I've purchased three of these knives over a period of 10 years, the first for myself in Europe; the other two on the internet for a friend and my daughter. This is my favorite knife for cutting vegetables, particularly tomatoes, peppers and things with tough skins where other knife blades skid. Since the blade has a bevel on only one side, it's deadly sharp, same as a bread knife. The first 1.5" of the blade is not serrated, so that section operates a little like a paring knife, although it also comes with a bevel on only one side. The thing about single bevel knives is that they tend to drift to one side during the cut if you don't know how to use them, so using this blade to best advantage requires that understanding, and a little experience to get best results ( again, just like a serrated bread knife). I modified the tip to a double-bevel tip (using a Chefs Choice electric sharpener, the 15° Japanese version) because I use the tip a lot and I didn't want any blade drift there at all. I modified all three knives the same way, and although it makes the blade less catchy-sharp, it improves long-term durability of the edge. You don't kneed durability in the serrated portion because the serrations protect the edge. The bevel is on the right side (as the blade tip faces away from you) so the blade leaves slight scallop marks on hard vegetables when used by a left-handed person, but the blade also is more controllable by a left-handed cutter for that same reason. You need a triangular sharpening rod (like Spyderco) to keep it sharp in the long run (same as a bread knife), but when it's sharp, no other knife in the kitchen can match it for cutting efficiency. I've used it on meat and breads, of course, where it is also excellent due to the inherent sharpness of the single bevel edge. Once you have one, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.