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If you look closely you might also note that the tip of my knife is also not serrated. There is a small edge there if you need to spear something or dig down into some marrow. Also, this construction makes it so that the fine edge never hits the plate and therefore holds its edge much, much longer.
There are also knives with a reversed combo blade which have different advantages. You can then use the serrated heel for a tough bit and the front end for slicing. I think those are better as all around utility knives used on a proper board. They don’t have the advantage of not dulling against porcelain, etc.
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Here’s today’s Serious Eats take on best steak knives:
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-steak-knives?hid=1147132a377f22b6539579f1719b8e3a465aad95&did=11178111-20231202&utm_source=seriouseats&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=serious-eats_newsletter&utm_content=120223&lctg=1147132a377f22b6539579f1719b8e3a465aad95
Nota Bene: QUELLE HORREUR! There is another steak knife thread, too!
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I flunk the Serious Eats test. I like these a lot:
Bernal Cutlery is a very cool site.
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Their shop is great. I take my knives there for sharpening every couple years, as I can’t seem get them as sharp as they do on my own.
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Decades ago I bought two sets of 4 Wusthof steak knives during some insane sale at Broadway Panhandler, of lamented memory. Maybe that’s when they went out of business. Anyway, they wouldn’t have cost more than $50 a set, because I’m a cheap guy. Today, you have to look at Victorinox, Cuisinart (serrated), Henckels Statement–all quite inexpensive. For dirt cheap, try Temu.
But apart from being a cheap guy, I believe that steak knives are overpriced because mfrs know there are plenty of image-obsessed consumers who are easily taken advantage of.
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Yes, brand and status snobbism prevail even in steak knives. Features, style, appearance and ergonomics, too.
IMO, it’s something like buying a watch (remember those?). Chances are, few consumers are going to find a stylish (read classy-looking) wristwatch at WalMart.
There are exceptions. My fav steak knives are the Comas Zermatt model. $80/6
Those are gorgeous. They are very similar to the Au Sabots (above) on which I have trained my eye. It is no longer a matter of if but when. Steak frites is our unanimous first choice for a fun dinner, although the mandatory two martinis beforehand may affect my judgment.
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My parents gave me a Rolex when I finished my doctorate. I still have it, of course. Never even thought about buying another. Except for a Citizen eco-drive, because I thought it was a great concept.
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Brings everything into proper, spiritual focus.
There’s a restaurant near me that is a fabulous interpretation of a French bistro (or bistrot, if you want to get picky). They’re kind of an institution. Their steak frites is probably what I’d want for my last meal. I took a French friend of mine there once for dinner, and she pronounced the dish absolutely authentic (yeah, yeah, I know … I’m ducking) - she’s now a vegetarian in her (cough) senior years. I love vegetables, but boy howdy I’d make an exception for steak frites.
For the life of me, I cannot recall their steak knives. Everything else, yes, just not the knives.
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Probably more so with steak knives than many other tools. I think very few people will grab a meat cleaver and proudly claim that this is a cleaver with a modern seamless design with a beautiful wood grain handle from Africa. However, one would have higher expectation for a craving knife and/or a steak knife.
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I still have a Bulova watch from 1986; it given to me as a Valentine’s Day gift from a woman I dating back then. I wore it everyday while I worked and still wear it when I need to know what time it is (which is pretty rare nowadays).
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You are my lost sister, apparently. My Datejust was a graduate degree gift from my parents, too.
Coincidentally, I just got my watch back from being cleaned and the crystal replaced. Ouch. As in VERY PAINFUL.
Do you have an auto winder for it? PM me if you want the name of a reasonably-priced winder company. The well-known brands are obscenely expensive.
Covering the current bases, I still use the watch I was given upon graduation from high school. The cost of servicing is a ridiculous multiple of what it cost new. At least it does not require, other than me, a winder. I still like wearing a watch. Pulling a cellular phone out of your pocket to check the time telegraphs your desire to be somewhere else doing something else with someone else. The watch can be checked with a subtle glimpse.
As regards steak knives, my requirement is a straight edge made of a good steel that can take and hold a good edge. Those simple requirements have become pretty hard to find. I can find straight edges easily enough, but the steel is hard to sharpen. I do like the beauty of wooden handles, but that is quite secondary. My price limit is probably higher than it needs to be, the cost of a few good steak dinners.
Being in Texas, loving and respecting steak has been important, but the world is changing. Today’s biggest treat was home made tofu chorizo in quesadillas.
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Been there; done that.
And now I have my late mother’s as well. Had it cleaned and the crystal replaced years, and I mean years, ago then literally forgot about it until the jeweler was going out of business and tracked me down because it was in their safe. … I bailed it out, they took it out of the box, and it started up perfectly.
I’ve actually never thought about an auto-winder!
I still have not grown to adore my Apple Watch, even though I know it helps keep me safe.
I hadn’t either. It’s just an easy way to keep the watch “topped up” without manually winding the stem. I suppose that if the watch is to be stored, then avoiding needless mechanical wear offsets that.
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I love my Apple Watch. Besides keeping me safe, it is used to time the cooking of food.
I mean the leading choice there is completely cost prohibitive, in my opinion. I’m not spending upwards of $300 for four steak knives! The Avanta is a solid choice. I’ll pass on the others. I’m biased because I think I’m covered, at least for eight people. Those are the Mundial Olivier Anquier I have, btw (discontinued, of course), but I’m always looking for something like that to augment what I have. I think I paid about $25 per knife which seems very reasonable. I can see spending a little more but over $50 per knife is ridiculous for that purpose.
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I’m down with these. A good look and a reasonable price.
