I like vintage Gerber knives, go on Ebay and search Gerber Miming or Steak Knives. These are on the smaller size but fine for your uses. For cheese, think about a fillet knife, maybe 5", we use a Gerber Muskie from the ,80s.

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I like vintage Gerber knives, go on Ebay and search Gerber Miming or Steak Knives. These are on the smaller size but fine for your uses. For cheese, think about a fillet knife, maybe 5", we use a Gerber Muskie from the ,80s.

Funny, I was just about to recommend Gerber Miming knives. My parents have been using two sets for at least 30 years. They bought me a used set about 10 years ago and I really enjoy them. If you're ok with buying used, hard to go wrong.

eBay link

Randall knives are awesome, but wouldn't a set run in the thousands?[/QUOTE]

What else are you going to do with your money? They used to give steak knives away with fill-ups too. One time at a flea market I bought a whole jar of those. Don't recall what happened to them, but I never throw anything away. I do know where my Randall's are. You keep track of those. And never put them where my wife can wash them with other crap.

If you need a steak knife… you bought the wrong beef.

We've got a set of some that someone gifted us almost 15 years ago. Pretty sure they are a set of Wustof or something of the sort. These eventually came out of the little storage box they came in. Went into the dishwasher & cutlery drawer.

So when I replace them I'll find something I can do equally. Toss into a drawer. Touch them up when needed. Toss in Dishwasher when convenient.

Cutco for dinner steak knives.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Must be just me, but I hate serrated knives.... give me a good plane sharp blade on a steak or any other kind of knife.

A good carbon steal knife that is sharp can slide tomatoes and bread better than a serrated one....

I too am not fond of serrated steak knives. I'll happily eat with them when invited over, but I find even with the most tender cuts they tend to tear rather than clean cut.

Those Wusthofs look great. The mercers are near half the price and they look very serviceable.

Just bought a set of Rada knives, USA-made in Iowa, with a lifetime warranty. Serrated steak knife set is in transit as we speak. My paternal grandparents bought some in the 1960s and I still have a couple.

quote:

Originally posted by sig77:
I have these and very happy. These are the stamped knives and not as spendy but still very nice

https://www.swissknifeshop.com...ow%20Bid%20%5BLow%5D

Those are what I have already that I am not crazy about. They are decent, but way overpriced.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
There is a small company down in FL that produces them. The name is something like "Randall". I have 6 of them, but it took me years to put together a full set of them. They're dead ringers for their hunting knives.

Hah! I drove past their facility just an hour ago. I am guessing those would cost a fortune. And I would have them in 10 years.

I think you don’t really require forging… Maybe just a thicker material on the blade?



If it was stamped out of a 0.25” steel, you wouldn’t think it was floppy.

Half of that at 0.125 inches is still pretty thick for a lighter blade.

Those Wüstofs look thinner by half yet again.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
I think you don’t really require forging… Maybe just a thicker material on the blade?



If it was stamped out of a 0.25” steel, you wouldn’t think it was floppy.

Half of that at 0.125 inches is still pretty thick for a lighter blade.

Those Wüstofs look thinner by half yet again.

Yes, probably true. The Wustofs I can bend. I want ones that do not bend.

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
I think you don’t really require forging… Maybe just a thicker material on the blade?



If it was stamped out of a 0.25” steel, you wouldn’t think it was floppy.

Half of that at 0.125 inches is still pretty thick for a lighter blade.

Those Wüstofs look thinner by half yet again.

Yes, probably true. The Wustofs I can bend. I want ones that do not bend.

So this is going to seem counterintuitive at first… But stay with me for a second.

Really well-made forged knives can bend 90° and not break, never entering plastic deformation. Meaning they retain their shape after the test.

Well-formed steel crystalline structures will allow for this. Bad metallurgy and heat treatment will snap unexpectedly, or just bend and stay bent. (This is a fundamental test in the ABS Master Smith classification tests. These are often full-size knives with some thickness. Kind of scary to actually watch.)

But what I’m saying is that a bending knife isn’t necessarily a bad thing… It’s just a characteristic that can be desirable in something like a fillet knife.

If you want a stiffer blade, get it stiff in the spine, i.e. the thickness of the blade.

That would get you what you want!

If you have a pair of dial calipers, you can go measure your Wüstofs for thickness. I’d be interested to know how thick they are actually.

I would think something like 80 thousandths would be stiff enough for you, but you can go to an eighth of an inch and be certain.

quote:

rburg said:
Randall knives are awesome, but wouldn't a set run in the thousands?

What else are you going to do with your money? They used to give steak knives away with fill-ups too. One time at a flea market I bought a whole jar of those. Don't recall what happened to them, but I never throw anything away. I do know where my Randall's are. You keep track of those. And never put them where my wife can wash them with other crap.

I'm sure that's all true, but the OP said:

quote:

I am looking at some decent sets of Amazon for less than $100.

I'm confused over the "not bending" request. My favorite steak knife is one I inherited or stole from my mom, who I'm pretty sure got it from my great-grandmother, who likely had it gifted or picked it up at a swap meet because they were dirt poor rural idahoans.

It's got a plastic handle, 60's style plastic looking white, near opaque even. A thin, ~4" long blade, stainless in appearance. Very flexible, like a good small fish filet knife. It holds an edge amazingly, I've only sharpened it once in 25 years. I use it 2-5 times a week.

I like it, because it will flex around bones like pork chops and t-bones, perfectly removing all the meat at the bone. It still slices perfect bites once the meat is de-boned. No flexing when used straight down, and zero tearing of the meat (no serrations). If I could find them...I'd buy a set.

So why is NOT flexing a desired trait?

^^^ because, that’s what he wants. That’s why we have horse racing and different flavors of ice cream brother.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
^^^ because, that’s what he wants. That’s why we have horse racing and different flavors of ice cream brother.

Your not helping. lol. Well, you are, you bumped the thread to the top so perhaps the OP will answer the question.

Since we're here... what's you're flexible steak knife preference...and why?

I’ve used my Morakniv Companion as a steak knife many times.
At $20 or less it’s a good deal.
I also have some of the Opinel plastic handle steak knives.
Those were about $16 each.

Ha! Good question…


I don’t use steak knives.


I am the chef in the house and I generally cut up the meat to store/freeze it, and then I’m the guy that cooks it, and so I also tend to slice it up on the cutting board for everyone at dinner.

Except for guests who get tender meat that doesn’t ever require a steak knife.








Ymmv lol …

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:

quote:

Originally posted by sig77:
I have these and very happy. These are the stamped knives and not as spendy but still very nice

https://www.swissknifeshop.com...ow%20Bid%20%5BLow%5D

Those are what I have already that I am not crazy about. They are decent, but way overpriced.

I have a Wusthoff electric sharpener I use for my Kitchen set and it makes them like new. Are the dull or just getting dingy.