Ka-Bar and Cutco

[BigRott]

I was reading an old thread about Cutco and believe the connection between Cutco and Ka-Bar was misinterpreted. As a big Ka-Bar fan I would like to try to set the record straight. Here's the deal the way I understand it:

In 1948, ALcoa and CASe got together and formed ALCAS (get it?) with the intent of manufacturing and marketing Cutco kitchen cutlery. In the years that followed, ALCAS continued to do its thing but Ka-Bar encountered some lean times and changed hand more than once. In 1996 (not 1986 as was stated in Knives 2000), Ka-Bar changed hands once again, this time going to ALCAS. So it is ALCAS that owns both Cutco and Ka-Bar.

This new relationship seems to be working well for Ka-Bar as can be seen by their improved quality and development of new products since '96.

Feel free to correct anything I screwed up.

Later,

MBS

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Nevermind the dog...beware of owner!

 

[Razoredj]

I don't think Kabar need fear for its reputation despite the association with Cutco. The two are entire separate to knife buyers, and share no commonality of design, at least in my mind.

For that matter, Cutco knives are of decent quality. The problem is that they are more expensive than they need to be, and Cutco's sales pitch is laced with half-truths and outright falsehoods. This is probably the result of ignorance rather than malicious intent, but there you have it.

Razor

 

[Burke]

There was some Cutco salesman around here for a while, explaining to us the benefits of their unique serrations, etc. Did he give up, or is he still around?

 

[Razoredj]

I believe he no longer posts here.

This seems to happen with regularity on rec.knives -- or at least it did back when I read that newsgroup all the time. A Cutco salesman would pop up, display phenomenal ignorance of knives in general, make a fool of himself, and then disappear.

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.

 

[storyville]

I agree -- Ka-Bar need not sweat over guilt by association ... but let's be nice to all members past, present, and future!

(I display phenomenal ignorance regularly, but don't even have the good sense to disappear...!)

Cutco is indeed WAY overpriced, but I have received 2 Cutco gifts from non-knife-knuts (who else?) which I enjoy very much: the Cutco spreader blade is great for sandwiches, and the Fisherman's Solution adjustable-length fillet knife is pretty nifty!

Glen

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Y2K complacent

 

[Razoredj]

Sorry, I should have clarified. Displaying ignorance is not a terrible thing in itself. The behavior of the Cutco salesmen online has prejudiced me against their ilk purely because of the ironic arrogance these individuals displayed in conjunction with their lack of knowledge.

Invariably, they would presume to tell a community of knife hobbyists all about things which said hobbyists already knew -- and further presumed that their Cutco training meant that they knew more than the poor, benighted denizens of rec.knives or even these forums.

Ignorance is easily cured, but arrogance just sets my jaw a'workin'. The fact that few, if any, of these salespeople stuck around once they'd been thoroughly corrected indicates that their problems went deeper than awareness of how much they did not know.

All that said, I'd love it if someone gave me a set of Cutco kitchen knives as a gift. I'm simply not willing to pay Cutco's prices for them.

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.



[This message has been edited by Razoredj (edited 01-08-2000).]