anyone use CUTCO cutlery? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hi all

i know there was a recent thread about knives, but i was wondering if anyone specifically have used the cutco brand (www.cutco.com)?

a friend gave me a pair of their scissors as a present and i must admit, i love them things. bullet proof (you can cut a penny with them), and when i discovered a hairline fracture (really, i was being uber picky and just wanted to test their return policy), they replaced them with a brand new pair ... no hassles no questions.

also had a cutco rep come to our house and give us "the demo". he did this one demo where he had me try to cut a piece of leather with my henkel (sp?) steak knife ... couldn't do it. then he let me try it with a cutco knife ... it sliced like butter. really, a very impressive demo.

anyway, we decided to buy one of their chef knifes (no hassle return if i don't like it) to see if we like them. i figure we're already using the henkel stuff, so i guess we have a pretty high standard.

heck, i'm just more curious then anything ....

 

[ThomasC]

Yep, my family's had them for a few years, and they've always served us well.

 

[Chu Gai]

Yes, but in time they will dull and then what will you do?

 

[Ted Lee]

chu - they have a lifetime guarantee on the blades. you can call them and someone will come out to your house and sharpen them. or, you can send them to the factory to be sharpened - all you pay is for shipping.

 

[DonRoeber]

I've always gotten a kick out of the leather cutting demonstration. Why would I ever want to eat a steak that had all the properties of leather?

 

[BrianW]

I've had a Galley Set of Cutco knives for 25 years, and, except for the paring knife which has suffered the most abuse, they're still as sharp as they were the day I got them. I use them almost daily. My favorite blade is the Spatula Spreader (aka Sandwich Maker). It's wide, flexible, and perfect for cutting vegetables (especially juicy tomatoes) and scooping them into your dish.

 

[Greg_R]

The bottom line is that Cutco sells a cheap product for a lot of money. This allows them to simply replace any broken blades and hand out the sharpening service. By 'cheap' I mean they use a softer steel and the knives lack heft (weight/balance). Henkel offers a few decent items but some of it is stamped steel garbage.

I have a set of tin snips that will cut a penny but they would be horrible as kitchen shears. A lot of Cutco's pyramid scheme sales tactics are based around impressive demos that mean -nothing- when it comes to food. (Note that most serrated knives will easily cut through leather).

My Mom has a set of Cutco and she is happy. I have a set of Wusthof-Trident knives (Classic) that were cheaper and came with lifetime pro sharpening (offered by the store). IMO they are vastly superior but require care (no tossing in the sink or dishwasher) and frequent sharpenings (a few passes on the steel before each use). Your choice should be based on your type of usage and amount of care you take with your kitchen tools.

 

[Citizen87645]

I think I mentioned in the other thread my impression is they are the Bose of cutlery...well, maybe not that bad, but the high price for medium quality thing...I have the chef's knife and I like it, but I know I could have probably paid less for same or better.

 

[Chu Gai]

Well, didn't the Ginsu knive also cut leather?

 

[Ted Lee]

good counterpoint greg. tbh, the thought of a pyramid scheme also entered my mind.

but i gotta say the leather demo was impressive. my other steak knives are henkels and they couldn't do it. so then why could these cutco? also, as far as heft goes, the knife i bought had excellent balance and heft ... even compared to my henkel.

but who knows ... maybe i'm just a sucker.

anyway, i'll let ya all know if i'm happy with them or not. guess it'll give me an excuse to cook stuff.

 

[Andrew W]

Unfortunately, the presence of the Henckels name on a name no longer means what it used to.

In order to accomodate the market, Henckels now makes a wide range of knives of varying quality. A Henckels with a Trident logo is the lower quality line. A Henckels with the Twins are supposed to be the higher end products. They then also take to rating the quality with stars.

Even Henckels best 5 star knife is no longer a solid piece of steel. If you observe about an inch forward of the guard on the blade, you will usually be able to see the weld line where they have welded on a cheaper piece of steel for the handle. They claim this is a "feature."

Wusthof and Messermeister seem to be the best quality German knives remaining.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

When did they start doing this? I just checked my Henckels (with the twins) chef knife that I've had for about three years and it's definitely a solid piece of steel with no weld.

 

[Greg_R]

Ted, as mentioned above, the Henckels knives may not be the best quality. ALSO, if the blade is smooth it will have a hard time cutting through leather unless it is sharp (kind of like cutting a tomato with a dull blade). Serrated edges (which I believe are on the Cutco) allow you to -saw- through items (like leather, coins, etc.) but they don't necessarily provide the best cut. A handsaw will cut through leather but would you use it on a steak?

 

[Andrew W]

I believe they have been doing it for several years now.

It is a very subtle transition, usually a very thin brass or yellow colored line. Very carefully ground and polished to hide the weld.

Check the website. They call it SCT.

"Engineered with our patented SCT process that combines the optimum steel for each part of the knife."

All Wusthof and Messermeister Meridian and San Moritz continue to be fully forged from a single piece of tool steel. The only difference in the lines is the style of the handle.

MM has two lower end lines that are stamped, but still made from the same steel.

 

[Philip_G]

I thought I had read somewhere (possibly here..) that the henckle brand wasn't owned by the henckle family anymore, but a japanese company, not sure how if at all it affects their recent quality. My parents have had some henckles for 10+ years and they're still fine knives, I just happened to choose wusthof

 

[Brian Perry]

As mentioned, the higher quality Henckels knives have the "twins" on the blade. There are several lines that have them (4 star, 5 star, Professional S, Twin Cuisine) where the only difference is the handle shape. There is also a newer line by Henckels, called the Cermax, which is made in Japan and features a more Japanese-type design. The blades are thinner and sharp as a razor.

I tend to collect knives from various manufacturers (a couple Wusthof, some Henckels, some Shun, etc.) and have found that for my taste, the Japanese knives are too thin and sharp, if that makes any sense. I tend to favor the heavier German knives for chopping, dicing, and mincing. For delicate slicing, such as sushi or Charlie Trotter-type presentations, the Japanese knives are probably better.

 

[Eric Kahn]

my mother has a set of cutco knives she bought in the 60's and still uses them, and they have been washed in the dishwasher as far as I remember since the 70's

we have several ginsu knives floating around, they are great for cutting home made bread but not much else

 

[McPaul]

MIRACLE BLADES!!!

(I've got a friend who swears by them, but I think they're complete junk)