A steak knife is a sharp

table knife A table knife is an item of cutlery with a single cutting edge, and a blunt end – part of a table setting. Table knives are typically of moderate sharpness only, designed to cut prepared and cooked food. History In early periods in the Wes ...

designed to efficiently and effectively cut

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, ...

.Popular Mechanics: The Secret History of Steak Knives
/ref> This type of knife comes in a variety of styles and sizes; however, the design often used in a

steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse refers to a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops, found mainly in North America. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as ...

typically features a partially

serrated blade A serrated blade is a type of blade used on saws and on some knives or scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each oth ...

and

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

handle.

American style

Specialized steak knives emerged in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, all table knives were sharp, but required frequent upkeep—sharpening and polishing. With the decline in numbers of domestic workers, this upkeep became less feasible.

Stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

became widespread following World War I. This did not require polishing, but did require sharpening due to manufacturing limits. After World War II, serrated stainless steel steak knives which required neither polishing nor frequent sharpening, were commercially successful. In the 1950s

heat treatment Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is metallurgical. Heat treatments are also ...

of stainless steel was introduced, allowing knives to remain sufficiently sharp without needing serrations, but by this point serrated steak knives had become well-established and continued to be used.

German style

German style is the classic western steak knife with high-quality stainless steel, full tang blade and western style handles.Are German Knives Better Than Japanese Knives?
/ref>

Japanese style

The Japanese style steak knife called a ''Kiritsuke'' is made with high-quality stainless steel, often

damascus steel Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterized by ...

, a non-serrated straight edge blade, full-tang and a traditional

pakka wood Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, or veneers or boards of woo ...

round or hexagonal handle.

Other countries

In Medieval Europe, a sharp knife and hands were the only eating utensils, and portable sharp knives continue to be used to this day in rural Europe, as in the

Laguiole knife The Laguiole knife (, locally ) is a traditional Occitan pocketknife, originally produced in the "knife city" of Thiers, source of 70% of France's cutting tool production, as well as the small village of Laguiole, both located in the Massif cen ...

in France. By contrast, in most of Asia and Africa, knives have long been a utensil used only in the kitchen (meat either being cut into pieces or cooked so that it could be pulled apart with the hands); with only hands, spoons, or chopsticks used at the table.

External links

When Did Steak Knives Become Such a Racket?

References