What's in a steak knife?

[Octaveman]

I've been on a quest to find my ideal steak knife this whole year. Why? Because with all the knives on the market either the appearance sucks, the handle is too small, the blade is serrated, the blade is too short or too long, cost is too high, materials are low quality, etc. After searching high and low for my ideal steak knife, I've finally found exactly what I was looking for and the choice may surprise you. It did me.

So I'm curious, with the vast selection of styles, shapes and colors what kind of steak knife do you own or want to own? Do you like to rip your steak with serrated knives or make clean slices with non-serrated knives?

[lizard]

My dream set right now is Laguiole, though I haven't learned enough about the different artisans to claim a favorite among them. I love the models with voluptuous handles and a good heft. Of course, I'm a freak when it comes to sharp knives. I love the idea of a nice clean cut, so I'd never go for serrated. Williams-Sonoma has caught on with a nice starter set, but I really like the look of these in Amourette wood.

Of course, I haven't robbed a bank or won the Lotto, and I don't cook meat nearly as often enough to justify them, so our Henckels steak knives are great, and a terrific value at only $40 per set of four. I found their shape to be pleasant, and they keep a good edge.

Edited November 7, 2006 by lizard (log)

[russ parsons]

i've got a great set of antique knives i found--they've got metal handles that are shaped like running bulls. but i've been flirting with the idea of these:

really cool knives.

[Jim Dixon]

I bought one of those knives from Lee Valley earlier this year. It might be a little big for steak knife (unless you want that big ass steak house knife effect), but it's a great knife. Carbon steel, so you have to be sure to wipe it dry after washing, and it'll pick some stains but that's just part of the deal.

Just last week Judith scored an old carbon steel chef's knife at a garage sale. Blade's about 12 inches, knife maybe 17 inches overall, double-taper, handle still nice and tight. I may not use often, but for $2 I'm very happy to have it.

I generally prefer a sharp, straight blade, but someone gave us a set of German stainless steel serrated steak knives (can't remember which brand, and the logo's worn off the blade) that we use when we need a sharp knife at the table.

If it was me, I'd get the Laguioles. If you're not fussy about which of the many 'original' firms make them, you can usually find them on Amazon. Lee Valley sells, them, too.

Jim

[russ parsons]

let me put in a good word for lee valley: the guy really knows his knives and he's very careful about what he sells. laguiole is a bit of a mess (think sabatier), but he carries both and i'm sure he's got stuff that's good for the value.

[UnConundrum]

Hey Bob, you ought to share a picture of those really great "steak" knives you bought. If I wasn't still tapped from my Murray Carter order, I would have followed your lead. I really love them.

[Octaveman]

Hey Bob, you ought to share a picture of those really great "steak" knives you bought.  If I wasn't still tapped from my Murray Carter order, I would have followed your lead.  I really love them.

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As UnCondundrum already knows these "steak" knives aren't really intended to be steak knives but the profile, materials, weight, feel in the hand are make for perfect steak knives IMHO. They are reminisant of a those big steakhouse knives but with more weight to them.

They are the Masahiro MV Hankotsu (or boning knife). Yes, a boning knife but I swear they make the greatest steak knives. I've made several purchases this past year and consequently several sales but my search is now over. They are stainless, have a razer edge, fit and finish is very good and the profile is very ergonomic for this purpose. They weigh 180 grams and the 6" blade just glides through my steak.

When I first showed my wife these knives out of the box, she said, "holy crap, these are WAY too big". When we used them the following night on a couple of 1.5" thick ribeye steaks, she changed her tune. She flat out said that she loves them and was very impressed with how easy they were to handle.

Regarding keeping them sharp. The only part of the knife that comes into contact with the plate is really about 1/2" to 3/4" from the tip. They are sharp enough that you don't need to use a lot of pressure on the plate so I completely feel the edges will last quite a while between sharpenings.

Well, other than THESE, I think the Hankotsu makes for a great steak knife.

[Shalmanese]

I've been making do with a boning knife all along. I don't serve steak for more than 1 so I never need one, my boning knife is always sharp, the handle, heft and angle of my knife works perfectly and I can justify getting a very high quality knife because I use it for far more than just steak.

[Taboni]

I've been on a quest to find my ideal steak knife this whole year.  Why?  Because with all the knives on the market either the appearance sucks, the handle is too small, the blade is serrated, the blade is too short or too long, cost is too high, materials are low quality, etc.  After searching high and low for my ideal steak knife, I've finally found exactly what I was looking for and the choice may surprise you.  It did me.

So I'm curious, with the vast selection of styles, shapes and colors what kind of steak knife do you own or want to own?  Do you like to rip your steak with serrated knives or make clean slices with non-serrated knives?

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They are lovely knives but you talk about price being an issue and then settle on a knife that goes for $80ish apiece?

[Octaveman]

Price is an issue when the knives you think you'd like cost $500. After doing all of my research and combing the net I never found anything I liked that was reasonable. So I had to change my perspective. These were the cheapest high quality knives I could come up with...and they're not even steak knives. See, that was my problem. I was looking at what makers and retailers feel the consumer wants in a steak knife. I personally didn't want a thin switchblade of a steak knife and thats all they were offering. So I looked elsewhere and found a knife with the profile of a big steakhouse steak knife and tried it out.

Some would say $100 for a set of knives you hate is expensive because you hate them, you won't use them. Some would say $25 for a set is just right because they get the job done and after a couple of years they throw them out. Some would say the William Henry set I gave the link to above would be perfect for them. The steak knife sets I tried were all under $100 and I ended up not liking them so I spent more money trying to sell and get rid of them AND at a loss. I say that $300 for a set of knives that will last me a lifetime and will bring me great joy every time I use them is cheap. Even getting just 10 years of use will only cost me $2.50/month. I also am a firm believer that if you want something bad enough you find a way. I've used ebay before to fund my knife purchases and I've *gasp* even saved money over many months to buy what I wanted. I'm a musician and recently had a couple of high-paying gigs so I bought them.

Yes, there were plenty of knives out there where they looked like my ideal knife but the cost was way over the $300 these cost. I like quality. I'm not the type to buy something and when it gets dull throw it out. I'm not the type to buy something I don't like using. If they're more than I originally planned to spend, I wait and save until I can afford them. Just that simple. You want something nice, you make it happen. You could also just buy one at a time. These knives have been around for a long while and their not going anywhere.

If you look at the William Henry link above, notice that these have nearly the same profile as the one's I bought. As I see it I just saved myself $2,600.

But enough of my reasoning on why I bought these...what does everyone else look for in a steak knife?

Edited November 7, 2006 by Octaveman (log)

[Shalmanese]

I guess it depends on how much steak you eat. I eat steak maybe 2 - 3 times a year. Definately not justified getting a $300 set of knives for that.

[Marlene]

I guess it depends on how much steak you eat. I eat steak maybe 2 - 3 times a year. Definately not justified getting a $300 set of knives for that.

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My steak knives are Wusthofs. But then, I eat a lot of steak.

[Taboni]

I eat alot of steak, (once a week probably) I only buy prime and I never freeze meat (my butcher is 5 blocks from my house) but I just can't justify that sort of expense on a steak knife. My wife bought me a set (8) of the Wusthofs for Christmas last year and I took them back. I really don't want to have to treak steak knives like my regular Wusthof cooking knives, with the steel and no dishwasher, etc. I bought a set of Chicago Insignia2 steak knives on a CI best buy recommendation. For about $7.50 each I can afford to have lots of them for parties, chuck them in the dishwasher, and when they lose their edge I buy a few new ones. They have a good edge and do an excellent job. With only so much budget to go around, I would rather be able to spend $18/lb on steak once a week rather than splurging on knives, but that's just me.

I fully understand the "save up and buy it once" attitude (hence my recent A/V purchases) but for me this doesn't extend to steak knives.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Taboni (log)

[Marlene]

Darn near everything in my house goes in my dishwasher, including my seak knives. In over a year, there's been no decrease in their sharpness and I've never steeled them.

[Taboni]

Darn near everything in my house goes in my dishwasher, including my seak knives.  In over a year, there's been no decrease in their sharpness and I've never steeled them.

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You put your regular cooking (chef's or santoku, boning, etc) knives in the dishwasher as well?

[Marlene]

Darn near everything in my house goes in my dishwasher, including my seak knives.  In over a year, there's been no decrease in their sharpness and I've never steeled them.

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You put your regular cooking (chef's or santoku, boning, etc) knives in the dishwasher as well?

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Nope. But I do put the steak knives in and it's never been a problem.

[Taboni]

Weird since I would assume they are the same blade construction as the regular Wusthof Classics that I use to cook with. Why the uproar from those supposedly in the know when someone mentions they put their knives in the dishwasher then?

[piazzola]

Used to have my fav knife long ago and used it in an unconventional way for most people as I would eat beef directly off the bbq.

May be this may give you some ideas http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/facon-knife.htm

[Marlene]

Weird since I would assume they are the same blade construction as the regular Wusthof Classics that I use to cook with. Why the uproar from those supposedly in the know when someone mentions they put their knives in the dishwasher then?

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Damned if I know. I also use Wusthof classics to cook with and I did occassionally toss them in the dishwasher. I never do that anymore, but for some reason, it never occured to me to treat the steak knives any differently than my other eating cutlery.

I gave a friend a set of these steak knives a while back. I must ask her if she puts them in the dishwasher and if so, what the results have been.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Marlene (log)

[budrichard]

I've collected custom knives for 30+ years. At one time I toyed with the idea of having Corbet Sigman make me a set of 12 of his Utility hunters as a steak knife set. Sadly Corbet has passed on before that idea came to fruition. One thing I have learned is that many of the custom knives are actually too sharp for the average person to use. Some of them will 'bite' you if you even look at them and certainly the average person at your table if the knife contacts them does not want a cut. I settled on a set of Wusthof Classic. Sharp enough for easy usage, fairly easy to sharpen and they won't cut the user if used like a normal knife most individuals are used to.

In terms of aesthetics, I am looking for a couple of Randall Steak Knives to match my Randall Carving Set, but can't locate any at all except for truly outrageous prices on eBay! -Dick

[Octaveman]

Why the uproar from those supposedly in the know when someone mentions they put their knives in the dishwasher then?

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The uproar is not really an uproar. It's also not some anal knife-owner subject we people "in the know" like to preach. Washing by hand is a standard recommendation by many manfuacturers and sellers. Williams-Sonoma even recommends hand washing the Wusthof Classic's on their website. If no such recommendation exists with the knives you buy then the manufacturer obviously doesn't care how you treat them because they're not worth the recommendation.

Truthfully, depending on what materials the handle is made of whether it be made of synthetic materials such as contoured polypropylene like the Wusthof's or Pakkawood like most Japanese handles are made from. The non-synthetic materials shrink and swell and will eventually degrade, dry out, pull away from the tang, etc. if subjected to the extreme heat of the dishwasher. Obviously this wouldn't affect the synthetic handles a whole lot but the caution to hand wash your knives (like Williams-Sonoma) is also because the knives can get banged around if not somewhat secured which has an affect on the quality of the edges. It just stands to reason that if you take reasonable care of something it will last longer. People say they just throw their knives in the dishwasher. It takes me 30 seconds to wash my steak knives by hand. What's the big deal? Of course I don't have a $25 set of blades. If I did, I wouldn't give a crap about them either. BTW, I hear a selling point of Cutco is that you can even put them in the dishwasher...that should tell you something.

Bud, Randall makes some nice looking knives. I'm not partiall to the stag handles but they do look real nice. I'm telling ya, when I hit the lottery, those William Henry's are mine ooh yeah, baby.

cheers

[Shalmanese]

Eh, the ceramic on your plate is going to do far more damage to the knife blade than the dishwasher. Sure, the handle could be a problem but if you're going to insist on washing them by hand to take care of them, then you might as well get some wooden plates to go along with it. Then again, washing by hand takes 30 seconds so so what?

[Octaveman]

I noticed when I used them that I didn't have to use much force to get through the steak. No more sawing back and forth to cut the meat and no more grinding the blade against the plate. Very little pressure means very little wear on the edge. It's easier to sharpen the blade than replace the handle.

[budrichard]

Randall is like William Henry, semi-custom. $2900USD for six steak knives is pretty steep! A set of 12 from Corbet sigman would have been about $1200USD. I suspect that one could a set from a number of custom knifemakers for about that. The Randall Carving set is $380 catalog price but more on the aftermarket. I have ordered one custom carving set from a top custom maker, was not satisfied about the fit, finish and design. The Randall designs are just classic.

Note:Dull finish is due to Renaissance Wax, a preservative.-Dick

BTW, if anyone knows where any Randall steak knives are for sale, please PM me!