The Best Steak Knife Set

I’m a Wirecutter contributor covering kitchen gear. Outside of Wirecutter, I work as a food editor and recipe developer, and put quality cutlery and cookware to the test every day in professional kitchens and at home. For this guide:

• We researched knife-making materials, design, and performance over the years, and we consulted a range of industry experts, including chefs and kitchenware retailers.
• We’ve now tested more than 15 steak knives on over 16 pounds of meat in several real-world testing sessions.
• Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan conducted testing in 2015 and 2017. He’s also written our guides to carving knives and knife sharpeners.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
• When we conduct test panels with a diverse group of people, we always disclose whether testers were paid for their time.

Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you probably know the line: “First prize is a Cadillac ... Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.” Alec Baldwin’s speech (video) is cinema legend. It’s also insightful. Glengarry Glen Ross (the play, not the film) premiered in 1984, when nothing was more quintessentially American than big cars, lost jobs, and steak for dinner.

Today, Americans are eating less meat, and not everyone needs a set of steak knives. But if you eat meat regularly, you’ll appreciate how much nicer (and easier) it is to slice a chop with a well-made blade designed for that purpose.

A nice set of steak knives also dresses up a place setting, so if you like to entertain, you may appreciate owning a set. Finally, steak knives can make a special gift for the right person. You can even spend Cadillac money if you’re feeling extra generous—though you really don’t need to in order to get a great set.

The dozens of styles of steak knives available can make it hard to decide what makes a knife the best. But after consulting experts and testing dozens of knives, we focused on the following factors to find a great set:

Blade edges: Some knives are straight-edged (also called fine-edged), like chef’s knives; some are serrated; others are micro-serrated with very fine-tooth blades. The sources we consulted disagreed on which is best.

However, consensus emerged during testing: Everyone preferred straight edges. Even the least-impressive straight-edge knife sliced meat better than the best serrated knife. And straight-edge knives can be easily sharpened to serve you well for years—less true for serrated ones. So we focused exclusively on straight-edge knives for our picks.

Blade materials: It’s easy to get lost in a sea of terms used to describe knife blades. We focused on stainless steel blades, which resist rust and hold a sharp edge well.

You can also ignore plenty of knife jargon, such as “high-carbon steel”—every steel alloy used to make knives is high carbon, and the specific alloy doesn’t matter. Just make sure the knife is also listed as “stainless,” and avoid knives listed only as “high carbon” or “carbon steel,” which will easily rust.

“Damascus” steel is another common term, but it’s more about looks than durability or sharpness.

Handle materials: While we tested knives with a range of handle materials, we preferred durable ones like POM (polyoxymethylene; a heavy, strong plastic), composite, or pakkawood (resin-impregnated wood). All resist damage from water, solvents, acids, oil, and heat, unlike unfinished wood, and look and feel nice.

Looks: We tested modern-looking minimalist knives as well as traditional riveted designs like those you’d find at an old-school steak house. We found excellent knives that fit both aesthetics, so this choice comes down to personal preference rather than performance.

Storage: Storing knives properly is key for maintaining blade sharpness and integrity. Though it’s not a dealbreaker for steak knives to not come with storage, it is nice to have. All of our picks fit in the steak knife slots on a standard knife block.

Availability: We restricted our search to well-known manufacturers with readily available items within a price range of $4 to $140 per knife.

For each update to this guide since 2015, we’ve seared pounds of steak and invited colleagues and friends to test knives under real-world conditions. We sliced chops and chicken on china and stoneware plates like you would in your home.

We’ve employed a diverse group of testers, including men and women, people of different sizes, experienced knife handlers, and folks who don’t give knives much thought at all. We noted everyone’s impressions on knife performance, feel, sturdiness, and looks. After several hours and one brief but spectacular grease fire, we have our results.

Material’s The Table Knives were our clear winner. No other knives came close to matching their performance, price, quality, and looks, not to mention their included storage block. The extremely sharp blades cut tough steaks with ease, and the slightly grippy handles are safe and make it easy to maneuver around bones. The knives weigh around 62 grams each, which is a nice midpoint between our hefty runner-up pick from Messermeister and our lighter budget pick.

They’re super sharp. All testers were impressed by the knives’ sheer sharpness. Right out of the box, they sliced easily through tough pork chops without any sawing. The knife’s tip is also quite acute, which is useful for initiating trickier cuts through cartilage or around bone.

They’re easy to clean. The knives’ composite handles are durable and stain resistant. And unlike most wooden handles, they’re easy to clean and don’t absorb water or oils. You could even put the Material knives in the dishwasher in a pinch—though we wouldn’t recommend doing this regularly, since the dishwasher will cause their blades to dull faster.

The handles are practical and comfortable. They have a slight grip that adds comfort and safety. The top edge of the blade is rounded, which is gentler on your pointer finger if you tend to press it into the top of the knife as you slice.

The knives also have a narrow bolster (the metal cuff connecting the blade to the handle). This adds space between the sharp blade and your fingers, which can prevent accidents.

They’re easy to sharpen. The bolster doesn’t extend down the heel of the blade (as it would on a full-bolster knife), so it doesn’t get in the way if you want to sharpen the knives with an electric knife sharpener.

They’re nicely weighted. The Material knives fall between the hefty Messermeister knives and the flimsier Victorinox Swiss Modern Steak Knives (our budget pick) in weight, offering a nice midpoint that most of our testers deemed ideal.

Chic storage is included. Our pick was the only set we tested that comes with a storage block. The sleek, compact maple wood block can stand upright on a counter or lay flat in a drawer, protecting the blades so they stay sharp longer.

They’re full tang. The knives are made with a single piece of steel that extends from blade tip to handle end. This adds strength (a practical concern), balance, and a bit of heft (though not too much). Full-tang knives are usually pricier than this set.

The Table Knives come in five modern color options. You can choose from three solid color sets and two multicolor sets, so you can find the right aesthetic for your tablescape.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Availability could be a concern. We’ve found that with newer direct-order brands like Material (as opposed to long-established brands like Messermeister), stock can be unpredictable. But if these aren’t available, the Messermeister Avanta set below is a great backup choice that performs well at a similar price. Or, if you’re more keen on the modern look, our budget pick will still give you all the practical functionality, if not the style points.

You may not need the knife block. Though we love that these knives come with their own dedicated block, it could become clutter if you already have a block with empty slots for steak knives at home.

Colored knives aren’t for everyone. If you’re strictly looking for a traditional wood- or black-handle knife set, you won’t find that among Material’s color options. That being said, the beige color may work for you.

The Messermeister Avanta 4 Piece Pakkawood Fine Edge Steak Knife Set is a good option that’s larger and a bit heavier, and it has a more classic look and feel than our top pick. The knives are also full tang, but not as sharp as the Material knives. Still, for a more traditional steak-house-style knife, you can’t go wrong with this reasonably priced, high-performing set.

They’re hefty. The knives in the Messermeister set we tested varied slightly in weight, but averaged around 96 grams, about 1.5 times as heavy as the Material knives. If you prefer to slice with a heavier blade or to grip a larger handle, they are an excellent choice.

The blades are long and sharp. The Messermeister Avanta steak knives have upswept blades—an ideal shape that lets your elbow move up as you slice instead of backwards, where it might strike your chair. They easily cut tough steaks with a few strokes. At 5 inches, the blades also feel noticeably longer than the 4.5-inch Material blades.

However, the blades were not as impressively sharp as the Material knives straight from the box. They required a bit more elbow grease and sawing back and forth to work through tougher cuts of steak. Testers noted that the knife felt “slightly grainy” and met some resistance when slicing. Of course, the blade edge can be refined with sharpening.

The handles are durable and attractive. The knife handles are made of pakkawood—resin-impregnated natural wood that’s strong, stable, and doesn’t absorb water, expand, dry out, or crack like unfinished wood, but has the rich look of natural wood. You can also get a version of this set with black POM handles, which are equally durable.

Some of the Messermeister knives we tested had slightly raised rivets on their handles, but that’s not a dealbreaker, since their overall construction and feel are excellent for the price.

These knives don’t come with a storage block like our top pick. The best way to maintain your knives is to store them separately to prevent banging around, which can damage their edges. The Messermeister Avanta steak knives fit in the steak knife slots of a standard knife block, but if you don’t have one with open slots, you may want a set of blade guards. Messermeister sells a set of six for about $20.

The Victorinox Swiss Modern Steak Knives are the best inexpensive knives we found. The plastic handles don’t look or feel as high end as the handles on our other picks, but these knives slice through steak perfectly well—far better than the serrated blades you typically find at this price. They’re not fancy, but they’re perfectly functional, and if you lose one, you’ll shed no tears.

The blades are sharp, if a little flimsy. These knives cut through steak a little more easily than our Messermeister pick, though not quite as easily as the Material knives. The blades do feel less sturdy than those on our top picks, but since you can sharpen their straight edges, they still have the potential to last a good while.

They’re lightweight. At just 31 grams apiece, the Swiss Modern knife is about half the weight of our top pick from Material. That makes these a wonderful choice for toting to picnics or on camping trips.

They’re sold open stock. These knives are our only pick that you can buy individually, so you can get the exact number you need. This is especially nice if you’re buying for an event.

They come in two colors. You can choose from a classic black and a trendier dusty blue (as of now, the company does not have plans to bring back the mint green option that’s currently out of stock on its website).

We also tried a version of these knives with wood handles, but they’re significantly more expensive than any of our picks, and we didn’t prefer their look or feel. The unfinished walnut handles have an almost grubby texture and lack the sleek, smooth finish of polished wood or pakkawood. Unfinished wood is also susceptible to water damage and oil stains.

The set doesn’t include storage. As with the Messermeister Avanta knives, you may need to buy storage for these knives. They’ll fit in a standard knife block, but if you don’t have that, Messermeister’s blade guards are a better value than the ones Victorinox sells (which don’t seem tailored for the steak knives anyway). Though the Messermeister ones will be a little big, they should do the job.

How the Victorinox knives have held up

One Wirecutter staff member has been using the Victorinox knives at home for about five months now, and has no complaints so far. They’ve held their edges and the blue handle color is still lovely.

If you want a more traditional-looking cheap set with wood handles: The Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition 4-piece Steak Knives Set are highly functional, if not beautiful. Though we prefer the sleeker look of our budget pick, the Victorinox Swiss Modern Steak Knife, these are a top-notch budget option with more of a classic steak-house look.

The straight-edge knife blade edges are coarse and uneven, but they were able to work through tough steaks without sawing and have a similar upward-swooping design to the Messermeister Avanta knives. The full-tang construction with three rivets is durable, and these knives have more heft than our budget pick, weighing in at 60 grams apiece (about the same as the Material knives and double the Victorinox ones).

However, the wooden Chicago Cutlery handles are not reinforced with resin like the pakkawood Avanta handles, so they’re more susceptible to water damage and stains from oil. They must be hand-washed and dried immediately after use. They also do not come with storage.

A few things will keep these knives performing their best.

Hand-wash and dry them after every use. Dishwashers are hard on knives because of the high temperatures, chemicals, and all the banging around.

Store them safely. Keep the knives in their original box, a knife block, a roll, a tray, or on a magnetic strip (we like the Benchcrafted Mag-Blok). Or get a set of blade guards. All of our picks fit in a standard knife block, and the Material knives come with their own. The goal is to protect the blades from unnecessary wear and tear and your fingers from accidentally grabbing a sharp blade in the utensil caddy.

Hone the blades regularly. Maintain the knife edges by running them on a honing rod before each use. This will only maintain a sharp edge, though, so after many uses your knives will need to be resharpened. You can sharpen knives at home or bring them to a professional for a few dollars per blade.

The Victorinox Wood Steak Knive Set was a contender in our latest round of testing, and we have previously recommended the Wüsthof Ikon 4-Piece Steak Knife Set and the J. A. Henckels Classic 4-pc Steak Knife Set. However, we found all three models to be so similar to the Messermeister Avanta knives in performance and looks that we couldn’t justify their higher price tags.

We tested the high-end Perceval 9.47 Table Knives, which perform very well. But they’re extravagantly priced, the super-straight design was awkward to use, and they have a more aggressive look than some people want at the dinner table. These could make a good splurge gift for the right meat lover, though.

The Rada Cutlery Utility Steak Knife Set is well reviewed on Amazon and inexpensive. We found the aluminum handles uncomfortable, though, and the blades are also so flexible they’re almost floppy.

The Wüsthof Classic 4-Piece Steak Knives cut nicely but are far pricier than the our pick from Messermeister, plus the Wüsthof logo on the handle makes them look like kitchen knives.

Laguiole steak knives—not a brand, but a name used for knives made in Laguiole or Thiers, France—are classic and beautiful. They have slightly curved blades and handles made from wood, acrylic, and even “mammoth fossil.” These knives have many imitations, but the Dubost family is a popular authentic maker available at Williams Sonoma. We didn’t like the rough feel of the rivets, and the knives we recommend offer more value. If you happen to be traveling through France, though, and can afford a set, we’ve read nice things about the authentic versions.

This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong.