Cutco cutlery, Whats your opinion?

I actually worked for them a long time ago. their kitchen knives are nice. I like them and the 440 steel really is good for a knife that is in the dish washer a lot. Honestly they hold an edge pretty well. I owned a couple fisherman's solutions and really like them. I once owned a lockback and clip point hunting knife, and they really were decent knive, but many knives in much better steels available for field knives. But I do like them in the kitchen.

Cutco, Becker and Ka-bar are all the same company.
 
they used to be door to door (or word of mouth) but they do have stores now. There is one here in Erie Pa
 
I started the door to door thing a couple years ago. I'm glad I got out.

There's no way I would have made respectable money by the end of the summer where I live. It's nit something I'd do for life. It plain irritates family and acquaintances when you ask for cold call references.

Also, is it not super weird they go to such lengths to call the job and position "vector marketing" until they absolutely have to tell you it's cutco?

The only good thing about my experience with "vector marketing" was that the girl (can't have been more than 3 years older than me, and I was 19) who trained me was rather attractive.
 
Stand Straight said:
John Ratzenberger had a TV show, Made in America from 2003-2008 where he’d board his motorhome and travel around America visiting businesses like Harley Davidson, Hershey’s Chocolate Company, etc. touring the factories interviewing employees and being shown from beginning to end how the products were made. Once, I recall, he took his production cameras and crew to Cutco. It was a long time ago but I remember after watching that episode I was left with a great impression of Cutco. Not a lot of information can be packed in a segment of one episode which is edited to tell a cherry picked portion of the whole story, but it seemed like workers loved the company, took pride in workmanship and produced the best product that they could. I don’t recall any mention of the steel that was used. I don’t think I’d mention 440A as a selling point either. As far as pricing, value, or comparable products…that was not the shows purpose.
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Oh they dont call it 440A, they call it "high carbon surgical stainless"
 
My wife did it in college years ago. She didn't make a whole lot of money, but we've been using the set that she had to buy for the past 10 years with no issues. I use them the same as my other kitchen knives. I sometimes looks for ebay deals to get dupes if the prices on ebay are right. The serrated knives get a lot of use during the holidays, they are excellent carving knives.
 
My son sold them about three years ago. He made a fair amount of money, but not enough to buy a Porsche.

The knives themselves are reasonable quality. I ended up with my son's demo set and use them side by side with a variety of more expensive forged knives (Wusthof, F Dick, Lamson) and some cheap knives (Old Hickory). Their performance is just as good as the expensive stuff, although the balance is different.

It's not just knives, they sell a variety of kitchen implements. I inquired recently about getting free replacements for a spatula and large spoon with broken handles, that are part of a set that my wife bought close to 35 years ago. They said no problem, send them in and they will be replaced. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but the fact that they will stand by their products for that long says something.

Their kitchen shears are the bomb, but expensive.
 
Usually a booth setup at the local boating/fishing shows. I bet they do better than someone that does door to door. I've seen a few threads on fishing forums and a lot of guys liked the fillet knives and the cutco warranty. Ive been wanting some of there kitchen accessories since some of it is made in the USA
 
A friend of mine has a guiding principle that states that 90 percent of everything people think they know is bulls@#t. What that means is that people hear stuff and take it in without taking the time to research it and figure out if it's true. They then parrot it at their first opportunity and it spreads to a new generation of people who don't take the time to research it. First of all, selling door to door is direct sales not pyramid scheming. Like Rainbow and Kirby vacuums, Britannica, and yes, Avon and Mary Kay. Second, if you research all the threads re Cutco, they all parrot the same line about cheap steel. At some point some forum commando read Bob Engnath's treatise on knife steels where he states that 440A is easy to stamp for cheap knives and is therefore crap. True to a point, since cheap knives receive sub par heat treats, which leaves you with soft knives that don't sharpen well, and lose what little edge they have quickly. 440A steel properly heat treated is an excellent metal for knives, particularly thin stock, and will take a finer edge and hold it longer than some super steels costing much more (Verhoeven, 1997). 12 years ago I received a set of Cutco knives as a wedding present along with some Henckels that I bought at the same time thinking that no one would get me the knives I wanted. Some years later while deployed overseas I picked up a REALLY expensive set of Solicut knives. The Henckels are gone, a gift to a family member, the Cutco and Solicut are still with me. After 12 years of use, the Cutco steak knives could probably stand being resharpened, but it's not urgent as they still perform. The serrated kitchen knives are still in great shape and I've been able to easily maintain the plain edge knives at a razor edge with little more than a steel and occasional passes on diamond stones. 12 years! My wife loves them. I recently picked up a Victorinox chef's knife after several years of reading rave reviews about them and I certainly see what the hoopla is about. They are outstanding…and $35.99!! Inexpensive doesn't mean cheap!
 
I've never worked for Cutco, so I can't speak to that but I did direct sales for a summer back in college. I sucked at it and broke even after an entire summer of hard work. Others I worked with came back rolling in dough! They had the knack for it. I've never considered that time a waste because the experience of knocking on a cold door, presenting a sales pitch, and getting shot down helped me later on with public speaking, networking, poise, and developing a thick skin.
 
My parents still have their same set they bought 25+ years ago. Everyhing but the steak knives have been great. The steak knives are not full tang and have fallen apart.
 
johnny reb said:
My Wife just interviewed for a cutco sales person. What do y'all think? I have seen cutco knives, but I myself, would not own one. Would You buy a Cutco knife? Has anyone here worked for this company? I don`t think that my wife knows what she is getting into.
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Cutco/ Kabar uses mostly students for their sales force. After they have talked their parents, Aunts & uncles etc into buying that's about as long as they last!

The knives as mentioned being 440A hollow ground and mostly serrated are better than the china Faberware etc knives but not a first pick for any real serious chef or home cook.

Over ratted as the best knives in the world! " Their sales pitch"But still better than a lot of other choices around these days. They do make an excellent pair of scissors.

I have never seen one pro chef use Cutco. that said many house cooks do like them.

They wifey might excel at selling them? I just suggest that you don't become her best customer! ;)
 
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Your wife will do fine selling these knives until she runs out of friends to sell to.

My wife got suckered into, I mean bought a couple of these knives. The bread knife is the only good one, because the serrations work well on bread.
 
I'm about as serious a home cook as anyone out there and have eaten at more than a dozen Michelin star restaurants. I would have zero issue cooking for any chef and have cooked for the chef (my ex roommate) who did all the test recipes for three of Tribeca grill's cook books. I can say IMHO that cutco's work fine. I share the same experience as another member, my family has used the serrated carvers for all of our holiday carving or any carving of roasts and fowl for the last ten years and they are razor sharp. I have not once had to maintain the edges of those serrated carvers ever in this time. All the knives in my set we have two are pristine. The skill of a cook and chef is not in the equipment used but our body of knowledge and palate.

Being around the foodie world in NYC its true most chefs are running global and wusthof and the like but that's just because that's what their instructors recommend.

Personally I would throw down with a cutco set with anyone and not embarrass myself. Examples of my food are in the skills section of the forum. I make 80% of my stuff with one pot a wok and a chef knife.
 
Our neighbors got us a 2 piece slicer set as a wedding gift. It has a steak knife sized on and then a large one- both fully serrated. They cut well and I am happy with them thus far.

I can't speak on the company or how the sales are structured. Would I buy more from them? Maybe. I prefer Zwilling J.A. Henckels products personally.
 
johnny reb said:
Thank you all for your input, My Wife has decided to pass on this career opportunity.
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Thank god. I didn't get to respond to this before. They would have demanded all her time in order to make her focus on the "job" of selling knives. Basically they train you to go door to door, selling knives with a rehearsed spiel and demonstrations. They grab up anyone looking for a job and love preying on college kids by getting them to dress up in suits and ties as if they were actual interns.

How do you get customers? No cold calls, but you start with your family and friends, and then their family and friends, and are pushed to constantly expand your list. People with rich families and friends of course sell a lot more. Who the heck wants a $600 block of kitchen knives, unless they're a chef?

From experience, it is a joke. I had two jobs at the time and tried to integrate this as an off and on third, and they actually got me fired from the other two within a week. Insane. Too bad I was one of those dumb kids at the time.
 
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