The $1 serrated pumpkin knife my sweetie picked up works shockingly well for making jack o' lanterns. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical.

I think back to our pumpkin-carving contests in junior high and the dull straight-edged chef's knives we were expected to use—think five prepubescent and awkward teenagers wildly stabbing a slippery pumpkin from different directions under a 30-minute time constraint—and am fairly shocked nobody lost a finger.