# Cutco... scam or real deal?



## primaveronica

When I was 18 I worked for them for a month and quit, and I felt like it was a scam. But the knives seemed okay, I just have no actual knowledge on what makes a good knife. Thoughts??


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## boar_d_laze

There's no doubt among people who know knives.  At the price, Cutco knives are a scam.

BDL


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## modernwhimsy

I think the serrated knives are good.  I have 20 year old knives from the line I still use.  The steak knives have been good albeit quite ugly.  and the scissors have been nice as well.  The regular knives are rather....overpriced.  I'll just leave it at that!   If you need to support kids who are selling them, I can think of worse things that get stuck with.  I just bought a few knives from my niece.  But if you had your choice of "any" knives to buy?  Yeah, not really!


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## bmwhomechef325

Cutco is in a way like Tupperware, Avon, Amway and the like. Good quality, American made, but sales are only "out in the field", not retail and a high premium is for the commission. Service is superior, I have a 10" butcher that was passed down to me over the years - it is about 28 years old, I had a problem trying to get the edge on it that I wanted. Seemed it was sharpened and honed with varying angles overs the decades.  I sent it in. 2 weeks later it came back - perfect, and at no charge. So, no, Cutco is not a "scam" just a different  business model than retail.


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## colin

Discussion: http://www.cheftalk.com/t/11067/cutco-knives

Comparison with other similarly-priced knives: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/129/Chefs-Knives-Rated

Food for thought on the sales, including how the pitch works: http://www.squidoo.com/Cutcodough

Any time you have (a) sales without a chance to compare competing brands (b) sales that rest heavily on teenagers selling to their neighbors and parents' friends, you should be suspicious.

They're taking advantage of the fact that most people have dreadful knives and never sharpen, so an in-home comparison with a sharpened and halfway decent knife will make the Cutco look very good.

So, sure, most of the dupes who fall for their pitch are probably upgrading their knives. It's not a scam like your typical Nigerian banking windfall. But they're being massively ripped off at the prices these knives are sold for.


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## foodpump

From what I have seen at food trade shows, I find that brand waaaaaaaaaay overpriced for the quality.

Sharpening a knife is a skill that is needed.  When people make claims that knives never need to be sharpened, or that they should be sent back to the factory to be sharpened, I get very very suspicious and angry.  It's kind of like saying a new (gasoline powered) car never needs an oil change, but if it does, it should be sent back to the factory for the oil change.


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## anamouse

Cutco sells mediocre quality knives for very high prices to people who don't know much about knives.

Their market is primarily family, relatives, and friends of the often young sales people who sell the knives.  

Their sales people usually believe all the hype they are told about the knives, how great the handle design it, how special the metal is in the blade and rivets and how it outperforms other knives, because they don't know anything about knives before they agree to sell Cutco knives.  It's not surprising they believe they are great if they don't know how to sharpen a knife, and every in their own kitchen is dull. They would be equally impressed with Ginsu knives.

The sales points used by Cutco to convince their customers that their knives are superior are generally not valid, but sound nice to people who don't realize how those aspects of the knife's quality compare to other knives on the market.  The steel used in the blade is "superior" only impresses people who don't know much about what kinds of steel are used in other knives, and what their relative qualities are.  That special handle is similarly impressive to people who don't know know that it's nothing special or even realize that real chefs who often own similarly expensive knives, never use them.

The cutting test they have shown on TV is deceitful.  They show everyone how their serrated blades outperform other manufactures blades when cutting though layers of sandpaper.  I believe most course hacksaw blades would do an even better job than the Cutco knives on that test, but that doesn't make them any better at any task I can imagine using them for in a kitchen.

To be fair however I need to address their strong points.  Their serrated knives will work well for the average housewife who doesn't know how to sharpen a knife.  Their also much harder to break than many high quality knives because their made of softer metal that's not as highly tempered.  I imagine Grandma would be quite happy using many of their knives, but then again she'd probably have felt the same if you gave her serrated Ginsu knives because they have many of the same qualities.  Similar quality serrated knives abound at a fraction of the cost.

Ok kitchen knives, at outrageous prices.


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## rat

their sportsman fishing knife is excellent and I love it, I melted the sheath by the campfire (oops) and called to ask about getting a new one, they sent me a new one free of charge, got it in two days.


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## chefedb

Totaly overrated and overpriced


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## beastmasterflex

Decent knives, I feel like you pay for the warranty and the free sharpening. I hate the shape of them though. Get a Global, love them.


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