After going through all the hard work to make the perfect tenderloin, cutting it with dull cutlery would be the last thing you want to do. You need the best steak knives to maintain the luscious juices while keeping the meat intact.
But steak knives aren’t just any ordinary models. There are several criteria you need to follow when choosing the best steak knife set. This article contains a list of the best blades for cutting steak, including restaurant steak knives and models for home cooks. Stay tuned!
Table of Contents
- Best Steak Knives - Top 6
- 1. DALSTRONG Gladiator Series Steak Knife Set - Best for Cutting Thick Steaks
- 2. Messermeister Avanta Steak Knife Set - Best For Budget
- 3. DALSTRONG Steak Knives 4-Piece Set - Best For Smooth Cuts
- 4. HENCKELS Steak Knife Set - Best Design
- 5. DALSTRONG Steak Knife Set - Omega Series - Best Knives for Boning
- 6. DALSTRONG 6” Fillet Knife (Shogun Series) - Best For Cutting Thin Steak
- Final thoughts
Best Steak Knives - Top 6
1. DALSTRONG Gladiator Series Steak Knife Set - Best for Cutting Thick Steaks
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 44.5 x 32.8 x 38.5 inches
- Weight: 8.45 pounds
- Color: Black handles
- Steel: High-Carbon from German ThyssenKrupp
- Blade Angle: 16-18°
The best steak knives made in USA aren’t always the best. Let’s have a look at this Dalstrong set manufactured in China.
The Dalstrong Steak Knife set features a more traditional look that needs extra care to maintain its fine edges. The simple, classic design makes it ideal for a regular weeknight dinner table, yet still elegant enough for formal dining.
Even though the blades are non-serrated, they cut through the thick meat nicely and beautifully without leaving a mess behind. This full tang knife set is a sure win for the kitchen as the blades are made out of Thyssenkrupp German steel, posing a sharp, modern-looking design.
Also, each blade is hand-sharpened to 16-18 degrees to further enhance an optimum sharpness level for butter-smooth cuts and slices of meat. These are solid, robust cutters.
Compared with the wood material for handles from other models, the G10 is actually a great upgrade, providing a better grip and a well-balanced feel when slicing through the steak. For a sizable set of knives, the price is very good.
The only significant drawback to this 8-piece set is the wooden rack that comes with the knives. Those who have limited kitchen space may find this design to be a bit odd.
Since it doesn’t fold closed as a case for the knife set, the whole setup takes up an unnatural amount of space. If you have a drawer, it is possible to lay the knives flat, but they’ll probably slide out.
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2. Messermeister Avanta Steak Knife Set - Best For Budget
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 1 x 5.8 x 10.9 inches
- Weight: 1.6 ounces
- Color: Brown handles
- Steel: High-carbon stainless from German
- Blade Angle: 20°
This 4-piece set from Messermeister is a budget-friendly alternative to the Gladiator set. You’ll get a comparable quality at a much affordable price, though their performance can’t live up to the high-end model.
Compared with the Gladiator series, these stainless steel blades may not be as sharp, but they can easily cut through tough steaks. These good steak knives feature an upswept boning tip to separate meat from bones effortlessly.
The 20-degree sharpened blades efficiently slice through boneless sections, allowing for even cutting of the thickest cuts. Thanks to this long and upswept shape, it is also ideal for cutting steak, with evenly ground and finely honed edges.
Another great thing about this knife set is the Pakkawood handles. While knives of this price range usually have cheap plastic or unfinished wood handles, the Messermeister has resin-impregnated natural wood ones.
The woodgrain, color, and feel are just impressive for a set of knives at such a price. The density of these handles gives you a solid and premium feel when holding them.
The only major caveat is that some of the handles feature slightly raised rivets, which can be uncomfortable to hold if you’re skeptical. Plus, the finish can be a little less than perfect, so don’t get your hopes up too much.
After all, you’re not paying a lot for this set of knives. Value-wise, these attractively molded knives are just what you need for the next steak dinner.
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3. DALSTRONG Steak Knives 4-Piece Set - Best For Smooth Cuts
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 9.65 x 0.87 x 0.08 inches
- Weight: 3.84 ounces
- Color: Black handles
- Steel: High-carbon from German ThyssenKrupp
- Blade Angle: 16-18°
This Dalstrong Steak Knives Set is the smaller version of the Dalstrong 8-piece set mentioned in the beginning - a more compact version offering the same fantastic quality and presentation.
The full-tang construction at 3.84 ounces adds strength and pleasing heft when held in your hands. The research conducted in 2015 revealed that a knife weight of around 80 grams feels just ‘right’ in hand.
Interestingly enough, the Dalstrong weighs around 95 grams, is nicely robust and remarkably greater to hold than lightweight knives of the same price range. Though several folks find the weight to be a bit much for a steak knife, people with bigger hands will appreciate this weight.
As for the blades, they’re sharp, striking, and well-made, like how most Dalstrong products should be. The knives cut through steaks and different meats as if they’re dinner rolls. In terms of sharpness and precision, Dalstrong’s knives have never ceased to amaze us.
Each knife in the set features a Garolite handle with triple rivets designed for optimum balance. Plus, the hand-polished bolster makes it comfortable to hold the knife and adds finger protection while slicing.
You may feel like the santoku style doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the knives’ performance and rather there purely for the aesthetic. However, the rock-hollow dimples are there to ensure meat falls off.
These small grooves make room for air to reduce suction and friction when cutting through thick, juicy steaks. This way, your cuts appear smoother without a trace of tearing.
It is worth mentioning that these knives are not dishwasher-safe, and they’re a pain to clean if not washed immediately after use. Since they’re not stainless steel, some care is required to keep them good as new. Plus, with a hardness level of 56+ Rockwell, you may have to sharpen them if used often,
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4. HENCKELS Steak Knife Set - Best Design
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 11.5 x 9.5 x 3.25 inches
- Weight: 1 pound
- Color: Silver handles
- Steel: Stainless
- Dishwasher safe
This 8-piece knife set from Henckels is indeed the best serrated steak knives, with top to bottom high-carbon stainless steel, even the handles.
Weight-wise, these knives are quite lightweight as the handles don’t include a bolster. Usually, bolsters are there to add more weight and prevent your index finger from slipping toward the blade. No need to worry, though. There is a subtle, graduated spacing between the blade and the handle for the same purpose.
Even though these knives are stamped, it is quite impressive to see that they’re full tang. Most stamped knives are half tang, meaning that the steel only extends partially through the handles. Henckels full-tang knives ensure a steady, sure grip as you work through the steak.
Some people may find it hard to balance these knives when cutting, though. The weight is mainly in the blades, so if you attempt to hold the knife with two fingers, the blade will tip down.
If you’ve never tried stamped knives before, the knives in this set may not be the ones. Of course, they can be the first in your kitchen if you don’t mind the hassle of balancing in the beginning.
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5. DALSTRONG Steak Knife Set - Omega Series - Best Knives for Boning
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 12.68 x 10.08 x 1.6 inches
- Weight: 1 pound
- Color: Black handles
- Steel: High-carbon from German ThyssenKrupp
- Blade Angle: 8-12°
Another product from Dalstrong - the Dalstrong Omega Series Steak Knife Set. These santoku knives would look great in anyone’s collection.
The handcrafted design featuring the ‘LiquidMetal’ patterns on the blades reduces drag and increases efficiency to let you glide through prep. Your guests are guaranteed to be stunned at your next dinner party because of just how beautiful and carefully crafted these knives are.
Thanks to the sharp tip of high-carbon German steel, digging out the deep silver skin of beef is less tricky even without proper leverage. Since the blades in this series are intentionally made thinner for precision, they give clean and beautiful cuts. The thin blades also help cut around small angles when boning more effortlessly.
Yet, be careful when holding these knives if you’re a beginner-level chef. You may cut yourself!
Like most Dalstrong knives, the handles from the Omega series are also made of G-10 woven fiberglass, which is supreme in terms of durability. G-10 is a military-grade material of ultra-premium quality for longevity and optimum comfort and control when holding.
If you happen to have other series from Dalstrong (Gladiator or Shogun), you’ll notice a nice lamination added to the handles in this series, so they have a beautiful ‘grain’ to them.
But is there a catch to this wonderful 4-piece knife set? Unfortunately, we have to complain about the difficulty of getting these knives out of their leather sheaths. The adhesive inside such sheaths tends to leave glue residues on all sides of the knives.
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6. DALSTRONG 6” Fillet Knife (Shogun Series) - Best For Cutting Thin Steak
Our rating:
- Product dimensions: 10.7 x 0.79 x 0.07 inches
- Weight: 6.5 ounces
- Color: Black handles
- Steel: Japanese AUS-10V
- Blade Angle: 8-12°
We end this list on a high note, with another fantastic entry from Dalstrong - the Dalstrong 6” Fillet Knife from the Shogun series. This series is one of Dalstrong’s most popular knife series because of the Damascus 66 layers of steel.
The blade is made of Japanese AUS-10V high-carbon super steel, which is one of the top-notch metals for knives. This material has a reputation for being used to make a few of the sharpest knives in the world!
With a staggering angle of 8-12 degrees per side, this knife is applicable in providing a smooth cutting action that slices meat pieces like butter. It is worth mentioning that such angles are more suitable for cutting thin steaks.
Since the blade is hardened to 62+ Rockwell, it maintains the sharpness for a long time, approximately a year on regular use, until it needs to be sharpened again. The blade is also easy to clean; you only need to give it one wipe with paper towels, and voilà, good as new.
All in all, the performance gets a solid tip of our hat.
The only downside to this knife is the lack of a quillon. A quillon stops your index finger from slipping forward into the blade, but the knife doesn’t have it. That said, be careful when cutting with this knife.
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Final thoughts
There you have it, a list of the best steak knives. You can clearly see that most of the products we’ve mentioned are from Dalstrong. Knives from Dalstrong are not only great in terms of quality and longevity, but they’re also a bang for the buck.
By far, if you’re still considering the options, we would like to recommend the Dalstrong Gladiator Series Steak Knife Set. No other kits came close to matching their combination of performance, price, and of course, quality of manufacture.
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