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Steak knives


ElsieD

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We just bought Cutco "table knives" their version of a steak knife. I like the fact that they are not large, they are very sharp and seem appropriate for the table.

Why-O-why do restaurants think its a great idea to present a massive steak knife to the diner? It always makes me feel that the steak will be tough.

In Minneapolis there is a restaurant that specializes in "The Silver Butterknife" steak. Now that says tender!

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What do you dislike about the Wusthofs?

I love all my other Wusthof knives which are forged with a full tang. The steak knives are of a lessor quality in that they are pressed, not forged. The handles developed cracks and pieces broke off. We only have two left, and they are in poor shape so it is time to get some new ones.

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I'm not sure what your budget is, but I have had these Dubost steak knives for years and have been quite happy with them (you can get various handle materials and colors). I should say that I don't use them often, but for me they've been great.

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The steak knives are of a lessor quality in that they are pressed, not forged. The handles developed cracks and pieces broke off. We only have two left, and they are in poor shape so it is time to get some new ones.

I have these same knives. No handle cracking here. And we use them every day and run them through the dishwasher -- daily. One of the tips broke off, that's the extent of five years of serious knife abuse. I sharpen them like I sharpen all the rest of my knives -- on a stone.

I would buy another set, if this one gave up the ghost...

Who cares how time advances? I am drinking ale today. -- Edgar Allan Poe

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Thanks to those of you who responded. Since I posted, I found out that the knives are under full warranty. You'd think we might have known that. Our classic knives (all 9 of them) had started to develop cracks in the handles so we took them and our two remaining steak knives (classic gourmet) back to the Wusthof dealer. We came out of there 10 minutes later with brand new knives. It seems they knew they had a problem and since we bought our knives, the gourmet series have had the handles changed twice. They have also changed the blades from having a 22 degree edge to a 16 degree edge. They are fiendishly sharp. So, I'm impressed enough that I will stay with Wusthof and buy their steak knives again.

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My wife and I received a 4 piece set of the Shun steak knives as a wedding gift - one of the most USEFUL gifts ever! Love them and they have been used more than any other gift (except maybe our wine decanter.... ;-).

Here is a link to Amazon for them:

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-Elite-4-Piece-Steak-Knife/dp/B000NW9RTK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1311212797&sr=8-3

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

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Good god. We bought ours right before we got married. Some no-name brand for $13.99. Serrated stamped blades.

Don't get me wrong, I hate them but they work so I can't justify replacing them. What makes a $400 set of steak knives better than my $13 set? You still use them for the same thing, right?

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Don't get me wrong, I hate them but they work so I can't justify replacing them.

I don't have a steak knife "set." But what I have are pretty good, and fairly cheap. I started out with a fairly low cost manual knife sharpener, an Ozitech for about $15. Then hit the 2nd hand shops, looking for non-serrated blades (altho the sharpener works fine for serrated.) Bought about a dozen, and with a little work, I had some pretty nice blades. And 3 of them almost match! A couple of them actually have pretty good steel, and can be used for boning. They now get touched up with a significantly better sharpener.

But I have contracted knife mania, and, um, well, I'd really like a set of Benchmade gold class steak knives. I got the kitchen set for my daughters' wedding gifts, and the knives are both astonishingly beautiful and astonishingly sharp.

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I wouldn't spend a lot of money on steak knives. They're in the business of taking abuse: people cut directly on porcelain plates with them. And if you want to use a dishwasher, there's really no way for an expensive knife to be reasonable.

One route is serrated knives. They tear up the meat, but are maintenance free. They'll last a bunch of years of occasional use, and then you can consider them disposable. Another route is something easy to sharpen. I haven't used the Forschners, but considering their other knives, they're probably great. Cheap, nice (especially with the wood handles, but really keep these out of the dishwasher or they'll crack), and generally a breeze to sharpen.

Notes from the underbelly

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I think of steak knives as ceremonial. I've never found them necessary and have never owned any. In a steakhouse where one is paying for premium beef, they certainly shouldn't be needed to cut the steak, but those enormous steak knives add to the festivity like the big pepper grinder. If I had an excess of cash burning a hole in my pocket, maybe I'd get a set of these--

http://thebestthings.com/knives/chambriard_steakknives.htm

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I think of steak knives as ceremonial. I've never found them necessary and have never owned any. In a steakhouse where one is paying for premium beef, they certainly shouldn't be needed to cut the steak, but those enormous steak knives add to the festivity like the big pepper grinder. If I had an excess of cash burning a hole in my pocket, maybe I'd get a set of these--

http://thebestthings.com/knives/chambriard_steakknives.htm

wow. Those knives are art!

I do throw mine in the dishwasher and if I couldn't, I probably wouldn't use them. I think I'll stick with the cheap-o's.

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Those are nice.

This is my skillet. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My skillet is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life. Without me my skillet is useless. Without my skillet, I am useless. I must season my skillet well. I will. Before God I swear this creed. My skillet and myself are the makers of my meal. We are the masters of our kitchen. So be it, until there are no ingredients, but dinner. Amen.

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I think of steak knives as ceremonial. I've never found them necessary and have never owned any. In a steakhouse where one is paying for premium beef, they certainly shouldn't be needed to cut the steak, but those enormous steak knives add to the festivity like the big pepper grinder.

I agree David. a fairly short time ago I was looking for that big steakhouse kind of steak knives that would be befitting a 2-3 lb. ribeye or similar and looked and looked but found nothing. Someone suggested getting a particular knife (ironically a boning knife) while not typically used for the purpose of manhandling a steak the design REALLY appealed to me. So I happened to have extra money burning a hole in my pocket so I splurged an 4 of these. Beefy, heavy, manly.

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