We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. What to Buy Knives We Tested 23 Steak Knife Sets — These Are Our Favorites Our top picks will have you slicing through ribeye, chicken, and pork like butter. By Cindy Brzostowski Cindy Brzostowski Cindy is a freelance writer and editor whose career began in cookbook publishing. An expert in bakeware, cookbooks, and kitchen organization for Food & Wine, she has reviewed over 25 vacuums, 23 steak knives, and dozens of baking tools, such as cookie sheets, silicone utensils, and proofing baskets. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines and Jason Horn Jason Horn With a culinary degree, a master's in journalism, and nearly 20 years of experience, Jason Horn has spent his entire career writing about food and drinks. He lives in Los Angeles, where he grills and entertains outdoors as much as possible. He also loves the winter sport of curling. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 21, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article Reviews Our Favorite Steak Knives Chef-Favorite Steak Knives How We Tested Steak Knives Factors To Consider FAQ Other Steak Knives We Tested Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine/Nick Simpson Just like a poor-quality chef’s knife can turn slicing and dicing into a slow, hazardous chore, or the wrong paring knife can make prepping your fruits and vegetables a pain, a dull steak knife can put a damper on dinner. The best steak knives slice through proteins effortlessly and are comfortable to hold. And steak knives aren't limited to fancy steak recipes — they’re useful with all kinds of meats, from chicken thighs to roasted pork loin. We tested 23 steak knife sets, evaluating each one’s design, size, performance, value, and cleanability. From Material's sleek and modern table knives to budget-friendly sets from Messermeister and Zwilling, we found the best steak knives to upgrade your next dinner party. Plus, we've also thrown in a few favorite picks that meat-centric chefs around the country use in their restaurants to elevate the dining experience. Our favorite steak knives are a must in any carnivore's cutlery drawer. Best Overall Steak Knives Laguiole en Aubrac 4-Piece Steak Knife Set PHOTO: Amazon $350 at Amazon $480 at Williams Sonoma View on Laguioleenaubracshop.com Pros A sharp blade, excellent comfort in the hand, and beautiful aesthetics make these knives winners. Cons They're awfully expensive per knife. As our best overall pick, these Laguiole en Aubrac knives prove that you don’t have to sacrifice form for function. Laguiole is a small village in southern France where these beautiful knives are made from start to finish, beginning with sculpting the curved handle and ending with securing the razor-sharp stainless steel blade. During our tests, cutting through a thick piece of New York strip steak required minimal effort thanks to the sharp blade, and the knife's weight made it feel balanced and substantial without being too heavy to use easily. We found the Laguiole en Aubrac knives very comfortable to hold, with a thinner handle that's easier to grip for all hand sizes. After use, you'll have to hand-wash them, but that's a simple procedure. These are luxury steak knives, which you can tell from the cushioned wooden storage case — and the high price. But the investment will last a lifetime, especially considering that these are straight-edged blades you can sharpen again and again over time. Knives Included: 4 | Blade Type: Straight | Blade Material: Sandvik steel | Handle Material: Olivewood | Length: 9.5 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: No PHOTO: Food and Wine / Katie McDonald PHOTO: Food and Wine / Katie McDonald Best Modern Steak Knives Material Table Knives PHOTO: Material View on Materialkitchen.com $90 at The Container Store Pros These colorful knives are attractive, razor-sharp, and even dishwasher-safe. Cons The blades are so sharp that you should take extra care if you decide to hand-wash them. Function marries style in these knives. From the deep-blue Iris to the pale beige Morel, the pretty matte color options can suit any modern kitchen, and the smooth composite material is stain-resistant. Material's Table Knives have a nice weight that feels sturdy yet easy to control, and their extremely sharp blades delivered clean, straight lines in our tests. Other things the busy, modern cook will appreciate about these knives are that they're dishwasher-safe and come with a wooden storage block that you can position vertically or horizontally for convenient storage in a drawer or on the counter, no separate knife block is needed. Price-wise, these knives are in the middle of the pack of what we tested, but their performance puts them in the top ranks, making them an excellent value. Knives Included: 4 | Blade Type: Straight | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Handle Material: Composite | Length: 8.75 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes PHOTO: Food & Wine / Nick Simpson PHOTO: The Spruce Eats / Bridget Degnan PHOTO: Food & Wine / Nick Simpson Best Value Steak Knives Messermeister Avanta Steak Knife Set PHOTO: Amazon $70 $60 at Amazon $70 at Ace Hardware View on Messermeister.com Pros These high-quality knives work just as well as more expensive options and feel balanced in the hand. Cons There's no storage included. If you're looking for an inexpensive steak knife set, this one performed so well in testing that we couldn’t believe it was less than $100. We found that the knives were the perfect size and weight to feel balanced, comfortable, and sturdy, and they could cut smoothly through the thickest part of the steak. In addition to meat, we believe this knife set is suitable for all everyday cutting tasks, which makes it even more worthy of our best value pick. With a full-tang construction and a 5-inch blade, each knife in this set is extremely durable and built to handle any job. They feature an upward-curving tip, ideal for those who like bone-in steaks because it allows you to get at every last bit of meat. The only thing missing from this knife set is a storage case or block. It’s not a dealbreaker, but you’ll need to buy one separately or place them in a safe spot. Knives Included: 4 | Blade Type: Straight | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Handle Material: Pakkawood | Length: 10.5 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: No Food & Wine / Nick Simpson Best Splurge Steak Knives Miyabi Artisan Steak Knife Set PHOTO: Amazon $700 $590 at Amazon $590 at Williams Sonoma $590 at Nordstrom Pros These well-balanced knives have beautiful, comfortable handles and extra-sharp blades. Cons You can get a perfectly good set of steak knives for a lot less money. No, this high-end knife set may not come cheap, but the high price comes with high performance and top design. As items you'll use every single day, kitchen knives are the kitchen tools most worth splurging on, and these Miyabi knives are a great splurge. The sloped, katana edge is incredibly sharp (be careful when hand-washing), so the Miyabi steak knives passed both our paper and steak tests with flying colors. "I don't think I've ever used a knife that cut steak so easily," says Taysha Murtaugh, a vice president at Food & Wine specializing in product reviews. "It took next to no effort to slice my strip steak, and the cuts were very clean." The elegantly designed handles have a D-shaped profile that makes them fit snugly in your palm. Despite being much longer and wider than your average steak knives, these felt well-balanced during testing. The hand-hammered finish in the blade not only looks distinctive but also prevents sticking. Knives Included: 4 | Blade Type: Straight | Blade Material: SG2 micro-carbide-powder steel | Handle Material: Pakkawood | Length: 13 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: No PHOTO: Food & Wine / Taysha Murtaugh PHOTO: Food & Wine / Taysha Murtaugh PHOTO: Food & Wine / Taysha Murtaugh Best Serrated Steak Knives Henckels Stainless Steel Serrated Steak Knife Set PHOTO: Amazon $60 $40 at Amazon $90 at Wayfair $45 at Walmart Pros This eight-piece set of dishwasher-safe knives offers precise cuts at an economical price. Cons They don't have much design flair. For how well these knives perform, their price feels like a real steal — especially considering that we found them suitable not just for meat but also for slicing produce and other basic ingredient prep. The serrated blade makes them particularly ideal for tomatoes. The sharp edges and delicate shape make the Henckels steak knives feel like precise surgical tools. The narrow, serrated blade cuts through a slab of steak with ease, even in the grisly bits. The knives are a pleasure to use, as our tests found that although they're light, they still feel sturdy. The cherry on top is that you can throw these in the dishwasher, but even if you decide to hand-wash them, the serrated edge is still easy to clean. Since the handles are also made from stainless steel, a quick polish after drying will make them ready for your next table setting. Knives Included: 8 | Blade Type: Serrated | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Handle Material: Stainless steel | Length: 11.5 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes The 6 Best Knife Sharpeners for Longer-Lasting Blades, According to Our Tests PHOTO: Food & Wine / Prairie Rose Free PHOTO: Food & Wine / Prairie Rose Free PHOTO: Food & Wine / Prairie Rose Free Our Favorite Steak Knives The Laguiole En Aubrac Steak Knives topped our list of best steak knives we tested due to their gorgeous, timeless design, excellent performance, and usability. We also recommend Material's Table Knives because of their stunning modern aesthetic and effortless cutting. Food & Wine / Bridget Degnan Chef-Favorite Steak Knives We're not the only ones who are picky about their cutlery. More than just a utility, steak knives are also used in restaurants as a gorgeous way to express identity and carry a decor aesthetic to the table. We found four spots with fancy blades that are a cut above the rest, and these are their chef-favorite steak knife picks. Jean Dubost Laguiole Steak Knives PHOTO: Crate & Barrel $80 at Williams Sonoma $85 at Crate & Barrel Laguiole wine keys have a sentimental history for chef Tom Branighan and sommelier Molly Wismeier — both received one as a gift at important points in their careers. At their New Orleans restaurant MaMou, Jean Dubost's Laguiole steak knives (with a mix of grey, pearl, and ivory handles) are served alongside menu mainstay Louisiana côte de boeuf, as well as pork loin, risotto with quail, and braised celery heart. “Laguiole [cutlery] is well-known for its quality and durability. It’s also very French! It was an obvious choice,” Branighan says. Opinel Bon Appétit Steak Knives PHOTO: Opinel $55 at Food52 View on Opinel-usa.com Scissors are more typical for Korean barbecue, but chef/owner Peter Cho of Jeju in Portland, Oregon prefers this simple, brightly colored wood-handled steak knife. “We inherited them from the previous restaurant,” he laughs, ”but we like the pink handle and how it looks on the plate.” The same design is available in 17 different saturated hues. We also tested these steak knives (with the olivewood handle); and although they didn't make our list of top favorites, we loved how balanced they felt and how comfortable they were to hold. We think they're a great pick for under $100. Pallarès Solsona Table Knife with Boxwood Handle PHOTO: Pallarès Solsona View on Hawkinsnewyork.com View on Solsona-knives.com Chase Valencia, co-owner of Lasita in Los Angeles, came across this artisanal Catalan brand at Manat, a restaurant in southwestern France. “It was the first thing I noticed at the table, and I became fixated and fell in love,” he says. Manat uses a custom design combining Pallarès’ table knife blade with one of its boxwood pocket knife handles, but Valencia reached out to the company directly and was able to purchase some. ”It’s a transportive feeling to think that this knife is only used at two restaurants: our Filipino joint in downtown LA and this tiny bistro on the other side of the world.” Since that steak knife is two-of-a-kind, we suggest the very similar Pallarès Solsona standard table knife in boxwood instead. Acopa Steak Knife with Jumbo Handle Acopa. View on Therestaurantstore.com A steak knife doesn’t have to be just for steak. At Oro by Nixta in Minneapolis, chef/owners Gustavo and Kate Romero serve quesadillas, a crispy tlayuda, a shareable mushroom appetizer, and a bone-in lamb shank with this hefty knife. “Acopa is a great choice for durability and value,” Gustavo says. As with any quality knife, the metal of the blade runs all the way through the handle for a more balanced and long-lasting design. How We Tested Steak Knives Food & Wine / Taysha Murtaugh We tested 23 steak knife sets by putting them through a series of real-world tests. We examined the knives’ overall design, aesthetic, and size, noting how functional and comfortable they were to hold, before performing a few standardized tests. Paper Test: We used the steak knives to cut a sheet of standard printer paper by holding the paper in one hand and sliding the knife across the edge. We assessed whether the knife could slice cleanly or if it tore through the paper, an indication of less-than-perfect sharpness.Steak Test: We sliced a medium rare New York strip steak with each knife, noting how easily the blade moved through the meat and whether we were able to get evenly thin slices without any shredding. We also considered the handles and how comfortable the knives felt to hold as we sliced.Cleaning: After the steak test, we hand-washed the knives, rating how easy they were to get clean. For steak knives that were explicitly labeled dishwasher-safe, we also ran them through a dishwasher cycle and looked for any corrosion or other damage. Once we finished our performance testing, we revealed retail prices to consider value for money. At the time of testing, the 23 steak knife sets ranged from $15 to $580, with an average of $130. Each set included either four, six, or eight knives, and we looked at both overall prices and prices per knife. Factors To Consider Blade Material Steak knives are most commonly made with stainless steel blades that are easy to clean and resistant to corrosion but stay reasonably sharp. Some are made with carbon steel, which is harder and sharper but has to be washed and dried thoroughly soon after use to avoid rust. One newer material on the market is ceramic, which is very hard and very sharp. The downside of ceramic steak knives is that they can be quite expensive and prone to chipping if not treated gently. Food & Wine / Nick Simpson Edge Steak knives generally have three edge styles: serrated, straight, and dual. A serrated steak knife has saw-life teeth that help get a cut started. This style doesn't have to be sharpened as much, but the serrations are less precise and can tear up fish or other delicate proteins. A serrated blade could be a good choice if you use your steak knives solely for hearty steaks and chops. A steak knife with a straight blade is essentially a paring knife, a more versatile option you can use on any kind of meat, fruit, or vegetables accurately. Straight-edged knives need sharpening more frequently than serrated ones, but it's also easier to maintain the edge with a honing steel and resharpen it at home when necessary. A dual blade combines the other styles, with a mostly straight blade that's serrated toward the tip. You can use the two sections like two separate knives, but you don't get the full best of both worlds, as a partially serrated blade is just as difficult to sharpen as a fully serrated one. How to Properly Sharpen a Serrated Knife, According to an Expert Handle After the sharpness of the blade, the next most important feature of a steak knife is how it feels to hold. A knife that doesn't sit well or is unwieldy in the hand can be ineffective or downright dangerous. While there has been a trend toward giant-handled steak knives, we don't find them a good choice, especially for kids or anyone with limited hand strength or mobility. Beyond that, the ideal handle shape and size really depend on your preference — some like a flatter steak knife handle and others a rounder one. Food & Wine / Nick Simpson Frequently Asked Questions Should steak knives be serrated? "A sharp knife is the best knife for a steak," says James Beard Award nominee Laura McIntosh, the executive producer and host of Bringing it Home on PBS. "That being said, the serrated knife gives you a bit more ease when cutting into food with a thick outer crust because it acts like a saw. The serrations keep the knife sharper longer but also give a bit more grip when cutting through tough exteriors."On the other hand, a serrated knife blade is thicker than a straight one, so its cuts aren't quite as precise. How do you sharpen steak knives? "The best way to make sure your knives are at their best is to take them to a knife sharpening professional twice a year," McIntosh says. "There are many ways to sharpen your knives at home with little effort. For ease, an angled manual sharpener will do the trick and is easy to use. However, for a more robust experience to keep your knives in peak condition, invest in a whetstone and a steel or ceramic rod. There are two steps to sharpening your knives: grinding and honing. Grinding your knives removes any pieces of steel from the blade — the whetstone is perfect for this. Once your knife is clean of nicks and any steel, the second step is honing, which is basically fine-tuning your blade. Use the steel rod for this by gliding the knife's blade at an angle against the steel." Can you put steak knives in the dishwasher? According to McIntosh, you should never place your steak knives in the dishwasher. "I think the most important step is drying your knife," she says. "Even while using your knife during cooking prep, it's important to keep your knife dry. Drying especially after hand-washing removes excess water, thus preventing rust. It can also help remove missed debris not otherwise cleaned with soap and water." Can you use steak knives for other things? Yes! Steak knives can be used for more than just cutting through beef. Since they're designed to be sturdy enough to slice through tough meat, they can be used in myriad useful ways, from coring apples and slicing avocados to cubing cheese. A straight-bladed steak knife is essentially a small chef's knife, and it can do all the same prep tasks as that larger all-purpose blade. Other Steak Knives We Tested Food & Wine / Nick Simpson Strong Contenders Wüsthof 8-Piece Mignon Steak Knife Set ($130 at Amazon) Although we loved the slightly serrated blades and contemporary stainless steel construction, we were not wowed by the sharpness of these steak knives. The 8-piece set comes in a beautiful wooden gift box, so though they didn't make our final list of the best steak knives, we think they would make a nice gift for grillers. Viking German Stainless Steel Steak Knife Set ($120 at Amazon) We liked the wood handle of these serrated steak knives, but unfortunately, the blades weren't sharp enough to cleanly and consistently slice through paper without snagging. The wood construction of the handle also made hand-washing a bit time-consuming, and these knives must be dried immediately after washing to avoid stains. Shun Classic Steak Knives ($350 at Williams-Sonoma) Initially, we loved the Shun steak knives, and they got immediate points for their beautiful aesthetic. They cut through paper cleanly without dragging, and we found them to be easy to clean by hand. But the sky-high price is too much to get over; these knives didn't wow us enough to justify their cost. What Didn't Make the List In our tests of 23 steak knife sets, a few options were not up to snuff. Though we liked the Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Set, the Henckels Steak Knife Set, the Global Classic Steak Knives, and Misen Steak Knives, we found enough flaws in design, performance, or comfort that prevented their inclusion in our list of favorites. Some other options were not sharp enough, the blade dragged, or the knives felt too heavy in our hands. Our Expertise Cindy Brzostowski is a freelance writer and avid home cook who has previous experience in cookbook publishing. Her writing has been featured in Allrecipes, Blue Apron, The Kitchn, and EatingWell among other publications. For this piece, Food & Wine editors tested 23 different steak knife models in their home kitchens to find the best ones, and she used their insights to curate our top picks. Jason Horn is a senior writer for Food & Wine. He has covered food, drinks, and travel for nearly 20 years, writing for Liquor.com, The Spruce Eats, Serious Eats, and more. He curated the chef picks in this piece by interviewing chefs from around the country to learn about the fancy steak knives they're using at their tables. This piece was also updated by Stacey Ballis, a freelance writer, recipe developer, and product reviewer. Stacey has been published in Food & Wine, Eating Well, Allrecipes, MyRecipes, Delish, and more. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit