Straight or Serrated? The Best Cheap Steak Knife Set

Steak knives are the one set of knives in the house that everyone uses and nobody looks after. They go in the dishwasher, they get dragged across ceramic plates, and they end up loose in a drawer. That is a good argument for not spending much on them, as long as the set you buy is honest about how it is made and how to care for it.

This guide is for the shopper who wants a sensible, inexpensive set from a maker you have heard of. Our main guide to the best steak knives covers the forged German and Japanese sets; here we look only at budget sets, explain where the savings come from (stamped blades, plastic or composite handles, serrated edges) and which of those savings are worth accepting. None of these knives appear on the main page.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for in a steak knife, the makers’ own specifications, the details on each Amazon listing and published equipment testing, which we cite.

Quick verdict: which cheap steak knife set to buy

Below are the five standouts side by side, all seven sets in detail, and what to look for so a low price does not mean a knife that tears your steak.

Five budget steak knife sets at a glance

Our five standout sets, one for each kind of table, with the knife count, edge and care each maker or listing states. All seven sets are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Edge type and care instructions are as stated by each maker or listing; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best cheap steak knife set

These seven sets come from established knife and cookware makers and cover the choices that matter at this level: straight or serrated edge, four, six or eight knives, and whether they can go in the dishwasher. Each pick explains who it suits, the specifications that matter for steak, and one honest reason to skip it.

Where the savings come from in a budget steak knife

A steak knife set costs less for a handful of reasons, and knowing them helps you choose which ones you can live with.

• Stamped instead of forged blades. A stamped blade is cut from a sheet of steel; a forged one is hammered from a thicker blank. Henckels says its stamped Solution blades are lighter than forged knives, and for a steak knife that only cuts cooked meat, a stamped blade is perfectly adequate.
• Composite or plastic handles. ABS, polypropylene and composite handles cost less than solid hardwood and generally cope with water better. Look for a full tang and rivets, which hold the handle on for longer.
• Serrated edges. Serrations keep cutting long after a straight edge would feel dull, which is why budget sets favor them. The cost is in the cut: America’s Test Kitchen excluded serrated knives from its steak knife testing because they tear meat, and preferred smooth edges that can be resharpened.
• Thinner listings. Budget sets often say less about steel, origin and care. We marked anything missing as not stated rather than guess.

How to choose a steak knife set on a budget

1. Straight edge or serrated

A straight (fine) edge slices cleanly and can be resharpened at home, but needs honing to stay keen. A serrated or scalloped edge needs almost no care but tears more and is hard to resharpen. If you grill good steaks, buy straight edges and a honing steel; if the knives mostly meet pork chops and chicken on busy weeknights, serrated is fine.

2. How many knives you need

Count the people you seat on a normal night, then add two. Eight-piece sets from Henckels, Tramontina and Farberware cover most families with guests; a four-piece set suits a couple and leaves room to buy a better set later.

3. Dishwasher or hand wash

Makers disagree. Henckels and Ginsu call their sets dishwasher safe, KitchenAid allows the top rack, and Farberware says its fine-edge set is not dishwasher safe. Be honest about how your kitchen works, and read the care line before you buy.

4. Handle and weight

A full tang and three rivets are the signs of a handle that will stay put. If you prefer a heavier knife, look for a bolster, as on the Cuisinart set; if you have smaller hands, a slimmer handle like KitchenAid’s will feel better.

5. Warranty

Tramontina’s Pro Series and KitchenAid’s Classic sets mention lifetime warranties in their listings. A clear warranty is a good sign that a maker expects its budget knives to last.

How we chose these seven budget sets

We started with what a steak knife has to do at the table: cut through a grilled crust and cooked meat without tearing it to pieces, sit comfortably in the hand and survive regular washing. We then looked only at sets in stock on Amazon in the United States from established makers, and read each maker’s page or Amazon listing for the blade, edge, construction, handle, care and country of manufacture; Henckels’ own product page supplied the details for the Solution set. We used America’s Test Kitchen’s published steak knife review for the difference between straight and serrated edges. We left out every set already recommended on our best steak knives, best steak knife block set and best knife set guides, including the Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition set that America’s Test Kitchen named its Best Buy. We also left out Victorinox’s inexpensive Swiss Classic steak set, which was back-ordered when we checked, a Rada set (America’s Test Kitchen did not recommend Rada’s utility/steak set), forged sets that sit above a budget, and sellers with no identifiable maker. We checked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database for each brand on this page and found no steak knife recalls. We have not used these knives ourselves; where we describe how an edge behaves, we say whose findings those are.

Cheap steak knife questions, answered

What is the best value steak knife set?

For most families, the Henckels Solution set of eight: eight full-tang knives from an established maker that Henckels says can go in the dishwasher. If you value a straight edge, the Tramontina Pro Series set gives you forged blades and a lifetime warranty at a budget level, according to the listing.

Are inexpensive steak knives worth buying?

Yes, if they come from a known maker and you choose the edge with your eyes open. America’s Test Kitchen found that an inexpensive set could perform almost as well as its top pick, and also found a low-cost set it called flimsy and dull, so the maker and the build matter more than the price.

Is a serrated or straight steak knife better?

Straight edges cut more cleanly and can be resharpened; serrated edges keep working with almost no care but tear more. Most budget sets are serrated, which is why we picked out the Tramontina Pro Series and Farberware fine-edge sets for people who want a straight blade.

Can budget steak knives go in the dishwasher?

Some can. Henckels and Ginsu say their sets are dishwasher safe, KitchenAid allows the top rack, and Farberware says its fine-edge set is not dishwasher safe. Even where it is allowed, hand washing and drying straight away keeps any edge sharper for longer.

How many steak knives should a set have?

Enough for the people you feed on a normal night, plus a couple for guests. Sets of eight suit most families, and the leftover knives are handy for slicing fajitas at the table.

Our final pick for steak night on a budget

Buy the Henckels Solution set of eight if you want one box that seats a family and goes in the dishwasher. Choose the Tramontina Pro Series fine-edge set if you care about clean slices and will hone the blades, and the Tramontina Porterhouse set of eight if you are setting a big table for a carne asada. Whatever you choose, keep the knives out of the cutlery drawer and dry them after washing.

If you would rather spend more on forged blades, our main guide to the best steak knives covers them, and if you want storage too, see the best steak knife block set. A good steak starts in the pan, and our guide to the best cast iron skillet for steak covers that part.

And if you would rather someone else grilled the meat tonight, see the menu or call to order.