sharp I actually send my knives to a professional sharpener once in a while. You could do it yourself, but sharpening a serrated knife needs a special tool. In the meantime, avoid doing things like sweeping crumbs off the cutting board with the serrated side or leaving it in the sink with the rest of your dishes to get banged around. If you pay attention you'll be surprised how much abuse your knives take!