Apparently all the engineers started working for NASA, and nobody stayed around working the "consumer applicance bit". When I first came to America in 1989, and stepped inside a SEARS appliance store, I was totally in shock. What are these "spiral-type" electric cook-elements I kept asking myself ? These appliances looked and function like 1950 models in Europe ! No smooth cooktops, no SILENT / QUIET dishwashers, no convection wall ovens, no washer and dryer in-one combinations, no front-loading washers. With other words the total appliance DESERT !

Now I am coming to the point. I am building a house right now. All the (european type)applicances I like to have, I have to buy through some major (almost black-market) type deal, because what is mainstream in Europe is NOT mainstream / very hard to come by and is always called GOURMET in the US.

THE SAME is true for cookware (e.g pots and pans, silverware, knives AND Steak knives. Nothing cuts around here :-) except some European designed knives. Apparently, it is very hard to find stainless steal cookware (pots and pans) in the US with tempered glass lids, an itemn that has been standard in Europe for 15 years, why is that ? To get back to the steak knives, we owned these for several years, they are great, fit good to our other Sambonet (Italian styled silverware) and really do cut, without the UGLY woodenhandles and "chromed" plates. I can't even find a decent corkscrew in this country ! This is really pittyful, BUT on the other hand the land and the houses are cheaper :-)

"Come on America", get to work and clean up this mess in your appliance, kitchenware and knive offerings, I know you can do it ! You went to the moon for crying out loud, why can't you design us some decent 21st century style appliances, pots & pans, AND KNIVES ?

Until this day will come I HAVE TO RECOMMEND, brands like BOSCH, Miele, Krups, WMF and these steak knives from Henckels or Zwilling as they are called in my native Germany. There is nothing better in this country in this segment, but these knives. Believe me, I have done the research ! I own 16 of those(you know when friends stop by for some steak dinner) If I were you, buy as many as you can, while they still exist ! Fact: The best beef is in America, that's why I am here too, but I have to cut the american beef with German knives for the time being. :-)

"Form over function"
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.

"1-Piece Dishwasher-safe StainlessSteel w/Henckels on it = A+"
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.