The Best Flatware Sets

Elegant but not flashy,” this “all-around good set” was popular with all testers. The handles have a brushed satin finish, while the utensils’ heads are shiny. The tines of the forks (especially the dinner fork) are long, and the bowls of the spoons are elongated, giving the set a sleek look. Although it was one of the heaviest sets in our lineup, the utensils were well-balanced and the gently curved handles felt secure in our hands.

The “sleek,” “sophisticated” appearance of the long, narrow fork tines and the elongated spoon bowls appealed to our testers. The utensils were among the heaviest in our lineup and very well-balanced, so they were very pleasant to handle. The slight curve on the teardrop-shaped handles was enough to help guide our hands to a comfortable position and hold them securely. This setting is also available in a five-piece set, and Crate and Barrel sells a large number of matching serving pieces.

The wide, teardrop-shaped handles have a small but useful design feature: a channel that helped testers form an easy, comfortable grip. The dinner fork is quite large, and the utensils were the heaviest in our lineup. The teaspoon, however, was relatively small. A few people found the set a little tiring to use, but most liked the substantial weight. The utensils are fairly well-balanced, and testers were impressed that the knives “cut right through” steak. It’s made from 18/0 stainless steel, which may not hold up as well over time as sets made from 18/10 stainless steel.

Simple and classic, this set feels sturdy and solid despite being several ounces lighter than our other favorites. It was particularly noticeable with the knife, which has a hollow handle and therefore is considerably lighter than most others in the lineup. The bowls of the spoons are more oval and slightly pointed, and the teaspoon was a bit small compared with the rest of the set. You can also purchase this setting à la carte and in larger sets.

The salad fork and teaspoon are a bit smaller than those of our other top scorers, and the overall weight of the set is a bit lighter. The utensils were comfortable to handle, though testers noted that the exaggerated curve on the dinner spoon’s handle made that utensil feel a little unbalanced and top-heavy. We had one real criticism about the knife: It has no serrations, so we struggled to slice steak with it, though it works fine for spreading butter on toast or slicing softer dense foods. A number of matching serving utensils are available.

Lightweight, with very slim handles, this set stood out from the rest. The bowls of the spoons didn’t hold very much food. Some people found the set too “dainty” and better suited for kids, but some testers with smaller hands really liked it. The tines of the forks are narrow and elegant, and the set was just as sturdy as the others we tested. Everyone was wowed by the knife, which was sharp and easily sliced tough and dense foods.

For smaller testers, this set felt “gigantic” and hard to use comfortably. The salad fork was nearly as big as the dinner fork in other sets, and the dinner spoon’s bowl is quite long. The dinner spoon wasn’t very balanced and tended to tip forward in our hands even when it was empty. However, the utensils performed well, and some people described them as having “a good weight.” The set is probably best for people who have larger hands or prefer big utensils.

The slim, uniform shape of the handles made this set feel a little slippery and harder to hold securely. The set also felt a bit top-heavy. The knife blade has an exaggerated curve—it’s narrow at the point and very wide closer to the handle—that most testers didn’t find aesthetically pleasing. More important, they noted that the unique shape made the knife hard to use. That said, we really liked the oval shape of the spoons’ bowls.

This low-price option is popular on Amazon, but it felt “cheap” in our hands and was so devoid of distinguishing characteristics that testers wondered if it had come from a high school cafeteria. There was one exception: The knife cut really well. The handles have squared edges that pressed uncomfortably into our fingers. The 18/0 stainless steel used to make this set doesn’t contain any nickel as opposed to the 18/10 stainless steel used to make most of the other sets, which means that it’s less resistant to corrosion and rust. However, it held up well during our testing. Although it’s the norm for utensils to have some sort of branding or marking on their undersides, these were stamped with “stainless steel” in huge letters, which testers thought were unattractive.