The Best Steak Knife Set

Our pick

Messermeister Avanta Pakkawood

Steak knife set

Beautiful to look at and as high-performing as knives six times their price, the Messermeister Avanta Pakkawood steak knives are great tools and an exceptional value. The black-resin-handled version is even thriftier.

Buying Options

$60 from Amazon
(set of four)

The blade edges on the Messermeister Avanta Pakkawood knives are smooth and very sharp, capable of cutting tough steaks easily. They feature full-tang constructions, which means a single piece of steel forms the blade, bolsters, and handle. This design, which adds to the knife’s strength and weight, isn’t commonly seen in other steak knives at this price.

Also great

Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition Steak Knife Set

Best budget set

Beautiful? No. Functional? Very much so—especially compared to the universally awful serrated knives that dominate this price level. You’ll pay more for a pint of microbrew than for each Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition steak knife.

Buying Options

$30 from Amazon

If budget is a chief concern (because you need 20 settings for a wedding, for example), Chicago Cutlery’s inexpensive Walnut Tradition knives are a fine option. They’re not beautiful, but they’re well-made, and, with smooth-edged, boning-knife-like blades, they perform far, far better than the dull serrated steak knives you usually have to settle for at this price.

Also great

Wüsthof Classic Ikon 4-Piece Steak Set, Black

A luxury upgrade

You can find showier (and pricier) steak knives, but Wüsthof’s Classic Ikons are beautifully designed—the most comfortable to hold of all the knives we tested—and as finely crafted as their German engineering suggests.

Buying Options

$300 from Amazon

If you’re looking for luxury, Wüsthof’s Classic Ikon steak knives are elegant and exceptionally well-constructed. “German engineering” is a catchphrase for a reason, and these knives demonstrate it in every aspect. The satin-finished black handles are joined seamlessly to the steel; the blade is both sharp and tough and will perform for years without maintenance; the weight and hand-feel of the knives is, as several testers put it, “perfect.”

Also great

Opinel No. 125 Bon Appetit Set

For contemporary kitchens

Opinel’s olivewood-handled No. 125 Bon Appetit knives are a standout choice if you prefer a lighter, more modern look; they also (as steak knives of any design must) have very functional blades. An otherwise identical version comes in cheerful colored hornbeam wood.

Buying Options

$55 from Opinel

Finally, if you need steak knives but also want a contemporary look, Opinel’s No. 125 Bon Appetit Set fits the bill. A respected French knife maker for well over a century, Opinel often employs unusual natural materials, like the olive-wood handles used here and the color-dyed hornbeam-wood handles used in an otherwise identical (and slightly lower-priced) set.