Steak Knives

products tested (listed alphabetically)

• Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition Steak Knife Set
• Henckels Gourmet Hollow Edge Steak Knife Set
• Messermeister Four Seasons Steak Knife Set
• Sabatier Laguiole Steak Knife Set
• Victorinox (formerly Victorinox Forschner) Rosewood Straight Edge Steak Knife Set
• Wüsthof Gourmet Steak Knife Set

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When we last tested steak knives, we came to two conclusions: First, although top dollar may buy top quality, there are reasonably priced knives that perform quite well. Second, we found that serrated edges—designed to tackle tough meat—actually make jagged tears in the beef and are unnecessary if your straight-edged knife is sharp. With that in mind, we decided to test six new sets of relatively inexpensive steak knives, all priced at $80 or less for a set of four or six. Could they cut it?

Despite our bias against serrated knives, we couldn't resist trying two models that sported minuscule serrations. Size didn't matter here, because they still produced ragged slices of meat. As for straight-edged knives, one model wobbled, as did a second skimpy, wavy-edged model. In the end, however, we did find an exceptionally sharp and nimble set that we liked.

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