Steaks are a must at parties. People look forward to it, and it is often the dinner's main highlight. At the same time, the behind-the-scenes can be more daunting than you'd expect, especially for inexperienced people who are not kitchen regulars. One of the challenging aspects of preparing steak is getting the right cut.
Difficulty in cutting steak is usually caused by improper cooking or the knives you're using. Suppose you master the right way of cooking, but it's still hard to cut for some reason: it could be because of the knife. Even the lightest, softest, and smallest foods won't be precisely cut with a poor-quality knife. To ensure precision in cutting and time efficiency in the kitchen, we recommend getting a good steak kitchen knife.
The Viking Steakhouse 6-Piece Steak Knife Set Review
If you look up recommended steak cutlery tools, you might come across Viking kitchen knives. Viking Culinary is well-known for its impressive cookware and high-quality traditional steakhouse knives, so you can say they're pretty popular. Below, we listed down the attributes of the Viking steak knives to help you make a purchase decision.
Blade Material: High Carbon German Steel
This Viking knife is made of high carbon German stainless steel, known for its robust and durable properties. It is heavier and thicker than other knife steels, making it an ideal tool to slice through meat and bones. In addition, German steel contains chromium and has a Rockwell hardness of 56–58—the perfect choice for rust and corrosion-resistant blades.
You don't have to worry about the knife chipping or breaking, and you can focus solely on making perfect steak cuts. However, compared to Japanese steel, German steel requires more honing and sharpening. This is because German steel loses a sharp edge faster than the steel used for Japanese knives. Still, sharpening won't be difficult because it is softer overall.
Handle Material: Red Pakkawood
Undoubtedly, the Viking chef knife has a gorgeously made handle. It has an elegant shade of red with a unique pattern—this is what most knives made of Pakkawood look like. Pakkawood is not your ordinary wood; it's a material engineered with phenolic thermoset resins or dyes and it is known for its exceptional durability and water resistance.
Due to these qualities, Pakkawood makes a better material for knife handles than other natural types of wood. With such a strong and beautiful knife in the kitchen, your steaks won’t be the only thing your guests will gush over.
Construction: Partially Serrated, Full Tang With Bolster
These Viking knives come with partially serrated blades, which makes them multi-purpose. The serrated part of the blade closer to the tip is perfect for cutting through food with a hard exterior. On the other hand, the plain edge blade located at the base of the knife can do other cutting or slicing tasks.
Additionally, these knives are designed with a full tang and bolster construction. Full tang knives can withstand heavy cutting and slicing tasks since the handle is securely connected to the blade. The bolster, a thick joint between the blade and handle, adds strength, balance, and security to the knife. With this construction, there’s less risk of your knife snapping at the bolster.
Downsides
We also enumerated some of the qualities you should watch out for. Sometimes, no matter how good a knife seems, it might still not be the right knife to use for the job at hand.
- These knives don't come with a Viking knife sheath. This set comes with a bamboo storage box instead.
- Some find these knives good enough to use, but not exactly incredible.
- Although Viking claims it’s dishwasher-safe, remember that knives like these are strictly for hand washing only. Using it in the dishwasher might cause the development of rusty spots on the blade.
- The box doesn't have enough extra space to store the knives in, so you might not be able to close the lid easily.
- Some users find that the plain edge part of the blade dull.
- Viking knives are thicker and heavier than most competitors, so they might not suit your preferences.
- The pricing is higher than other competitor knife sets.
Conclusion
Viking knives are still worth recommending due to their qualities that make slicing steak easy. With careful use and proper maintenance, this set can be a reliable kitchen tool that lasts for a long time. However, before making any purchasing decision, make sure you look into the details closely to know if it's the one you're looking for. We hope this review gives you valuable insight on what makes a good choice for steak knives!