Customer Reviews

J.A. Henckels S.O.S. High Carbon Stainless Steel Steak Knives, Set of 4

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not kind to my steak knives. My old knives had wood handles, they had to be pampered and washed by hand after use. Yuck. After only three trips through the dishwasher, the finish was fading fast....

I wanted a good cut from a dishwasher safe knife.

Cool thing #1: The 8 J.A. Henkels steak knives I ordered have been washed nearly every day in the dishwasher for about a month now, and they still look great and are as sharp as new.

Cool thing #2: One piece = no seams to get food caught in, or hidden places for rust like the wood handled ones. These get used for prepping veggies, and all sorts of times where a paring knife is needed, without concern of "NOT THE NICE KNIVES!".

Cool thing #3: These are a nice, basic, simple design. It doesn't stick out much, and blends in fairly well with my other (aka basic-looking) silverware.

A perfect "everyday little, sharp kitchen knife".

Note: I'm really glad I got 2 sets of 4...now there's ALWAYS a clean really-sharp knife around.

I selected these knives because I wanted high quality steak knives that are also dishwasher safe. I read somewhere in the description or reviews that they are dishwasher safe. This is important because other people in my household (teenagers and husband) have absolutely no regard for what can, and can not, go into the dishwasher (I've replaced at least two Tupperware ice cream scoops for that very reason - they pit terribly in the dishwasher). I wanted to make sure the knives would live through a few cycles knowing someone in my house would most certainly put them in despite any lecture I may give about them being hand wash only. However, the care instructions in the box say hand washing recommended - no where does it say dishwasher safe. Aside from that, the knives are stylish and sleek but are smaller and lighter than I expected. Doesn't appear to be a problem because they do cut wonderfully and that's what important. Time will tell if they stay sharp and useful but I am quite satisfied with them at this point.

These knives are not only the greatest, but they are also very good looking, you can put them together with your silverware on the table instead of using the wooden handle ones. And no one can't tell they are not part of the set. Plus they actually cut oh so easy.

If you're looking for a cleanly designed knife with a wicked looking blade, these knives are for you.

If you are expecting to use the knives to actually cut steak, look elsewhere. The blades are not particularly sharp - they rely on the sawing action of the serrations. If you don't have firm grip on your fork these knives will just drag your steak around the plate. The knives don't cut, the RIP through the meat. The small serrations quickly become clogged and any semblance of cutting disappears.

My wife has some steak knives she got years ago as a premium for buying a full tank of gasoline... these knives, with a few strokes on a good stone, will cut a 1 inch steak in a single pass - something you could NEVER accomplish with the Henckels.

After much debating and researching steak knives, I went with the Henckels for the quality of the brand and because this style could be functional while looking great on the table alongside nice silverware. The style and cut are just as I expected, but the handles could use a little more substance. I didn't like a lot of the steak knives because the handles were so big and bulky, but these are a little too slender. It's not visible in the pictures, but I would expect the handle width to be slightly thicker and rounded so that it feels better in the hand when you're gripping it to cut. There is no good surface for the index finger to apply pressure and since there is no rounding on the top edges, they aren't as comfortable in the palm. As a comparison, my regular knives are 3/8" wide and slightly rounded on the edges, while these are less than 1/4" wide.

That said, I'm not sure there is a better option that fits the look and quality I wanted, so they get 4 stars and my recommendation.

I love the angle of the blade and the elegance of the "neck" of the blade. This is one piece of metal per knife. The crisp line between the handle and neck is real, not illusion, but it's not a joint either -- it's protruding, not recessed. These are extremely sharp! Watch your fingers. I think these look great as steak knives along with silverware such as "J.A. Henckels 45pc Bellasera Flatware Set" which has a similar angle to the main axis of the blades.

EDIT: I bought a second set, from the same Amazon webpage, confirmed by purchase history, manually locating my review on the associated reviews page, and by having to edit this review, not being able to leave a new review. I establish this so firmly because the second set is not the same as the first! (I'll describe the difference in the next paragraph.) I don't know if this difference is the fault of Amazon mixing up model numbers or if Henckels quality control for different production facilities of the same model is different, but it's NOT a very subtle difference and it's disappointing. I know someone else who got a set around the same time as I got my second set, and his is the same design as my second set, so I believe the style of my second set is the one you will probably receive. Inconsistency of style is why this review has dropped from 5 stars to 4 stars. Normally that would cause a drop down to 1 or 2 stars, but these are just such darn nice knives that I suspect there is a model number difference and Amazon is at fault rather than manufacturing inconsistency.

The second set is high-quality craftsmanship just like the first and identical upon cursory inspection except that the second set has a rounded tip. The tip is not as rounded as a butter knife, but it is distinctly rounded when compared to the first set. The tip of the first set is nearly a perfect triangle which is still pictured on the product page as of 24-Nov-2011. Both sets are elegant and well-balanced but the wicked throwing knife look of the first set is replaced by a stylish but domestic look in the second set due to the rounded tip, which may improve or ruin the charm of this knife, depending on who you are.

Other thoughts, having used them for quite some while now:
I should mention that the elegance of form will probably have the negative side-effect of not fitting nicely in ham-fisted grips, by which I mean the grip of a large hand that lacks dexterity.

One factor in that is the slightly small size. (The knife is more dense than usual plastic- or wood-handled steak knives, and is as heavy or heavier overall, and has a solid, strong, quality feel but some may incorrectly assess the knife as being light due to the slightly small size in a large hand.

Another factor is the long choil (unsharpened blade where it meets the handle) which is fine for someone with reasonable dexterity, adult or kid so long as he/she is old enough to use a steak knife at all, but it doesn't offer much finger placement for the clumsy.

The cutting action is by shallow serration, so it's like a cross between a serrated and non-serrated blade, and I think it's a wonderful balance. In my view, serrated blades will saw through tough cuts of meat with less hassle than non-serrated blades, and non-serrated blades will glide like butter through good cuts of meat with less hassle than serrated blades. I prefer serrated because I'd like to cut down on the hassle of the more hassling cut of meat rather than pretend I'm always going to buy and cook perfect cuts of meat perfectly. I think this shallow serration is even better though, offering relative ease with any cut.

In summary, this knife is top-notch or merely decent, depending on who you are, and depending on which version you receive.

Now these are some serious steak knives. Your dinner guests will be so envious. The design is very sleek - one piece of stainless steel with curvy edges so no bits of goo get stuck (I had the wooden handle steak knives - always seems like they are not as sanitary). These knives are very heavy and balance, but not the gargantuan klunky ones you get in a typical steak house.

I have had a set of these for many years. I recently bought more because we've been entertaining and are always one short. When I compared the old with the new, I was surprised to see that there was no difference in sharpness of the blade, even though we have never had then shapened. Remarkable.

When my wife and I were dividing up the marital property, we both wanted these knives. We'd been using, and loving, them for years, so I was excited to see that they were still available for purchase. They cut extremely well, they look cool, they're comfortable to hold, and they're dishwasher safe, which, as others have mentioned, is really unusual in steak knives (I don't know about you, but I don't relish standing in front of the sink, hand-washing sharp blades at the end of a long evening). One reviewer mentioned that the knives are serrated as if that were a bad thing--but in fact it's a good thing because (1) these Henckels serrations are ruthless and make short work of slicing even the toughest of cuts, and (2) you never have to worry about sharpening them. These knives can even be used for paring. The price is a bargain relative to other steak knives, too.

We started with J.A. Henckels International Mansion Steak Knife Set and quickly up graded to Zwilling J.A. Henckels (aka: these S.O.S. knives.) They look almost the same, but there is no comparison: one cuts through thick steak with ease the other doesn't cut at all. I had 8 of these knives thinking I could still use the Mansion knives for large parties, but my guests complain that the Masion knives don't cut, so I just bought 4 more (12 total) of the S.O.S. I have owned the original 8 S.O.S. knives for 3-4 years, only washing them in the dishwasher, and they still look brand new.

These steak knives are beautiful, razor-sharp, and built to last a lifetime. They are each crafted from a single piece of steel; thus there is no way for food particles to lodge in the knife. There is no other knife I would rather use than these Henckels knives.

What else can I say? Highly recommended. RJB.