I imagine most people care for their steak knives by simply washing them and storing them. They probably have serrated ages and do not get a lot of attention. A few prefer straight edges, preferring the way they cut and preferring to keep them sharp. My inexpensive Laguiole knock offs are like that. They are not super easy to sharpen but seem to hold their edges pretty well. I would almost always hone any kitchen knife before using it, but for some reason, at least until now, it never occurred to me to hone steak knives. That is about to change. Do those with non-serrated steak knives hone them and, if so, how frequently?
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Weāve never owned steak knives and have always found our normal cutlery (both the āevery dayā set and the "best " set) fine for use with steaks, etc. After some 50+ years, we may be set in our ways but wonder what might be the advantage in having a specific knife for steak?
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Yes, I do. I also have Laguiole (olive wood handles), although not made in France by Forge de Laguiole (not at the price I got them for years ago on eBay). I hand wash/scrub on the blade only. I hone them when the one I chose isnāt as sharp as Iād like.
And @Harters, Iāve found that non-serrated āsteak knivesā (or what I call sharp knives) cut through any type of meat more cleanly without shredding the meat. Beef, pork, chicken, duck, turkeyā¦all are easier to cut with a non-serrated knife. At least for me.
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Mine have olive wood handles, too. I oil the wood whenever I oil the cooking spoons, salad bowl, etc.
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I hone every use. Also, they only get used when really needed, like actual steak or pork chops. Iāve trained the kids to stop grabbing one of them when a butter/paring/utility knife would work just fine.
My college aged son got one to cut his gƶzleme last Monday and I just looked at him with a raised eyebrow until he took it back and got a butterknife.
I mean, steak knives take the most abuse, always being used against a hard ceramic surface.
I do store them in a wood block but put them in upside down so the edge isnāt making contact with anything.
Edit - this set is fairly new. For 20+ years I used an old cheapo set that were a wedding gift. I wasnāt as careful with them. I got the current ones which are Zwilling, but still not very expensive, IIRC, I got them about $20/per or maybe about $130 for the set prompted by a thread @Chemicalkinetics started on steak knife cost.
I also hone serrated bread knives and my scalloped/reverse-serrated meat slicer.
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Not for home use, but I find just about every steak knife at a proper steakhouse is dull.
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I intentionally bought straight edged steak knives - thereās no possible way people can use them on a (ceramic) plate without dulled points (serrated types) or rolled edge (straight type).
the big difference is, I can ārestoreā a straight edge with a steel in ~15 seconds . . .
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Your post raises an interesting question: How many of us KNOW if our steak knives are even hardened? If theyāre not (are merely mild steel), the care question gets answered differently than if they are treated tool steel.
I donāt know this about my Comal Zermatt steak knives. They dull relatively quickly. But theyāre cutting almost exclusively against ceramics.
What I do to sharpen both these and my table knives is to give them the lightest kiss on a belt grinder platen using a very worn belt. Light as in you can HEAR but you canāt FEEL the contact. My goal is never to get them truly sharp, but rather to make it easier to cut cooked food that is a bit tough.
Iāll put a Comal on a crock stick tonight and see if it brings up the edge any.
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My issue is that I really hate serrated steak knives. I donāt want my steak or pork chop torn, I want it sliced cleanly. Iāve ranted here about āsteakhouseā knives before, I guessā¦
One issue with serrated is they scratch up plates and platters faster.
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Seems likely, but Iāve never had a serrated steak knife in this house (or any prior house). My only use for serrated (bread or the scalloped meat slicer mention above) is on wood.
I mean, I get why a lot of families have serrated steak knives. Theyāre easy, and get the steak cut easily with little maintenance. Easy is good. My foster family had serrated steak knives (of the Ginsu variety, LOL), so I grew up with them, the few times we had steak or chops.
But itās a hard NO for me, now.
I finally got a serrated bread knife that is really sharp. At the same time I decided I get better slices with a very sharp straight edge.
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Oh, definitely with softer breads, a simple sharp edge is great. But with hard crusty breads, my plain straight edges (no matter how sharp I think they are) just seem to bounce offā¦
Totally. Until and unless they get REALLY bad, serrated steak knives are maintenance-free.
Thatās the big reason restaurants and commercial kitchens use them, too. My social fraternity does dinners a couple times a month that require knives that can cut proteins. We have a full drawer in the kitchen with maybe 300 serrated steak knives. Can anyone imagine sharpening those? Not me.
Well, dammit, I SAID THAT IāD HONE them! All 300 of `em.
LoL. (see my earlier comment - honing works! Even on serrated blades)
Edit - But hell no, to be more adherent to the spirit of your question, I sure would not want to try to sharpen 300 serrated knives. iām just trying to say that honing them is definitely a (perhaps temporary) option.
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We have authentic Made in France Forge de Laguiole steak knives, 16 I think because of a large and lovely wedding registry and a large and lovely wedding twenty years. Mr. judiAU thinks he has sharpened a handful 1-2 times over the years but not more than that and we like our knives very sharp. We use them frequently and wash by hand. Still use everything from the registry regularly!
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