"Tactical" steak knife for under $8

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bluelair

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Sep 5, 2009
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I'm looking for a knife for the table for cutting meats. One might say "Steak Knife", but I've found the category to be filled with some very questionable blades, some of which could not keep up with a grapefruit spoon in cutting performance. Even the Cold Steel steak knives, which I'm sure are great when new seemed to be made of very soft steel, and I worry they will not last me.

What I'm looking for may not necessarily be marketed as a "Steak Knife" to fulfill this role. It could be a kitchen utility knife, or hunting or camp knife. For example, one in the running is the Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter. It's a little expensive since I need 8, but I'm sure it would perform. I don't care much if it looks like a table knife, I could live with a FRN or micarta handle, or metal handle as well.

If Spyderco made a tactical fixed steak knife along the lines of the Tenacious, that would probably what I'd want. Even better yet, if Byrd did it.

If I could design my own, it would be:
  • VG-10 (or realistically 440C, AUS-8, 6 or Chinese equivalent steel) blade,
  • flat ground, a-la Spyderco with either plain edge or some Spyderco-like serrations that can actually be re-sharpened and hold an edge and be resharpened from time to time.
  • Relatively thin-bladed, durable and dishwasher safe (I would always plan to hand wash it along with my other knives, but with the realities of a wife and kids and sometimes relatives helping with cleanup, I could not guarantee it would never find its way into a dishwasher.)

I saw the TOPS Tactical Steak knife concept and I think that's really cool. (I'm not 100% sure they're serious however, did anyone really pay $600 for 8 steak knives??) However, I would be perfectly happy with a decent Chinese steel as found in the lower-end hunting and tactical folders.
 
If you are planning to use this knife to cut food on a plate than you might want to look at a serrated blade. No edge is going to stand up to that kind of abuse.
 
I bought a CS Canadian Belt Knife for ~$6.

Kinda light, but it makes for a very good knife for that price range, and I have tested it on a few filets & chicken when I first bought it. Holds it's edge if you strop it every once in a while.
 
tabeeb762 said:
If you are planning to use this knife to cut food on a plate than you might want to look at a serrated blade. No edge is going to stand up to that kind of abuse.
Click to expand...

I'm a paper-wheel guy, I'm perfectly willing to resharpen. I'm open to serrated as well, as long as it's the kind that can be sharpened. Lots of serrated steak knives have edges more like saws than knives.
 
It's very important to have a tactical steak knife. You never know when your steak will turn on you and you'll have to be ready to fight for your dinner. Friend of mine almost had is arm broken when a T-Bone kicked his ass. Lucky he had his tactical steak knife handy.

In all seriousness, there are actually a couple of companies that are making excellent, high end steak knives. However, there's no way you're going to get them, especially in high end steels like VG-10, for $8. Be prepared to pay premiums knife prices for that.

In fact, a quick search at A.G. Russell turns up a few of their available options, including VG-10 steak knives (~$60 each, or ~$300 for a set of 6). They also have a few options for a folding steak knife, if you want something more portable. Each of these has plain edged blades, as the highest-end steak knives tend towards.
AGKDM-5S.jpg

However, you need to take into consideration how you're going to use your knife. If you intend to cut your steak regularly on ceramic, glass, or similar plates, then a plain edge knife will dull rapidly, and you'd be much better off with a serrated knife. It's because of where people typically cut meat that most steak knives are serrated. If you intend to use a high-end, plain edge steak knife, I'd highly recommend getting some wooden plates or use small to mid-sized cutting boards as your plates for steak. Your knife will thank you.

Now, if you aren't interested in spending $50+ on your steak knife, and you want something closer to the $8 range, I can't think of a better option than a Mora in stainless steel.

You can get them with wood handles:
classic-mora.jpg

Or with plastic handles:
frosts.jpg

Either way, they can be had in the $10-$15, feature thin blades, take a good edge, and work well as utility or steak knives.
 
Mora was on my short list as well, but I'm really liking the other recommendations too. VG-10 was my wish list, ideally on a Spyderco design. I still think that would be killer, a full serrated Spyderco steak knife in VG-10. I would snap that up.

Surprised no one has mentioned Kershaw's steak knives. They used to make a pretty respectable kitchen knife line out of ATS-34 way back when. AUS-6 on these:
http://www.knivestown.com/kershaw_knives/kershaw_kitchen_knives_100360.asp

At the $8-10 price point, realistically, I completely agree with you. I would be very happy with a cheaper steel that was a step up from typical Steak Knife steel.
 
My kitchen knives are a three blade set of Tramontina high carbon stainless kitchen knives. Take a good edge, hold it for a reasonably good time, and take a fair amount of kitchen sink beatings. Might not be your average "steak knife" design, but it has taken care of deer meat pretty well, as well as steaks, chops etc.

Can't find any pics, but I picked them up at Walmart. Red plastic handles, one santoku, one tomato knife/apple peeler and one basic 4" blade.
 
topher said:
If you intend to cut your steak regularly on ceramic, glass, or similar plates, then a plain edge knife will dull rapidly, and you'd be much better off with a serrated knife.
.....
I'd highly recommend getting some wooden plates or use small to mid-sized cutting boards as your plates for steak. Your knife will thank you.
Click to expand...

+1

My second thought (the first was to snicker and try to come up with an original joke) was to change the plate and not the knife. I have yet to find any knife that will hold an edge while cutting on ceramic. After all there are a lot of people that use this same material (ceramic) to hone their edges!
 
On a side note, in one of the edge pro videos I watched a while back, Ben recommended getting a paring knife and taking the ceramic that comes with the EP and dragging it across the edge. He stated that it makes a fantastic steak knife.
 
tabeeb762 said:
If you are planning to use this knife to cut food on a plate than you might want to look at a serrated blade. No edge is going to stand up to that kind of abuse.
Click to expand...

I have a cheap little grocery store 'paring knife' (non-serrated) that I decided to put a more acute edge on a while back. I used a guided sharpener (Lansky) to do it. I noticed something interesting when I fell into the habit of using this knife to cut my steak/chicken/etc on my stoneware plates. It didn't dull anywhere nearly as fast as I expected it to. The bonus of using an extremely sharp blade to cut meat is, you don't have to 'lean into it' nearly as hard as you would with a mediocre edge (which has a much shorter trip from mediocre to truly DULL). Assuming your steak isn't as tough as a boot-sole, a very sharp, plain-edged knife will go through it like it was a stick of warm butter. Most of the 'consumer grade' serrated steak knives that folks use are more 'steak rippers' than true slicers. And they get 'dull' too. I'll never use a serrated blade to cut a steak again, if I have a choice.

Another thing I noticed. More often than not, only a very small portion of the blade edge (mostly the tip and/or the curved portion just behind the tip) will ever touch the plate when cutting. Assuming, of course, that most folks angle the blade tip slightly down, into the meat, when cutting. Assuming your steak's very thick at all, most of the slicing will be done by the portion of the blade that's behind the curved part of the edge, and above the plate's surface.

As has been mentioned previously, some of us don't mind occasionally refreshing the edges on our knives (in fact, a lot of us enjoy it :)). An acute, very sharp plain edge is much easier to maintain with just a few light passes on a strop occasionally.

Edited to add:
By the way, I've also found the main clip blade on my Case large stockman (reprofiled very acute, like my paring knife) to be an excellent 'folding steak knife', for all the same reasons. Fantastic slicer.
 
Last edited:
Heiheit said:
On a side note, in one of the edge pro videos I watched a while back, Ben recommended getting a paring knife and taking the ceramic that comes with the EP and dragging it across the edge. He stated that it makes a fantastic steak knife.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:
It does. Funny thing, I read your post just a few seconds after posting a very similar sentiment.
 
Wharncliff blades make excellent steak knives. The edge never comes in contact with the ceramic plate. For steak, sometimes I use a Spyderco Ronin. Sometimes I use a Mora that I ground into a wharncliff.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I have a cheap little grocery store 'paring knife' (non-serrated) that I decided to put a more acute edge on a while back. I used a guided sharpener (Lansky) to do it. I noticed something interesting when I fell into the habit of using this knife to cut my steak/chicken/etc on my stoneware plates. It didn't dull anywhere nearly as fast as I expected it to. The bonus of using an extremely sharp blade to cut meat is, you don't have to 'lean into it' nearly as hard as you would with a mediocre edge (which has a much shorter trip from mediocre to truly DULL). Assuming your steak isn't as tough as a boot-sole, a very sharp, plain-edged knife will go through it like it was a stick of warm butter. Most of the 'consumer grade' serrated steak knives that folks use are more 'steak rippers' than true slicers. And they get 'dull' too. I'll never use a serrated blade to cut a steak again, if I have a choice.

Another thing I noticed. More often than not, only a very small portion of the blade edge (mostly the tip and/or the curved portion just behind the tip) will ever touch the plate when cutting. Assuming, of course, that most folks angle the blade tip slightly down, into the meat, when cutting. Assuming your steak's very thick at all, most of the slicing will be done by the portion of the blade that's behind the curved part of the edge, and above the plate's surface.

As has been mentioned previously, some of us don't mind occasionally refreshing the edges on our knives (in fact, a lot of us enjoy it :)). An acute, very sharp plain edge is much easier to maintain with just a few light passes on a strop occasionally.

Edited to add:
By the way, I've also found the main clip blade on my Case large stockman (reprofiled very acute, like my paring knife) to be an excellent 'folding steak knife', for all the same reasons. Fantastic slicer.
Click to expand...

Some time ago I got two dozen Tramontina kitchen knives. A mix of 3" paring and 5" slicer with wood handles. Paid less than €2 each.

From the factory they come with a secondary single bevel. I took the edge down with a file and finished with a 320grit diamond.
When tested on wood and cardboard they performed surprisingly well. Edge loss was barely noticeable, and still shaved

The sharpness level goes down drastically the first time edge meets ceramic, but stays sharp enough to 'cut' for a week. If I tried to slice paper it would fail, but it still cuts because the blade is thin. Base of the blade is never used and stays sharp much longer.

I try to take care of the edge and cut lightly and carefully. Cutting diagonally helps too.
I can't say the same for the rest of my family. Banging on other knives in the drawer, hard edge to plate contact, thrown in the sink, etc.

At the end of a week these knives are so bad they need to be filed down. No chips or anything, just a horribly flat edge.
As of now, they've lost a lot of steel, and will be mere toothpicks in a few months, much quicker if I had used a powered sharpener. I enjoy sharpening a lot, but not when it becomes another weekly chore.

The Tramontinas are a great option if you still want a plain edge. I prefer the longer slicers.

My main restaurant knife is an Okapi, and sometimes a Sodbuster or Opinel. I haven't had to sharpen it beyond simple touch ups. The best tactic to use is to cut meat diagonally at a low angle, and hit the thick bevel instead of the edge.
 
topher said:
However, you need to take into consideration how you're going to use your knife. If you intend to cut your steak regularly on ceramic, glass, or similar plates, then a plain edge knife will dull rapidly, and you'd be much better off with a serrated knife. It's because of where people typically cut meat that most steak knives are serrated. If you intend to use a high-end, plain edge steak knife, I'd highly recommend getting some wooden plates or use small to mid-sized cutting boards as your plates for steak. Your knife will thank you.
Click to expand...

Perhaps this isn't a fact that is as widely known as I'd thought - but wood (or bone) in a dishwasher is a bad combination. Avoid wooden plates and knives with wood or bone handles if they are going to be put in a dishwasher. The dishwasher wont destroy the wood on the first wash, but after a few washes you will find that the wood starts splitting & cracking as the wood gets aggressively dried out.

topher said:
Now, if you aren't interested in spending $50+ on your steak knife, and you want something closer to the $8 range, I can't think of a better option than a Mora in stainless steel.
You can get them with wood handles
Or with plastic handles
Either way, they can be had in the $10-$15, feature thin blades, take a good edge, and work well as utility or steak knives.
Click to expand...

For the knives as I mentioned the wood handles are not going to fare well in the dishwasher, but the plastic handled Mora knives would work quite well. I've used my stainless clipper as a steak knife before and it sliced the meat quite nicely.

Obsessed with Edges said:
I have a cheap little grocery store 'paring knife' (non-serrated) that I decided to put a more acute edge on a while back. I used a guided sharpener (Lansky) to do it. I noticed something interesting when I fell into the habit of using this knife to cut my steak/chicken/etc on my stoneware plates. It didn't dull anywhere nearly as fast as I expected it to. The bonus of using an extremely sharp blade to cut meat is, you don't have to 'lean into it' nearly as hard as you would with a mediocre edge (which has a much shorter trip from mediocre to truly DULL). Assuming your steak isn't as tough as a boot-sole, a very sharp, plain-edged knife will go through it like it was a stick of warm butter. Most of the 'consumer grade' serrated steak knives that folks use are more 'steak rippers' than true slicers. And they get 'dull' too. I'll never use a serrated blade to cut a steak again, if I have a choice.

Another thing I noticed. More often than not, only a very small portion of the blade edge (mostly the tip and/or the curved portion just behind the tip) will ever touch the plate when cutting. Assuming, of course, that most folks angle the blade tip slightly down, into the meat, when cutting. Assuming your steak's very thick at all, most of the slicing will be done by the portion of the blade that's behind the curved part of the edge, and above the plate's surface.

As has been mentioned previously, some of us don't mind occasionally refreshing the edges on our knives (in fact, a lot of us enjoy it :)). An acute, very sharp plain edge is much easier to maintain with just a few light passes on a strop occasionally.

Edited to add:
By the way, I've also found the main clip blade on my Case large stockman (reprofiled very acute, like my paring knife) to be an excellent 'folding steak knife', for all the same reasons. Fantastic slicer.
Click to expand...

I like to trim the posts I quote to only leave what is relevant - but everything OwE posted here I 100% agree with. I have also sharpened up a couple of paring knives to use as steak knives instead of the steak tearing tools others in the house use. I also have my own personal folding steak knives - my Opinel #8 stainless with walnut handle is one of my favourite - but it has never been (and will never be) inside the dishwasher. I have also used my Ontario RAT-1 - with it's full flat grind and super sharp AUS-8 steel it works pretty good as a steak slicer.

Standard serrated steak knives - great steak tearing tools when new, but mediocre steak tearing performance after a while as they get dull. A good plain edge knife will be a poor steak slicer if dull, but better (by a long way) than the serrated blades if nice & sharp. After a couple of years of use the plain edge blade can still be kept nice & sharp and working as well as when first used - the serrated blades (well, most anyway) were never designed to be resharpened and will just get worse and worse over time.

My suggestion to the OP would be to go with OwE's suggestion of buying some reasonable paring knives and putting better edges on them - they should work well as steak slicers and will be dishwasher safe. My paring knives are now convexed and very sharp.
 
I couldn't remember the name of the knife, but when I was at a show I got a friction folder from the Crawfords for a pretty reasonable price designed specifically for when you're eating somewhere and they offer you a dull knife. The blade is slightly curved like a hawkbill so that the edge (besides the tip) never touches the plate, which is almost always glazed ceramic.

I found a picture online, however: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/2-pat-crawford-custom-knives-factory-made
 
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