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Cutco Knives
- Thread starter fhsmith
- Start date
Cutco is WAY overpriced. Any commercially available knife will perform just as well. Restaurant supply stores usually carry a reasonably-priced line of professional knives that will equal or outperform the high dollar Cutco stuff.
A Spyderco Sharpmaker will handle their (almost any) serrations w/ ease.
Welcome to Bladeforums.
Regards,
m.
A Spyderco Sharpmaker will handle their (almost any) serrations w/ ease.
Welcome to Bladeforums.
Regards,
m.
Is there a particular reason why you want Cutco?
Honestly, there's WAY better knives out there, and for much better prices. With Cutco, a large part of what you're paying for, is the presentation.
Yes, admittedly they are going to be still better than the micro-serrated Wiltshire laser cut knives you can buy in any grocery store, no debating that, however they're far from "great" kitchen knives.
Victorinox Fibrox is a good economy knife, they're a stamped steel, hold an edge quite well, and are very easy to maintain on a steel. Very popular choice with professional chef's.
Henckels has 2 grades. There's Henckels Twin, and Henckels International. The twin man logo is the one they've built their reputation on for the last 275 years, are made in Germany, and most of the Twin logo ones you see are a forged blade. (Most of the international ones are a stamped blade) The difference between forged & stamped?
Stamped, they basically start out with a sheet of steel, a robotic 'cookie cutter' style machine cuts out the shape of the knife & tang, and they throw a handle & an edge on. The upside is they're cheap $ wise, and easy to resharpen, and lightweight. The downside is that if there's any carbon flaws or anything within the steel, they go undetected, and they're not going to hold an edge as long.
Forged, they start out with a plate of steel, heat it up, compress it, that creates the bolster & finger guard that you will see, and then robotic hammers pound at the steel a lot, making the shape of the knife. Forged blades have a much higher durability than a stamped blade does, they're heavier, and they hold an edge for a MUCH longer time.
Here comes the difference between Henckels & Wusthof-Trident kitchen knives. Wusthof actually is a better quality kitchen knife, they use a better steel & the way they temper their blades makes them much easier to maintain & resharpen. If you look on any 'current' Henckels Twin knives, you'll see two things. "Fridour" and "Ice Hardened" this basically translates into "Great Factory Edge" but "Awful to resharpen" In fact, frequently it's next to impossible to get the 'factory edge' back on a Henckels knife, once it's gone... yes you can still get it very sharp, however it'll never have the same feel as it did when you first got it & people find that frustrating.
Wusthof Trident is the more popular choice, I find, for the easy maintenance reason.
Then you can also get into looking at the Japanese Cutlery. Global, and Shun. Between the two, I'd definitely recommend the Shun over the Global -- Global is similar to Henckels in that their edge retention is largely due to the way they temper their steel, also the majority of the Globals are a stamped steel, "some" are forged, but the cost is outrageous by that point.
Shun is a VG-10 inner core with 32 layers of Japanese Stainless steel laminated/forged over top. That's what creates the wavy patterns on the blade (This applies to the Shun Classic, Shun S.S. and Ken Onion series, not so much the Pro & Elite series). The angle of the edge of these knives is sharpened to a razor sharp 15-17 degrees on either side of the blade, (standard for most kitchen knives is 20-22) which means that yes it is actually physically sharper than your average kitchen knife. The reason that Shun can do this, is because of the quality of the steel that they use. If you tried to put that angle on a Henckels or Wusthof, it'd probably go dull a lot sooner than you'd like.
Things that you want to watch out for, are "low priced" Henckels knives in places like Winners & Costco. The Sale of "B" grade Henckels knives in Winners last year was a bit of a fluke & not something that henckels was happy about, it was a mix-up apparently.... the knives that you will find in Costco are not covered in warranty by Henckels. A couple key things you will want to look for is make sure your knife doesn't have a "B" stamped on the blade anywhere --This means it is a "Seconds" knife, and doesn't have a warranty. Make sure it has a product number -on- the blade. If there is no product number on the blade, it's a Costco Henckels, and again, doesn't have a warranty.
My understanding of Cutco is that they're a stamped steel that they process very similar to ice hardening, yes they'll hold an edge a good long time, however, I have also heard that if you need them sharpened you're supposed to mail them back to Cutco for resharpening, and that you'll void your warranty if you do not.
Hope that helps.
Honestly, there's WAY better knives out there, and for much better prices. With Cutco, a large part of what you're paying for, is the presentation.
Yes, admittedly they are going to be still better than the micro-serrated Wiltshire laser cut knives you can buy in any grocery store, no debating that, however they're far from "great" kitchen knives.
Victorinox Fibrox is a good economy knife, they're a stamped steel, hold an edge quite well, and are very easy to maintain on a steel. Very popular choice with professional chef's.
Henckels has 2 grades. There's Henckels Twin, and Henckels International. The twin man logo is the one they've built their reputation on for the last 275 years, are made in Germany, and most of the Twin logo ones you see are a forged blade. (Most of the international ones are a stamped blade) The difference between forged & stamped?
Stamped, they basically start out with a sheet of steel, a robotic 'cookie cutter' style machine cuts out the shape of the knife & tang, and they throw a handle & an edge on. The upside is they're cheap $ wise, and easy to resharpen, and lightweight. The downside is that if there's any carbon flaws or anything within the steel, they go undetected, and they're not going to hold an edge as long.
Forged, they start out with a plate of steel, heat it up, compress it, that creates the bolster & finger guard that you will see, and then robotic hammers pound at the steel a lot, making the shape of the knife. Forged blades have a much higher durability than a stamped blade does, they're heavier, and they hold an edge for a MUCH longer time.
Here comes the difference between Henckels & Wusthof-Trident kitchen knives. Wusthof actually is a better quality kitchen knife, they use a better steel & the way they temper their blades makes them much easier to maintain & resharpen. If you look on any 'current' Henckels Twin knives, you'll see two things. "Fridour" and "Ice Hardened" this basically translates into "Great Factory Edge" but "Awful to resharpen" In fact, frequently it's next to impossible to get the 'factory edge' back on a Henckels knife, once it's gone... yes you can still get it very sharp, however it'll never have the same feel as it did when you first got it & people find that frustrating.
Wusthof Trident is the more popular choice, I find, for the easy maintenance reason.
Then you can also get into looking at the Japanese Cutlery. Global, and Shun. Between the two, I'd definitely recommend the Shun over the Global -- Global is similar to Henckels in that their edge retention is largely due to the way they temper their steel, also the majority of the Globals are a stamped steel, "some" are forged, but the cost is outrageous by that point.
Shun is a VG-10 inner core with 32 layers of Japanese Stainless steel laminated/forged over top. That's what creates the wavy patterns on the blade (This applies to the Shun Classic, Shun S.S. and Ken Onion series, not so much the Pro & Elite series). The angle of the edge of these knives is sharpened to a razor sharp 15-17 degrees on either side of the blade, (standard for most kitchen knives is 20-22) which means that yes it is actually physically sharper than your average kitchen knife. The reason that Shun can do this, is because of the quality of the steel that they use. If you tried to put that angle on a Henckels or Wusthof, it'd probably go dull a lot sooner than you'd like.
Things that you want to watch out for, are "low priced" Henckels knives in places like Winners & Costco. The Sale of "B" grade Henckels knives in Winners last year was a bit of a fluke & not something that henckels was happy about, it was a mix-up apparently.... the knives that you will find in Costco are not covered in warranty by Henckels. A couple key things you will want to look for is make sure your knife doesn't have a "B" stamped on the blade anywhere --This means it is a "Seconds" knife, and doesn't have a warranty. Make sure it has a product number -on- the blade. If there is no product number on the blade, it's a Costco Henckels, and again, doesn't have a warranty.
My understanding of Cutco is that they're a stamped steel that they process very similar to ice hardening, yes they'll hold an edge a good long time, however, I have also heard that if you need them sharpened you're supposed to mail them back to Cutco for resharpening, and that you'll void your warranty if you do not.
Hope that helps.
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2005
- Messages
- 144
Welcome to Bladeforums, fhsmith.
You're not going to find much love for Cutco here. If you do a forum search for 'Cutco' you will find many with the opinion that they are not bad knives, just overpriced. Now, having said that, I do own 2 Cutco knives that I bought recently from my little cousin. I was trying to be supportive at the time. I find that they're good knives, and the 'Olean, New York' stamped on the handle brings a smile to my face whenever I see it. But in my opinion, they should have been priced $20 to $25 less for what they were.
To try and answer your question, you'll have a hard time finding Cutco knives except through the usual distribution channels. There is no outlet store that I'm aware of. I've read of people finding them used in thrift stores, dirt cheap. And of course, Ebay--but you've tried that.
Stick around you'll soon learn of better alternatives to Cutco. There are better alternatives to compete with the Cutco price point. Or if you're looking for more snob appeal, you can certainly do way better than Cutco.
You're not going to find much love for Cutco here. If you do a forum search for 'Cutco' you will find many with the opinion that they are not bad knives, just overpriced. Now, having said that, I do own 2 Cutco knives that I bought recently from my little cousin. I was trying to be supportive at the time. I find that they're good knives, and the 'Olean, New York' stamped on the handle brings a smile to my face whenever I see it. But in my opinion, they should have been priced $20 to $25 less for what they were.
To try and answer your question, you'll have a hard time finding Cutco knives except through the usual distribution channels. There is no outlet store that I'm aware of. I've read of people finding them used in thrift stores, dirt cheap. And of course, Ebay--but you've tried that.
Stick around you'll soon learn of better alternatives to Cutco. There are better alternatives to compete with the Cutco price point. Or if you're looking for more snob appeal, you can certainly do way better than Cutco.
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2005
- Messages
- 144
Lava,
About the Cutco sharpening. It's the serrated ones that have to be sent back to the factory for sharpening, or else the warranty is void. The plain edge Cutco's can be sharpened at home, in fact they recommend their own crappy pull through sharpener in their catalog.
It's funny Cutco refuses to call their serrated edges 'serrated'. They call them 'Double-D ' edges.
About the Cutco sharpening. It's the serrated ones that have to be sent back to the factory for sharpening, or else the warranty is void. The plain edge Cutco's can be sharpened at home, in fact they recommend their own crappy pull through sharpener in their catalog.
It's funny Cutco refuses to call their serrated edges 'serrated'. They call them 'Double-D ' edges.
Thanks all for great replies to my post especially the post that reflected a variety of other manufacturing options.
A friend of mine picked up a Cutco slicer for 25 cents at a salavation army outlet store and gave it to me. It had a broken tip. Called Cutco and they said if it could not be repaired, they would send a new one at no cost. Not too bad a deal - total cost was 12 dollars - Five for cutco and 7 for shipping.
A friend of mine picked up a Cutco slicer for 25 cents at a salavation army outlet store and gave it to me. It had a broken tip. Called Cutco and they said if it could not be repaired, they would send a new one at no cost. Not too bad a deal - total cost was 12 dollars - Five for cutco and 7 for shipping.
wolfmann601
Gone, but not forgotton. RIP Ira.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2001
- Messages
- 7,385
LOL, we have a set at our house. A well meaning person gave us a set as a wedding gift and it's been sitting in the box for almost 10 years now. But all is not lost. I've been using the knife block from that set for years. Actually, I think there are spoons and forks in there too. Maybe that's worth using.
Way back when I was a teenager and looking for easy money I went to a Cutco sales spiel. Their deal was (I bet still is) you buy a sample case of knives and some other crap they sell. The sample case was way-spendy; you get your money back by selling some other chumps their stuff. I believe one could get the sample case by signing a contract to have it deducted from one's first sales, or owing the money to be due in a few months time. While I didn't call the people scammers, that's what I thought as I was leaving.
all da best,
rats...
p.s. Of course, they practically sell themselves!
all da best,
rats...
p.s. Of course, they practically sell themselves!
Like real estate companies that advertise free/low cost training for new agents, they calculate the "chumps" to often be close relatives/friends for the initial sympathy sales.
:thumbdn:
Soon after the sales folk realize the deck is stacked against them, most opt out and are replaced with other well intentioned but naive newbies...
Google Vector Marketing (Cutco Knives) and issues that states' Attorney Generals have had with them.
You resurrect an old zombie thread [from 3+ years ago] to talk about Cutco? Ya spammer. You reppin' for them or something? If you are, you should look for other work right quick.
Or you can can hang out here & entertain us with yer spammin'. We could use some cheap entertainment around here.
~Chris
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Messages
- 984
I went to one of those a couple years ago, and was offered a job, but turned it down. The way they currently work, is you buy the $150 sample kit, which also comes with some cheap knives, which they've dulled (part of the selling scheme). When you leave the company, you can sell it back to them, or keep it, or sell it for yourself, but for no more than the $150. (you only pay $75 for the sample, but what contained in it is supposed to be worth $150)