Steak Knives

Sorry, I know. I know I've seen it discussed but I just read through 8 pages of search results and couldn't find anything. Maybe my memory is foggy and it was over at the "other' KKF, but I'm NOT going over there.

Keeping in mind that steak knives get used on ceramic plates, I don't want high dollar custom steak knives. I want really good but not great. Just the way they get used makes them somewhat of a consumable. AND... I can't trust they won't make it into the dishwasher. Matter of fact bank on it. But if restaurants can do it with steak knives, it can be done.

Any recommendations? Opinel? Laguiole? Victorinox? Wusthof? (but are you really paying for brand name recognition?) Anything European I am not aware of? I don't think I want that thin, flexible steel that I grew up with, nor do I want those giant serrated "steakhouse" knives either. For reference I just tossed my 20 year old set of Henckels Professional S steak knives (wow! Look at that price! Way too high for what these are).

 

My solution was to buy several Fujiwara FKM (stainless) 120 mm petty knives. You can easily sharpen them after they dull on ceramic or china plates and won't be destroyed in an accidental dishwasher incident. They are $40 each now, though I bought mine a while ago for considerably less.

If I was looking to buy today, Knives and Stones has Tojiro steak knives for around $30 each.

 

Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition steak knives. They are not serrated so they are easy to sharpen, and cost about $5 each. They fit the bill of good-enough and semi-disposable.

 

How about these:

http://www.knivesandstones.com/tojiro-dp-cobalt-steak-knife-f-797/

Just saw that Rick already mentioned them.

 

I went a different route. I thought, what about vintage? Found this set on Ebay for $19.95. They were listed as German knives, but it's German steel. I believe Black Hawk Cutlery was a division of Robeson. The box says Perry NY. I'm guessing they date from the 1950s. I put a serviceable edge on them. We'll see how they hold up but for twenty bucks I'm not out much if they don't. I like the name too since I'm in Iowa.

 

Well that only took an hour to figure out.

 

They do look awesome

 

I dig those handles.

 

They look terrific. Can't beat the price.

 

Well, that's a lot cheaper than the Le Thiers set I got!

 

I wound up getting a set of Chicago Cutlery at Wally World. They were dirt cheap ($25 for 4). I've no idea what the steel is other than to say soft carbon. They took a bit of work and are wearing fast but hey they are virtually disposable. I recently saw a set of Sabitier's with olive wood handles @ Costco for $160. They were a bit odd though as they looked more German than French. I'm still looking for a decent set at a fair price. I've had my eye on the Tojiro DP's as they look like a good value.

 

i know i'm a bit late with this reply, but i really like the idea of going vintage. i probably wouldn't have thought of that. 2 but i am a bear with very little brain. i have a set of steak knives that i got from my grandmother. she brought hers down from canada when she snuck into the country back in early 1900s. i'd say if you keep your steak on the medium rare side, those should be servicable for quite some time. good luck.

 

Anyone ever used Warthers steak knives. I have one of their chef knives and actually like it. Been toying trying some of their steak knives.