Serrated vs. Non-Serrated Steak Knives: Test Results to End the Debate

[@PrudentReviews]

Read my full comparison for more details: prudentreviews.com/serrated-vs-non-serrated-steak-knives/ Want to know when the top steak knife brands go on sale? Join our free newsletter to get deal alerts: prudentreviews.com/newsletter/

[@sheilam4964]

Serrated or non-serrated is a personal choice but I have always preferred non-serrated for these very reasons. Serrated tears and over time dulls. I also do not use a serrated knife to cut bread. Straight edge makes a neater cut for a cleaner presentation, whether it is bread, meat or whatever and is cheaper in the long run because when it dulls, you can sharpen it yourself. Thx for doing this, filming it and sharing it with us. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@ebsalonga]

Hell yes for non-serrated being neater to cut, but only when it’s sharp. It’s a pure joy to cut with a razor sharp edge!

[@tomfosterlan]

Thank you so much, after watching your video I’ve made up my mind and going for a non serrated one !

[@txknitnurse]

Appreciate the recommendation.

[@PrudentReviews]

Happy to help

[@mauriciolacruz]

I fully agree. 👍🏻 The only "advantage" of serrated knives is when you have to cut tendons, but... Who's going to eat a piece of meat full of tendons? In addition, the cutting experience with non-serrated knives (straight edge) is far superior, as the cut is not only cleaner and tear-free, but also faster and smoother. Therefore and consequently, the feeling of using non-serrated knives is not only more effective, but also much more satisfying and enjoyable. And as far as edge wear goes, I NEVER use my knives on metal, ceramic or stone surfaces. I ONLY use them on wooden boards.

[@SteelHex]

There’s a third alternative: a Victorinox steak knife with wide serrations. Each sharp valley is long enough to slice well, while still protected by its peaks from the hard ceramic plate.

[@corpsie-diytools38]

Which version of their steak knife? I looked at the website and they have a lot to choose from.

[@SteelHex]

@@corpsie-diytools38they all have the same type of serrations.

[@mauriciolacruz]

I fully agree. 👍🏻 The only "advantage" of serrated knives is when you have to cut tendons, but... Who's going to eat a piece of meat full of tendons? And as far as edge wear goes, I NEVER use my knives on metal, ceramic or stone surfaces. I ONLY use them on wooden boards.

[@just...A]

I've never liked the serrated knives so I don't have any and don't miss them. Thanks for great reviews.

[@PrudentReviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickbear7249]

It seems that the real question should be, 'What kind of platter should you be using to serve steak to your guests, wood or ceramic?'. For myself, I'm going to have a Google for wooden platters, as they won't dull my knives and because wood has natural antibacterial properties. Also, they'll be a fabulous talking point at the dinner table. Just one small linguistic correction: your straight-edge knives will need to be "honed" rather than " sharpened" due to the dulling effect of the hard ceramic plates bending over their sharp cutting edge. The importance of regularly Honing quality knife blades is something that many appear not to understand. Perhaps it's a subject for another of your excellent videos? That tearing of the meat also interested me. I believe that it may have a significant flavour enhancing advantage. As an example, if you've ever enjoyed a quality version of the classic Pea and Ham Hock soup. You may find that some producers use "torn" or "shredded" pieces of Ham Hock, while others use machine-sliced pieces of Ham Hock. Those with the torn or shredded meat will always have a distinctly better flavour than those with machine-sliced Ham Hock. I believe this is due to the differences in surface area contact between the meat and the broth affecting exchanges of flavours. I'd be interested to run a blind taste test on which of your steaks tasted better, those with the smoothly sliced edge versus those that were torn by the serrated edge steak knife. And finally, as I'm British and you're American, we each cut our food differently. While I will only cut each piece of steak immediately before putting it into my mouth - therefore retaining better heat and allowing less time for the meat juices to run out - as an American, am I correct that you will do all your cutting before setting aside your knife and eating with your fork? Maybe this would make for another fascinating blind taste test video? All the best, Rick

[@PrudentReviews]

Thanks for the response and insights - appreciate the support as always. I see people doing it both ways in the US (cutting as they eat and cutting the entire steak before eating). For the same reasons you mentioned, I always cut my steak as I'm eating it.

[@billmanning8806]

We found and bought wooden plates at an estate sale, $1 per plate. The motivation was my knife sharpening. I cringe when I see knife edges put to ceramic because it dulls them so quickly.

[@AwaitingTheBlessedHope]

Hi Rick, I'm an American. Interesting there’s such a belief that Americans cut their steaks up first before eating. My family, friends and I don't do that, nor have I ever observed other diners doing it when eating out, with the exception of parents who do it for young kids on occasion. That said, some restaurants here serve their steaks already cut into slices, which I personally don’t like and prefer they don’t do that.

[@joseph033]

I typically use serrated cutco table knives and they seem to tear a lot less. Might be because the notches are larger idk 🤷‍♂️ I also use very little force while cutting

[@3catmom844]

Thank you for all the research you do. Another great video!

[@PrudentReviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@Fantasia5417]

You must have been reading my mind because I have a set of serrated steak knives and I was thinking about whether or not I should buy a set of non-serrated knives. Hmmmm...🤔 Thank you for the comparison demonstration. Now, I have a question: Which non-serrated knife (steak & slicing) would you recommend? Thank you!

[@laraoneal7284]

Andrew you are so thorough with ur research. I’m consumed lately doing all this research bc I don’t want to waste anymore money on needed utensils. The next vid I’m going to watch is ur review of Hexclad. Gordon Ramsay calls Hexclad the rolls Royce of pans. I’m not going to buy one until I listen to ur opinion. Ty.

[@alexandersinger9788]

I've only ever used serrated, never even considered this to be honest, but you have me convinced, everything you said about serrated rings true with my experience with them! Do you have a video where you recommend particular non serrated models? Or can you recommend a good brand/model? Currently my knives are all Henckles (4 star line), my steak knives also Henckles though I am not sure the line (they are all steel including handle) but i am open to other brands (just looked on Zwilling-Henckles website and seems all their steak knives are at least partially serrated). If you're planning a video on your recommendations for steak knives I will wait for that with baited breath!

[@PrudentReviews]

There are many brands that work fine but the ones I like are Dalstrong Gladiator (these are the knives in the video), Made In, Zwilling Pro, Victorinox. I’ve linked to all these brands in the video description.

[@davesbackyardchickensandou3905]

Awesome love your channel. You have helped me a lot. I'm in the market for new knives. I do prefer straight edge. I like to sharpen them.

[@PrudentReviews]

Thank you for watching and supporting

[@HoangDinhThang-v8w]

I bought 2 new stainless steel pan, 1 from All clad, and 1 from Tramotina, as i saw, the All Clad has non-stick coating, and the Tramotina doesn't, can you explain why, and is that safe for us?

[@PrudentReviews]

If you bought an All-Clad stainless steel pan and they sent you one with a non-stick coating, you should contact the retailer and exchange it. All-Clad makes some stainless steel pans with a non-stick coating but I don’t recommend them because they are expensive and the coating will eventually fail. If you want non-stick, you’re better off buying one of their aluminum nonstick collections (HA1 or Essentials).

[@HoanginhThang]

⁠​⁠@@PrudentReviews i’m checking the details of All-Clad Copper Core 5-Ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan 10 Inch , and it still has non-stick coating, can you recommend some stainless steel pans without non-stick coating?, thanks a lot.

[@kt3505]

Strait edge are for fancy restaurants for image, serrated for at home and practicality. You really want to sharpen your knife after each use to keep that fine edge, go hard. A good serrated knife is also way different than a cheap one. Yukon Denali 1500 vs W/T 1500 does the same thing one just with perfume and make up.

[@ruesterjones1332]

Can someone tell me how to write this site? I would like to know about the Ninja neverstik line. Are there any reviews on this brand?

[@PrudentReviews]

Hi - the best way to reach us is [e-mail]. But to answer your question, we haven't published a dedicated review of Ninja NeverStick yet but we have tested it and you can learn more about it here: prudentreviews.com/hexclad-vs-ninja/

[@ruesterjones1332]

Upon reading it seems that Ninja never stick uses dangerous coating . Is it safe to say I should avoid this brand?

[@billmanning8806]

Much better than serrated knives, to keep the person who sharpens your knives happy, I recommend straight blade knives. 🙂

[@gilltim5711]

Nice job.

[@PrudentReviews]

Thanks!

[@haines96]

Interesting. This review has a lot of emphasis on how it looks but does in make a difference in the flavor? Also you mentioned release of juices but I'm not sure if you actually compared that in a controlled fashion or just an assumption or mention. However your comments about the ease of cutting might be important to users.

[@PrudentReviews]

Valid points. I cut the same steaks with both knives (opposite ends) so I could get a fair comparison of how they cut. Unfortunately, that made it difficult to get a clean read on juice retention - the first cut released the most juice regardless of the knife. But in my experience cutting many steaks over the years, non-serrated knives cause less juice to release because they slice more cleanly. Regarding flavor, the mouthfeel of the cleaner slices tastes better to me, and since they are usually more juicy, the flavor is better. I'd like to hear if others agree.

[@haines96]

@@PrudentReviews thanks... I really appreciate your reviews!

[@wolfpackpete6408]

Traditional serrated steak knives are too jagged. Try the miracle blade steak knives. They have less aggressive serrated points. They slice through meat with minimal pressure without ripping or tearing. It's like in woodworking. A rip saw would be far too aggressive for crosscuts and make a real mess of the wood.

[@eliottwiener6533]

Eat on a wooden cutting board to mitigate dulling of the knife.

[@lowercaseWILL]

There’s really no need to do the sawing action with the non serrated blade; a longer cutting stroke will also provide longevity for the knife edge. If you really want to get technical, the sharpening angle degree of the blade can and will play a role as well. Then again, some people use knifes to cut waffles and pancakes…

[@simplygame5530]

Straight edge if u need expensive knife. Serrated knives are great for other stuff along with steak. They saw through even when they are a bit dull. Expensive serrated knives are painful to sharpen and expensive straight edge knives will have better edge retention if its made well.

[@candissdelcastillo7863]

Helpful

[@devonogrady6403]

Looks like I need some new knives

[@Bobby-ei7xp]

You made the filet mignon completely different for the serrated knife. If you are going to compare then compare on the very same piece of meat bot cook a different piece and do one rare and the othe welldone.

[@paisteplayer1040]

Non all day. As long as it a good sharp knife

[@KitaBooBear]

Fruit or Vein

[@ronwatson4902]

Thanks. I just bought serrated knives. Oops! Work ok on baloney.

[@PrudentReviews]

They'll be fine :)

[@stevewardlaw]

Who taught you to use a knife? You’re cutting like The Grinch slicing roast beef… put a finger on the top of the knife for proper force and pressure. Also - the serrated knife means the steak is juicier when it hits what matters: the mouth/tongue. If the purpose was just to make the cleanest cut we would all be using Hanzo steel.

[@PrudentReviews]

This made me laugh, thank you

[@powerai]

the ceramic plate will kill any plain edge knife. First mistake

[@blueline308]

Who gives a fuck? Just eat the steak.