Serrated Steak Knives?

Lord_Balkan

Lord_Balkan

Joined
Aug 25, 2016
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What are your thoughts on serrated steak knives? I have been reading up on it on other forums and there seems to be disagreements on it and was wondering what the consensus was here.
 
Mostly designed so the scallops on the serrations remain sharp enough to gnarl your meat after the points have gone dull being ground off on ceramic dinner plates.
Not a terrible design if properly maintained, but few take the time to do so with a cheap steak knife.
Also a big time saver for restaurants. If they had to sharpen all of their plain edged knives every day...
A great steak deserves a good sharp blade to slice off thin strips. Improves the flavor immensely rather than the ground meat that a dull serrated knife offers up.
 
80% of the steak knives I've used at restaurants were serrated. It is what it is. Gets the job done.
 
I find them frustrating at home because my wife feels they're actually utility knives. Need to open a bubble pack? Grab a steak knife. Need to open a bag of dog food? Grab a steak knife. Need to cut a baguette? Grab a steak knife.

At least she knows not to put them in dishwasher.

For me I use the matching kitchen, or utility knife, or pull out a knife from my pocket. And for steak I use a butter knife since I like nice tender cuts cooked rare so I don't need to saw away at it like I was cutting lumber.

And yes she has pocket knives too but won't use her SAK etc. for those tasks. Plan A) is always straight to the cutlery drawer for a steak knife.
 
Dfunk1210 said:
80% of the steak knives I've used at restaurants were serrated. It is what it is. Gets the job done.
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Terribly.
What a way to ruin a nice cut of beef sawing it apart and squeezing all of the juices out till there's a dry chunk of bland utility protein to gnaw on.
Unless of course there's a lack of concern, then just have a blast hacking it up.:thumbup:
Or if it's medium or above, then it's ruined before it hits the plate.
 
Serrated steak knives are fine for people who don't know how to sharpen knives. I prefer a plain edge that I can resharpen or touch up as needed. Though I rarely eat steak at all (just don't like it much) and it's usually chicken or pork that needs to be sliced on a plate.
 
For my birthday I always go to a good steak house so I decided to get a gentlemans knife just to use in a restaurant. I was going to get a japanese Higo Nakomi steak knife made just for that purpose. But ended up getting the Boker Urban Trapper instead. I keep it razor sharp and it looks like real cutlery so that it doesn't turn heads. I do however always get a cofused reaction when I refuse the offer of a crappy serrated knife from the waiter.
 
Low_rez said:
For my birthday I always go to a good steak house so I decided to get a gentlemans knife just to use in a restaurant. I was going to get a japanese Higo Nakomi steak knife made just for that purpose. But ended up getting the Boker Urban Trapper instead. I keep it razor sharp and it looks like real cutlery so that it doesn't turn heads. I do however always get a cofused reaction when I refuse the offer of a crappy serrated knife from the waiter.
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Boom! Lightbulb moment right there, haha. I might have to start doing that. Nothing worse than using a dull steak knife on a $20 steak. I'd probably use my mini Ritter personally, even knowing I'd get some strange looks.

I don't mind serrated steak knives as long as they're sharp. It won't shred the steak horribly, but a dull serrated knife will destroy it. I have a set of serrated steak knives at home, but I keep them in shape. I do prefer a plain edge, though.
 
Been pondering this myself lately. My 2 pesos worth....they do have their place, especially in a restaurant. I can't imagine the liability of having super sharp knives at every table. Never in my life seen a sharp knife in a restaurant. Not even remotely sharp. But even at home....as a knife maker, I find they (serrated) are appreciated, especially for my wife. I'll tell you that when I cut my steak at home, it is done with an extremely sharp hand made knife. But our plates are ceramic....this brings problems to the table (did I just say that? no pun intended), namely edge being dulled by the plate (not the steak, of course). I've gotten into the habit of lifting my steak, cutting in in half, then placing one half on top of the other and using the 2nd half as a "cutting board", repeat until steak is gobbled up. My wife....I give her the Spyderco kitchen knife, serrated, and don't worry about it. It stays plenty sharp, and I'll touch it up once a year or so.
 
samuraistuart said:
Been pondering this myself lately. My 2 pesos worth....they do have their place, especially in a restaurant. I can't imagine the liability of having super sharp knives at every table. Never in my life seen a sharp knife in a restaurant. Not even remotely sharp. But even at home....as a knife maker, I find they (serrated) are appreciated, especially for my wife. I'll tell you that when I cut my steak at home, it is done with an extremely sharp hand made knife. But our plates are ceramic....this brings problems to the table (did I just say that? no pun intended), namely edge being dulled by the plate (not the steak, of course). I've gotten into the habit of lifting my steak, cutting in in half, then placing one half on top of the other and using the 2nd half as a "cutting board", repeat until steak is gobbled up. My wife....I give her the Spyderco kitchen knife, serrated, and don't worry about it. It stays plenty sharp, and I'll touch it up once a year or so.
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Exactly.
At home I use a plate liner to keep the edge to solve the dulling problem, or just resharpen afterwards.
Ever notice in some fine dining establishments that your steak comes to you sliced?
That's because they're allowing it to rest and slicing in regard to the grain of the meat.
Yes, they know that most of us won't get it exactly right at the table with supplied hardware, and they really want to give us the best experience possible with the product they're putting in front of us.
If they're not, do yourself a favor and throw your hard earned dollars at a place that cares.
 
samuraistuart said:
Been pondering this myself lately. My 2 pesos worth....they do have their place, especially in a restaurant. I can't imagine the liability of having super sharp knives at every table. Never in my life seen a sharp knife in a restaurant. Not even remotely sharp. But even at home....as a knife maker, I find they (serrated) are appreciated, especially for my wife. I'll tell you that when I cut my steak at home, it is done with an extremely sharp hand made knife. But our plates are ceramic....this brings problems to the table (did I just say that? no pun intended), namely edge being dulled by the plate (not the steak, of course). I've gotten into the habit of lifting my steak, cutting in in half, then placing one half on top of the other and using the 2nd half as a "cutting board", repeat until steak is gobbled up. My wife....I give her the Spyderco kitchen knife, serrated, and don't worry about it. It stays plenty sharp, and I'll touch it up once a year or so.
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If you are eating at home, you should look into eating on a wooden plate or small cutting board. It looks fantastic on the table and you keep your sharp edge. For me, I got an affordable knife with decent steel so I have no problem to just use it on the ceramic plates without worry and touch it up later. The steak comes first, knife second.
 
Steak knives are great. I don't use my own knife in a restaurant. I don't bring chopsticks, beer steins, napkins, gravy boats or urinals either. Maybe some day
 
I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that steak knives are one of the number one knives used for stabbing our fellow men as well.

As for the question of sharp vs dull serrated steak knives? I don't know, does shredding the steak with said dull steak knife tenderize the meat? To be honest I have never used my pocket knife for cutting steak. I usually just use the supplied steak knives. This means I have no idea what is better to use. I would hypothesize that I wouldn't be able to taste enough difference.

Also it is better than the non serrated but totally dull steak knives I get at some restaurants.
 
When I'm at home, I put my steak on a wooden plank and cut it with a non-serrated (and very sharp) knife. I'm not offended if I am given a serrated knife at a restaurant unless it's not cutting well.

- Chris
 
I am wondering if I should get a set of serrated steak knives for home. I have a set of decent lionsteel steak knives non serrated (made a thread about that a bit ago). Thanks for everyone's thoughts!
 
I'm sure someone could make a nice thin steak knife out of O7 or CruV at 60++ RC that would stand up STRONG to a ceramic plate...........I've got an O7 pairing knife thats proof it could happen......

I bought a 2 sets of Boker Arbolito steak knives (30-40 for 4 in a set), over a decade ago. They are excellent slicers but need to sharpen almost monthly during steak season (Spring-Fall). Something nicer would get them donated to goodwill in a heartbeat.
 
My dad uses an old serrated steak knife for almost every cutting or slicing task in the kitchen and dinner table. Looking at them, I realized they work for him because they are both serrated and quite thin. If they were missing either one of those qualities, he might as well be using a butter knife.

I made him a really nice petty or kitchen utility knife as a gift last Christmas, basically in the shape of a slightly oversized steak knife, made sure it was razor sharp but also tough, and useable on plates. He told me he doesn't use it much because it's too sharp. :(
 
I have a set of Hawaiian Koa plates from the 1950's that we use and have Steak/dinner knives that we use, plain edge of course! Serrated knives are for bread or steak that I won't eat cause it's too tough.
 
Wooden plates crossed my mind, and after hearing that some of you use them, may have to invest in a couple nice ones, or better yet....make my own! Thanks for the tip!
 
My only serrated kitchen knife is a Spyderco utility knife that works very well on steak and everything really. Well, I also have a serrated bread knife but that doesn't cut anything but bread.

My "steak" knives as there were are cheap Pampered Chef steak knives that are really really dull. The only reason they cut anything is that they are very thin. I've never had good luck trying to sharpen them. I think if a knife isn't sharp, the serrations at least let you cut the meat up. It does saw more then cut, however.

When I'm cooking steak at home I usually cut it (after resting) in the kitchen on a board and present it already sliced on a platter. For this I use my chef's knife. But its not like I have dinner parties. Its just me and my wife and if our son is home maybe him.
 
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