Need Facts About CutCo Knives (Please be as objective as possible)

If I wanted kitchen cutlery in 440A, I'd just get a $30 set at Wal-Mart, If I wanted a good set in Cutco price range, I'd go with zhen in VG-10, tpjiro or others with better materials. No reason to pay Porsche prices for a Ford fiesta.
 
You know, just out of high school, I responded to a "job offer" ad that turned into a sales pitch to sell knives.
This was the late 80's, and I honestly don't remember the company, but it may well have been Cutco.
Not sure about the OP's motivations, but he might just be trying to find out, as he puts it, "whether or not they are worth selling at the price they are listed at."

Can't speak to that question as I've never owned any of the 440A line.
However, I do own one high quality Cutco knife. VG-10 steel. Made in Seki, Japan. One of my favorite kitchen knives, hands down.

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cncpro11 said:
I Googled both brands

$1,149 for a set of Cutco knives in 440a???
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That indeed is overpriced for 440A. I can get a Victorinox set for about 1/3 of that price. I think well of Victorinox. I've had a Forschner 8" chef's knife for almost 40 years and it is still one of my favorites in the kitchen. (Forschner knives were made by Victorinox.)

So If the OP was actually seeking facts instead of marketing nonsense, the FACT is that, "Cutco is way overpriced for what you get."
 
knarfeng said:
That indeed is overpriced for 440A. I can get a Victorinox set for about 1/3 of that price. I think well of Victorinox. I've had a Forschner 8" chef's knife for almost 40 years and it is still one of my favorites in the kitchen. (Forschner knives were made by Victorinox.)

So If the OP was actually seeking facts instead of marketing nonsense, the FACT is that, "Cutco is way overpriced for what you get."
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I actually was seeking facts.. I'd feel more comfortable maybe if I was selling the sets for 600 after all I've learned so far, maybe 750.
 
Guyon said:
You know, just out of high school, I responded to a "job offer" ad that turned into a sales pitch to sell knives.
This was the late 80's, and I honestly don't remember the company, but it may well have been Cutco.
Not sure about the OP's motivations, but he might just be trying to find out, as he puts it, "whether or not they are worth selling at the price they are listed at."

Can't speak to that question as I've never owned any of the 440A line.
However, I do own one high quality Cutco knife. VG-10 steel. Made in Seki, Japan. One of my favorite kitchen knives, hands down.

EBD18A74-9129-4B78-9BBA-FE06B3ED3A37_zpscdro43l2.jpg
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Dog's Head is a Ka-Bar knife made in Seki around 2005. Union Cutery is also Ka-Bar.
While Cutco does own K- Bar and some Sporting knives carry the Cutco/Ka-Bar label
these cooking knives are completely separate from the Cutco line being discussed.
 
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I got a $75 set of Farbarware knives from wally world, And I inherited a set of early 90's cutco from my folks, around the time I got married. The pairing knife from Cutco is the only one from that set I still have. I cook a lot more than they did, and the Cutco just couldn't hold an edge for more then a week. I still have the whole set of the FW. Both are soft steels, but whatever mystery stainless in the wally world knives, it holds up better.

For the aspiring Chef, or newlywed, I'd but a cheap set from any store, and upgrade one knife at a time with a known better steel. I have 2 Chefs knives in Elmax, and one fillet knife in CPM 154. These are the ones I use the most.

As for Cutco.............. no.
 
What about the hand-wedge handle that cutco uses, they claim it's designed for every hand... I really liked it... but again, they claim it's universal. Really only my last question.
 
Cutco knives, as many have already said, cost more than they should As you can see those who are really into seeking knowledge about knives, outside of working for a company to sell their specific knives, overwhelmingly dislike the company because of their perceived lack of ethics on a system level.

The cutcos I've used I must say had pretty crappy steel, whatever it was. Made 8cr13 seem like a supersteel[emoji13]

The handles...I actually like the ergos on their handle designs. We had a paring knife with wood handle like that when I was a kid and I remember liking it a lot because the grip.
 
Have a couple full serrated blades I had on the boat for awhile.After they got dull stopped using them.Cutting bait all saltwater use.They rusted very badly,didn't really take care of them,sprayed them down with fresh water most the time after use.Been meaning to send them back to get resharpened.one has a orange handle one black bought both used cheap.I wouldn't pay full price.
 
I know a few people with Cutco sets, and I've used them. As far as the knives go, they're not horrible. There are certainly better offerings at a fraction of the price. But the people that end up the Cutco sets generally aren't ones that would have the interest to learn about those.

I'd venture to guess that most people don't really give a great deal of thought to their kitchen knives (just based on what I've seen at family and friends' places). They just pick up whatever is cheap at their local mega-mart, and throw it away when it gets dull or starts falling apart (or more likely, stick it in a drawer and eventually donate it to Goodwill years later when moving). That's the type of consumer they are targeting (probably the majority of households?).

Their marketing strategy focuses on exploiting personal relationships (family/friends). Compared to most of the cheap cutlery you'd get in kitchen section of most grocery stores, mega-marts, certain Swedish furniture stores, or the like, the Cutco knives seem really nice. Combine that with the personal relationship with the salesperson, and that's likely why they're as popular as they are.
 
flarp said:
I know a few people with Cutco sets, and I've used them. As far as the knives go, they're not horrible. There are certainly better offerings at a fraction of the price. But the people that end up the Cutco sets generally aren't ones that would have the interest to learn about those.

I'd venture to guess that most people don't really give a great deal of thought to their kitchen knives (just based on what I've seen at family and friends' places). They just pick up whatever is cheap at their local mega-mart, and throw it away when it gets dull or starts falling apart (or more likely, stick it in a drawer and eventually donate it to Goodwill years later when moving). That's the type of consumer they are targeting (probably the majority of households?).

Their marketing strategy focuses on exploiting personal relationships (family/friends). Compared to most of the cheap cutlery you'd get in kitchen section of most grocery stores, mega-marts, certain Swedish furniture stores, or the like, the Cutco knives seem really nice. Combine that with the personal relationship with the salesperson, and that's likely why they're as popular as they are.
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That's what makes it objectionable to me. In the Philippines, that method is being used to evade the anti ponzi scheme laws.
 
For the record, I'm not assuming that the op's intentions aren't good. I just think people should know the truth when they search online.


leghog said:
Even when the internet search results in posts like "Cutco knives are overpriced, and shoppers can easily find knives of much better steel or knives of equivalent quality but costing much less than Cutco" or words to the effect, Cutco sucks and are marketed to suckers". Yeah, that's a good plan. About as good a plan as hawking way overpriced so-so knives on a knife enthusiasts forum with informed regulars.
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I went to CutCo training. About 45 seconds in I knew it was a scam for tricking poor college students and young people into selling CutCo's inferior knives at inflated prices while calling it Vector Marketing so as to disassociate the inferior products of CutCo with the pyramid scheme of Vector Marketing. I only stayed because the girl running it was just insanely attractive.

Guys, mention Vector Marketing. There's a reason they use two names/companies.
 
SeekingTruth124 said:
What about the hand-wedge handle that cutco uses, they claim it's designed for every hand... I really liked it... but again, they claim it's universal. Really only my last question.
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Gawd.. I hope so. "it's designed for every hand"... stop and think about this, genius. Goes beyond ridiculous. Please.....go sell vacuum cleaners for crissakes!!!
 
When I found, surprisingly fairly recently, that Cutco owned Ka-bar...I hung my head in shame for them.
 
SeekingTruth124 said:
But does it really all come down to what steel the knife is made out of? I mean, I've seen people say Carbon is better than stainless steel. Henkel and Wustchof are made of 420c steel, Which apparently just means they have less carbon...
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Looking at their chef's knife they're asking quite a bit at $136 for 440A,
Made in the usa (its a definite plus)
Warranty is decent, but I'll have to read up on warranty reviews to get a better picture. ie are they very forgiving or do they try to weasel their way out.
440A is what you typically see in most cheap chinamade "stainless steel" but they might have a awesome heat treat (which is arguably more important than the steel itself). All that means for me is a steel that dulls quickly and is a pain to sharpen


As for would I buy it? No. Its too expensive you can buy Old Hickories for $10-20 that are made in the USA
 
The cow said:
Looking at their chef's knife they're asking quite a bit at $136 for 440A,
Made in the usa (its a definite plus)
Warranty is decent, but I'll have to read up on warranty reviews to get a better picture. ie are they very forgiving or do they try to weasel their way out.
440A is what you typically see in most cheap chinamade "stainless steel" but they might have a awesome heat treat (which is arguably more important than the steel itself). All that means for me is a steel that dulls quickly and is a pain to sharpen


As for would I buy it? No. Its too expensive you can buy Old Hickories for $10-20 that are made in the USA
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You could also get a Warther 9" chef for around $100 made from S35VN right here in Ohio. Hell of a lot better knife, hell of a lot better steel.
 
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