Cutco???

Originally posted by baraqyal

What advantage do the Cutco knives have? The fact that you can pay to have them sharpened? The fact that they will replace them for "free" (well, you still pay shipping in) unless they've been "abused" (you pay 1/2 of the current retail, they decide what constitutes abuse) The fact that, by your numbers, you could buy 30 sets of near equal quality for the same price?

50 years of existance is no proof that the company will be around another 50. Especially considering the companies IMO fraud-like business practices.

Your knives may very well last 30 years. They are, after all, made of steel, even if it is only 440A. That, however, is no proof of quality. Especially when you can get better knives, with better steel, from better companies, for the same price.

-- Rob
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Advantages? Yes, they are. $10 or so to have them sharpened is not much IMO. Since, as stated, I have yet to find a good cutlery shop within a 45 minute drive, it's not bad. And that shop uses a $25 hand held sharpener. Yippie. So yes, Cutco's service is an advantage. Replacement is also an advantage. Even at half price. Not everyone has the regard for knives that the forumites here do. Some people just don't take care of them properly. Whatever the reason, such a warranty is an advantage. Ginsu is the same quality? Glad you think so. ;)

Fraud like practices? I've never had a problem with them. Like I stated, I didn't sit through one of thier presentations, so I don't know what they're like. There are many companies I feel are very fraudulent that have been in business a long time, that many people like. It's the joys of having a choice.

Better knives with better steel at a better price? I'm sure there are. Too bad there aren't around me. I'm not going to spend a load of money on knives for someone else when they can't even hold them and try them first, let alone get a good look at them. Even if I would, where would I be after that? No place around where my mom lives to take them to be sharpened correctly. Possibly no warranty, or not as good as one? As honeywell stated, the stand behind thier product very well. I've only had limited dealings with thier customer service, but every time was extremely positive.
 
If those are the type of kitchen knives your looking for, why not just go ahead and go to the flea market and buy some ginsu!!!


...everyone who said they're 'not all that" were telling you the truth. I you want some kitchen cutlery try some of kershaw'new kitchen knives!!!
 
Originally posted by Patryn
Advantages? Yes, they are. $10 or so to have them sharpened is not much IMO. Since, as stated, I have yet to find a good cutlery shop within a 45 minute drive, it's not bad. And that shop uses a $25 hand held sharpener. Yippie. So yes, Cutco's service is an advantage. Replacement is also an advantage. Even at half price. Not everyone has the regard for knives that the forumites here do. Some people just don't take care of them properly. Whatever the reason, such a warranty is an advantage. Ginsu is the same quality? Glad you think so. ;)

Fraud like practices? I've never had a problem with them. Like I stated, I didn't sit through one of thier presentations, so I don't know what they're like. There are many companies I feel are very fraudulent that have been in business a long time, that many people like. It's the joys of having a choice.

Better knives with better steel at a better price? I'm sure there are. Too bad there aren't around me. I'm not going to spend a load of money on knives for someone else when they can't even hold them and try them first, let alone get a good look at them. Even if I would, where would I be after that? No place around where my mom lives to take them to be sharpened correctly. Possibly no warranty, or not as good as one? As honeywell stated, the stand behind thier product very well. I've only had limited dealings with thier customer service, but every time was extremely positive.
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I think your missing the point; the topic of this thread is "My buddies wife was quite impressed if not by the Cutco knives then the SALESMAN.

He has asked me to research it. I can't make search work, so give me whatever ya got to say about Cutco!

Thanks!"

He wants to know if there all the salesman says they are, and earlier post have showed that they are good, but not as good as the make them sound. This is not about how bad are these knives are but if they’re worth the cash, and as it’s been said thought the thread, there overpriced. What everyone here is saying is your better off buying some decent high quality knives that cost a bit more.

So in the end, Cutco = low quality high price, bad buy.
 
I see a problem here with how some of us treat Cutco salesmen. We seem to feel that they all have the last name of "Cutco". Most are college kids whose only knowledge of knives is what Cutco tells them. For us to confront them in a belligerent manner doesn't change their loyalty to their employer or their knowledge base. I don't tend to believe someone who is face to face with me, telling me I'm an idiot.

Let's give the salespeople a break.

Bruce
 
Here's something I forgot to add. They ship them to you, so you have to pay shipping, but since you purchase them in your state, you also have to pay sales tax. Usually when you buy knives it is one or the other, unless the company you order from happens to be in your state. IIRC, you pay sales tax on the total AFTER shipping. Its has been a few years since the order so I might be wrong, but I do remember something wierd like that. That is something you might want to check. Also their service is slower than most mail order knife companies. $10.00 to sharpen a knife is a lot. I'm pretty sure it is usually around $5.00 per knife. There are shops that specialize in sharpening knives and tools.

A funny story about Cutco: A friend of mine was selling it and doing his sales pitch on me, and for some reason lost his Henkels price list to compare with Cutco. Since he knew I had knife catalogs he asked me if I had one with Henkels knives in it. I gave him one and he continued with his presentaion," As you can see, Henkels are much more expensive than... What?!! They're cheaper!!!" as he looked at the catalog for a long time.:D
 
just had the cutco salesman at the house a couple of weeks ago had allot of fun at one point he asked me to grab my three favorite knives and we would compare them to cutco so i grabbed my bagwell bell a strider mt and a spydie. salesment then informed me that he meant my three favorite kitchen knives. didja notice the sharpening on one side of the blade alla crkt? gee do you think this could be to cheapen up production? oh yeah they should also tell there salesman not to attempt to sell knives to bladesmith wanna bes we tend to enjoy that kind of thing.
 
I think one of Patryn's best points is that for some, CUTCO offers exactly what they need. Sharp knives that feel nice in the hand, that they get to hold before buying and they can send the knives in to be sharpened. As already brought up, if you live in remoter areas, then CUTCO may be just what one needs.

Will'em, thanks though for reminding us that the original poster was asking about the salesman as much as he was asking about the knives.

I just wanted to mention something about the steel chosen for their knives though. For the application, 440A is not bad at all. Stain resistance is high, it is easy to sharpen, easy to "steel" and very appropriate for the task. Kitchen knives cut relatively soft material, so a 440A edge should last decently long, especially if used with a "steel". If you bang the edge around, use a thin 440A blade to hack at bones, etc., then the knife may not be so good. Then again, we could say that the technique chosen may not be so good, instead of critiquing the steel.

I have made 4 kitchen knives now from 440-C, one chef's blade was 1/8" thick and the other blades are all 1/16" thick. Thin, sharp, high rockwell (typically kitchen blades are low to mid 50's, my blades are high 50's.) Sure these blades should hold an edge very well, but the thin/higher rockwell means they could chip out more easily than a mid 50's Rockwell 440-A blade. Where CUTCO goes wrong with 440A, I think, is in the price they set. 440-A is inexpensive, but the prices CUTCO sets are too high.

I still think the best bet for people who can't sharpen their own blades with no professionals around is the sharpmaker! If you can slice pie, you can sharpen a kitchen knife with those blades. Heck, you can even sharpen Spyderco's serrated kitchen blades with the Sharpmaker! Unfortunately, you cannot sharpen CUTCO's serrations though.
 
Originally posted by Crayola
Unfortunately, you cannot sharpen CUTCO's serrations though.
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They're not serratons! They are a Double-D edge! :eek:

Seriously, this in one of their claims. I guess a Spyderedge and Cold Steel serrations are not serraions then.
 
I've had them since 1986,and use them every day ! And they still look great ;) Also at that time ,I was working at Boeing ,with the Father of the owner of CUTCO.So i got talked into them that way ,back then they were one of the best . Don't no about there quality now ?
 
Crayola,

I agree that 440A could be an OK steel. I just don't think that it's ideal for people who can't sharpen on a regular basis.

Also, good point on the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Great product, worth every penny.

Patryn,

I live in Los Angeles, so I'm sure my perspective is a little schewed. I can handle most any kitchen knife before I buy it. If you're happy with Cutco, then by all means, keep using and buying their products.

Great service is always a major plus whenever I buy any product. I'm sure the corporate office of Cutco takes good care of its customers. My concern with Cutco lies in their marketing and sales. It's basically a modified pyramid scheme. I bet most of the money made at Cutco is made in selling the "demo" sets to poor people who are so desperate for money, that they are willing to try marketing kitchen knives to their own friends and family. Most fail miserably, and end up with a $250+ set of knives they never use. (Look for them cheap on Ebay - if you can still stomach buying a set after reading the stuff below).

Check out the following sites.
Cutco is a scam Petition - 197 signatures

Cutco Corp message board at the complaint station

Analysis of Cutco; Make up to $7.50 an hour at a job you hate

I could never buy a knife from a company like that.

Also, I probably would never have a cutlery shop sharpen one of my knives, unless I had money to burn. But, I was talking about options for those that don't know how to sharpen.

Hope you enjoy the info,

-- Rob
 
Cutco sucks, but their salespeople are generally great college kids suckered into thinking they will make big bucks. My Son's room mate sold cutco and my wife and I sat through a demonstration. Everything he said and did was choreographed by the company, not the kid. He is a wonderful young man and did a masterful job following the script. But the script is FLAWED!!!!

I am not knocking the folks who sell CUTCO. The sales force do not make "cold" calls. They work off referrals from family and friends. We sat through the demonstartion and we were going to buy the complete set because he is my son's room mate and a great kid. I figured maybe $500 for the set. When his first offer was well over a grand, I vapor-locked.

So again I want to reiterate that the kids who sell CUTCO are wonderful, the knives do cut and cut well for kitchen use. the CUTCO warranty is great and for those who cannot sharpen a knife and cannot find a professional close by who knows how to sharpen, being able to ship them back is a great deal. But they are priced at at least three times their worth [being very conservative]. For the money, CUTCO sucks...............
 
but I was given a pitch by some vacuum sales company once where they wanted me to pay for some training program to sell their overpriced vacuum. The program cost several hundred dollars...

Is Cutco doing the same thing?

If it is... Suckering college kids into buying their training, Selling POS products at excessive prices... even if they don't sell one item, they've made their money on the training program...

I occasionally get asian trade magazines and I'm confident that I've seen knives of the same quality priced at pennies per knife upon leaving the factory.

If the training system is the same, I'd venture to say that the moneymaker is not in the products, but in the Training Programs... wouldn't that constitute a scam?

Funny thing is... I just checked out the Cutco company and Kabar seems to be somewhere in the corporate structure.
Cutco, Vector, their Parent Company, Kabar and the whole mess

This is all very confusing...

Edited to add...
Waita minnit... I just read the post again, and it seems that I'm accusing cutco of being a scam... what I'm trying to say is that the vacuum company is running a scam... and I'm asking if anyone knows if Cutco is doing the same...
 
I'm not sure if it would legally be a scam, but it is pretty close. They say it is a "job" but it is really a "business opportunity." Each person is his/her own boss. They often get mailing lists of recent high school graduates and send them a sales pitch. They go through 2-3 days of free training and either purchse a demo set of knives or borrow a set to return when they quit. They then make a list of all the adults they know; relatives, parents' friends, friends' parents, etc to call up and tell them that they have a new job and will "practice" their pitch on them. They get paid per demo whether they make a sale or not, but the pay is deceptive. They don't really get that per hour if you take into account all the calls they make before they get someone willing to listen to a demo. The managers call them every morning to "encourage" (IMO harass) them into setting more appointments. They do have advanced training and I do not know if they get it free or not. Thier training is pretty much memorizing and rehersing a script. I've been pitched and read the script and it is pretty lame. I could write a much better one. It seems the author had a community college level social psychology class or read a book. :eek: The part about telling the person that you want to practice the presentaion is actually part of the presentation so the real presentaions are portrayed as "practice." This is dishonest IMO.

Here are a couple of links I found:

http://www.geocities.com/cutcocomplaints/cutco_vector_alcas.html

http://atlas.spaceports.com/~cesquire/vector.html

I'm not sure if I would call it a scam, though. A ripoff, yes, but a scam would imply lying rather than distorting facts. If someone sold a Buck Diamondback or Cold Steel SRK, both good knives for the money, for $400.00 and said that they were better and cheaper than something like a Busse Steelheart or Strider BT that would be comparable to the Cutco sales pitch.
 
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