Steak Knives & Carving Sets

Your guide to Steak Knives & Carving Sets

Three makers, three traditions

Forge de Laguiole make theirs in the village of Laguiole in southern France. Laguiole describes a style of knife as much as a place, and a good deal of what carries the name is made a long way from the Aubrac — Forge de Laguiole is one of the makers still working in the village, by hand. Theirs are the knives with the natural handles.

sknife are Swiss-made and the plainest of the three: no ornament, just surgical-grade steel and an edge that holds. These are knives for people who care more about how it cuts than how it looks.

Robbe & Berking are the German silversmiths whose cutlery you’ll find elsewhere on this site. Their grill and steak sets come in the same patterns as their canteens, so if you already own Robbe & Berking, these are the pieces that match.

Choosing a handle

Horn and deer antler are the traditional choices and the most individual — each handle is cut from a different piece, so colour and figure vary and no two knives in a set are identical. Olivewood, juniper and thuya burl are warmer and more uniform, and darken a little over the years. Black acrylic is the practical choice: consistent, hard-wearing and the easiest to live with if the knives are used often.

How many

Two suits a couple. Six is the usual choice for a dining table, and the cost per knife falls as the set grows. Most sets arrive in a fitted box, which makes them straightforward to give as a present and somewhere sensible to keep them afterwards.

Looking after them

Natural handles — horn, antler and wood — should be washed by hand and dried straight away. A dishwasher will dry them out and lift the finish over time. Stainless and acrylic handles are more forgiving, but check the individual product page before putting anything in the machine.Free UK delivery on orders over £50.