Cutco Knives

[warthog]

Tap's steak thread got me thinking about how much I enjoy cooking, now that I have new knives. Having already posted my one "tech talk biatch" thread over there today, I figured I would do everyone a kindness and put this over here.

So- the girlfriend's tennis coach talks her into letting his college age daughter come over to sell us some knives. I figure, what the fuck, I like college girls.

I thought I could buy a sweet pair of "cut your finger off in one felled swoop" scissors, and be done. The GF had other ideas. She buys the whole set. Her deal, not mine.

Now, by my estimation, a set of knives that cost $800+ should give you the common courtesy of a reach around, but these weren't those type of knives.
They are actually one of the best investments we have ever made. Sharp as hell, with a lifetime warranty that can't be beat.

I now enjoy cooking a lot more. Who woulda thunk a great set of knives could make that happen?

So, anyone got these? Anyone sell them?

[seldon]

$800+ definitely entitles you to a lifetime supply of reacharounds.

[wicked_sick]

I haven't got any cutco knives, but I willa gree with you on how important a good set of knives is.

I've got a set of 8 made by a local craftsman, and holy crap, am I glad I did. I even shaved with one of them once, to prove a point (not kidding)

[iggyskier]

One of my friend sold them my senior year of high school.

We called the company "Cult CO." They called him 3 times a day to makes sure he was doing his job. They made him do high fives at the office. They basically tried as hard as possible to control is life. It was actually scary.

And for a high schooler the system worked great. he just got all of his friend parents to buy a lot of knives and because it was their kids friend they basically just threw money at him.

My friend made over $3000 working about 40 hours. That doesn't include time spent at the office being their bitch, just the time spent selling knives. Nonetheless, he made bank and didn't work very hard. he just had to deal with fucking insane bosses. I think he had at least 5.

The knives them selves are nice and sharp as hell. Definentally cut myself being careless with them.

[warthog]

Hey Iggy- Are you just looking at things in the room and saying you love them?


Yeah- Cult Co is a good name for them. I had friends sell them. They are actually made in the town where I went to college. I think the marketing co.(Vector Mktg) are the insane ones. But, think about it. They have a brilliant marketing scheme. You can only buy them through their reps, and they have to come to your home to sell them. Most of those reps are kids, and most of their customers are their friends parents and the parents friends. Seems to work for them. Either way, it is a hell of a product.

[Dantheman]

Dude, $800!!!! I've seen 20+ piece Wusthof and J.A. Henckel sets for less than that. Cutco's are sharp, but Wustof and Henckels are far superior knives IMO.

And honestly, you really only need to spend a lot on a few select knives; an 8-10" chef, 3-4" paring, bread slicer, and maybe a filet/boning knife. Everything else should be got on the cheap.

[Sphinx]

I love cooking and baking, but I have very little money. So all I've got is a $10 Safeway knife.

The damn thing won't slice an onion appropriately, for the love of god!

[skuff]

I bought a couple of knives and a spatula (not that kind) with a serrated knife edge on it. Seems like ok stuff. Bought them from a friend's son. I don't remember how much I spent on them, but I do remember it being expensive.

[Dantheman]

I love cooking and baking, but I have very little money. So all I've got is a $10 Safeway knife.

The damn thing won't slice an onion appropriately, for the love of god!

Check out ebay, I found my 8" Wusthof chef knife for $52 shipped. Not cheap, but not terribly expensive either and every slice is like a wet dream. Just make sure it's either a Classic or Grand Prix.

[warthog]

Dude, $800!!!! I've seen 20+ piece Wusthof and J.A. Henckel sets for less than that. Cutco's are sharp, but Wustof and Henckels are far superior knives IMO.

And honestly, you really only need to spend a lot on a few select knives; an 8-10" chef, 3-4" paring, bread slicer, and maybe a filet/boning knife. Everything else should be got on the cheap.

My parents have the Henckels, and they would run you about $1000 for everything we got. They do not hold an edge like these knives. They are pretty good, though.

It seems like a lot of cash, but I feel good about the fact that we will never buy another knife in our lifetime.

[warthog]

I bought a couple of knives and a spatula (not that kind) with a serrated knife edge on it. Seems like ok stuff. Bought them from a friend's son. I don't remember how much I spent on them, but I do remember it being expensive.

That spatula thing was the only one I wanted to buy. That is my go to Sangwich knife. I use it every day.

[Arty50]

Dude, $800!!!! I've seen 20+ piece Wusthof and J.A. Henckel sets for less than that. Cutco's are sharp, but Wustof and Henckels are far superior knives IMO.

Unless of course you buy the cheap Henckels. I can't remember if Wusthof makes a budget line also, I don't think they do.

If you're ever looking at Henckels only get the knives branded as "Zwilling J.A. Henckels." Avoid anything branded "J.A. Henckels International." The Intl. knives are their budget line and are shit. The Zwilling knives are what their reputation is based on.

One of my brothers used to sell Cutco knives. They're not the best knives I've ever used, but they're pretty damn good. There's a lifetime sharpening warranty on the DoubleD blades. Just send them in whenever you want for a free sharpening, which they rarely if ever need. I really like their DoubleD knives. The DoubleD steak knives are the best steak knives I've ever used. Their spreader is one of the best kitchen tools ever made and is essential for any PB&J connoisseur. The chef's knife is better than many cheap knives, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Henckels/Wusthof offerings. I'd say it's just middle of the road. I don't really like the balance on that knife.

I'm probably gonna buy a set of knives in the next couple of months and I'll probably go with Wusthof or Henckels. Still, the Cutcos are great. My bro's set is still going strong and my mom still loves her's too; they've probably had them for longer than 15 years.

[Sphinx]

Check out ebay, I found my 8" Wusthof chef knife for $52 shipped. Not cheap, but not terribly expensive either and every slice is like a wet dream. Just make sure it's either a Classic or Grand Prix.

Good idea, I hadn't thought of that.

I'm going to drool over Ebay knives now. Thanks.

[PowderPig]

I agree, it's such a difference using good knives in the kitchen. I own three kitchen knives as I feel it would be overkill with more for the kind of cooking I do...
This one is amazing - the other ones I tried out when buying this didn't even come close in terms of sharpness and feeling...

[fez]

One thing I have a quiver of is knives. Wusthof and especially the Grand Prix series used to be my favorites, but I really think the quality of those and the top end Henkels have degraded over the years as the brands got more popular. If you must have German steel, check out Goldhamster. They hold an edge better than Wusthof and Henkels, very comfortable handles and are very well balanced.

Though I really think the Japanese have far eclipsed the Germans for quality knives. You can get standard western shapes from companies like Misono and Masahiro. The price is quite a bit higher, but the knives are wickedly sharp. A good high carbon Japanese knife is by far the way to go for sharpness. They do require more maintenance though. These knives are also generally for slicing. Tend to have very thin blades. But like any quiver, different tools for different jobs.

I have a few Globals and they are good knives, but not great. Generally hard to keep really sharp and don't stay all that sharp long. The steel is just too hard. I also don't like the light weight of the Globals. They do look fancy though.

[Viva]

Though I really think the Japanese have far eclipsed the Germans for quality knives.

Actually, the Japanese have always made better knives. Look, if you want a nice sports sedan, go German; chocolate, Belgian or Swiss; poncho, can't beat the Mexicans; and the Russians make a mean furry hat.

But if you want a superior quality knife, I say go with the country that for a thousand years perfected the art of making a sword that can cut a human being cleanly in two.

I own a bunch of the Shun knives, made by KAI and imported by Kershaw. These are affordable for me and I love how they feel in my hands (They have right and left-handed-specific models). I think that the Damascus finish is mondo cool, too. I forget which steel they use; I think it's an amalgamate which would be consistent with the Damascus motif.

Another nice thing is the look of the Shun knives. With the Damascus finish coupled with the large Japanese lettering, if anyone makes fun of your cooking, just swing one of these babies at them and yell SHINJUKU MOTHERFUCKER!

[Arty50]

Great thread! Thanks for the suggestions, fez and Viva. I'm gonna have to check those out.

[InspectorGadget]

I can't speak to the Japanese knives, but I can attest to the Cult Co brand. Two of my brothers have had full sets for over 20 years and they're still going strong. I bought several Cutco pieces from a reformed cult member on ebay and saved a ton. Not being used to such sharp knives, Mrs. Gadget cut herself more than once in the first several days.

[Raps]

Warthog, i hear you man......my mom bought them from a friend of mine who was selling them one summer....that was like 8 years ago and they are still like new....definately worth the investment....and those sissors are like hacksaws...scary sharp....

[evidence120]

I think at $800 you could have done much better. Cutco knives are stamped not forged and they have very awkward handles i.m.o. Did you get straight edge or Double-D (serrated). I have a set of Wusthof Classics that I will never replace. For kitchen knives you have got to go German or Japanese.

[CantDog]

Costco has Henckel knife sets for pretty darn cheap, not sure what model line they are though.

[ulty_guy]

i purposely have dull knives so that i don't lose a digit.

[Big E]

I've got a reasonable set of Cutco's (5 knives total) that I bought from, yes, a friend that used to sell them. I've had them for probably 8-9 years, and I have to say they're pretty bomber. I use at least 2 of them basically every day, and they still seem as sharp as the day I bought them. I think I paid around $300 for the set.

On the other hand, my aunt and both of my cousins all have sets of either Henckels or Wusthof, I can't remember, and really the couple of times I've used them, my only thought was "how do you cook with these things?" They were so dull that I was practically bludgeoning a banana for my cereal. Of course, I have no idea if they were the good ones or the low-end variety, sounds like they're the low end.

Cutco also makes a cutting board that I really like. It's raised about an inch or so, so you can slide a plate halfway underneath, it has a little channel that goes all the way around to contain the tomato juice or whatever, and you can pop it in the dishwasher.

[warthog]

I agree that there are better knives out there. Do I feel I got ripped off? No (cause the GF paid for them)- just kidding. No, I don't feel like they are a rip off. They remain sharp for years and years, and they require very little maintenance. If I was a professional chef, I might have the time to be sharpening and oiling knives all the time, but I am strictly amateur. The low maintenance aspect was a big seller. Also, when was the last time you could buy something of quality that was made strictly in this country? I felt good about that, too.

[skuff]

...and those sissors are like hacksaws...scary sharp....

Did the salesperson demonstrate how well the scissors can cut a penny? Impressive, because you never know when you will need to cut a penny.