The Products : Cutco does not make “just knives”, but they do specialize in knives. There are few other products made by this company, and the only non-kitchen product I have any experience with to share is the Fisherman’s Solution. While this hunter/fisher’s must have is absolutely amazing, I am not here to talk about that. I am here to talk about the kitchen cutlery by Cutco.
The paring knife has a long handle for comfort. The comfort is relative to the user however, as some are so used to the short handle, and resting their thumb on the back of the paring knife blade, that the long handle seems unnecessary.
What’s so great about Cutco? First of all, the handles are made out of thermo resin. This material is similar to that used in bowling balls and football helmets. It’s pretty heavy duty stuff. Compare that to wooden handles which rot easily (and if you only knew about the sanity of wooden handles!) or plastic handles that can break; and tell me that you wouldn’t prefer a more durable material like thermo resin.
But I’m just getting started. Speaking of knives breaking, I’ll teach you a word about knives you may have never known before. The tang is how far the blade goes into the handle. Most knives have a partial tang. This includes your basic, cheap Walmart knives with the plastic handles. This also includes your wooden knives… on which you can actually see the tang. (That metal ‘line’ travelling partly down the handle, which may already be loose and ready to pop out.)
Partial tangs are not safe to use, as they can easily break while you are cutting. I’m only telling you this so you can understand why it is good that Cutco has a full tang.
One more thing about the basic construction of Cutco knives that stands out above the others is the rivets. Your plastic handled knives have none, and your wodden handles have about 2 brass rivets. They will expand and loosen and just another thing that makes those knives unsafe. Cutco knives have 3 nickel rivets that will never loosen or pop out.
Moving on now to the good stuff… the most important thing about a kitchen knife is the blade. Only 2 knives in the most popular Cutco set are straight edged. (Straight edged knives dull on hard surfaces, although Cutco straight edges will stay sharper much, much longer than a ‘typical household knife.) The other type of blade is a serrated.
If you can take a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and draw a “wave” with rounded bottoms, you are looking at a serrated edge blade. Now draw a line slanted down, a horizontal line straight, and another slanted line(_/_/_/_/). Repeat this pattern and you will be able to see the difference. The second “pattern” is not a serrated edge. It is the Cutco’s Double D Edge. What’s so great about this blade is that it is not cutting with those little points that dull after so many uses. The double d edge is a recessed cutting surface, protected by those points. So it cuts much better than a serrated knife, it cuts like a straight edge but it will never dull.
There is a long list of wonderful things about Cutco knives, but I will just end with the best thing. Cutco is backed by a Forever Guarantee. Not a lifetime guarantee, but forever. You can pass this down to your grandkids grandkids grandkids, and it is still covered. With this construction it is highly unlikely anything ever will happen, aside from losing your knife, but if anything does (aside from setting it on fire and running it over with a steam roller to see if you can find a way to destroy it) then Cutco will replace your knife totally free. You don’t need a proof of purchase, the only thing you pay is the shipping to send your damaged knife back.
The same thing goes for sharpening. If for any reason your knife does need to be sharpened, Cutco will do it totally free. All you pay is the shipping to send it in. (Actually, they won’t sharpen it. They’ll simply replace it with a brand new knife.)
What’s the big deal with knives? If you are happy with a basic Walmart knife set, then that is okay. These knives are extremely high quality, and for those who either make a living cooking, or love to cook and need the highest quality equipment. However, even if you are happy with your knife set as is, Cutco is worth checking out simply for the spatula spreader. You will never find anything like this anywhere else… I promise. This little sandwich maker will get the last of the mayo out of the bottom of the jar for you, cut the tomatoes paper thin without making a mess (thanks to the double d edge) and that is something that once you have seen it… you just have to have it. It makes life in the kitchen much easier.
What’s the catch? I’m not a sales person. (Although I used to sell Cutco, if you couldn’t already tell. Don’t go anywhere just yet though, the key word is used to and this is where I am giving my honest opinion.) These knives are for somebody who truly wants, or needs, the highest quality. That, or somebody who just has a lot of money. The “most popular set” mentioned earlier costs about $800. There are financing plans available, but the bottom line is you will be spending an obscene amount of money on these knives.
I’m not saying they are overpriced. Considering the cost of making these knives, as they use the highest quality steel possible for kitchen cutlery use and they use thermo resin… these knives are very expensive to make. Therefore, they are expensive to buy.
These knives are great, but unless you are going to use them often you may want to pay close attention to what each knife is used for and only purchase those which you would use. It will still be expensive, but it is more affordable to “make up your own set”.
The biggest catch with Cutco is buying them. You can’t find them in a store. There are only two ways to purchase Cutco. You can book a demo with a sales rep (which is what I used to be). They will come to your home and allow you to use these knives hands on. You wouldn’t want to spend that large of an amount of money with out witnessing first hand how incredible these knives really are.
The sales rep will also challenge your knives. You will learn much more about these knives than I have given you… I’d share it all but it’s just not my job anymore. I will tell you that the demos are a lot of fun, a good rep will bring food to share and play with, and you will feel embarrassed about your knives. As the title implies, the Cutco table knife (yes, the butter knife) will put your sharpest steak knife to absolute shame.
The only other way to purchase Cutco is to call 1-800-633-8323. You can view the Cutco products on their website (http://www.cutco.com) but you can not order unless you call that number or schedule a demo in your own home from a sales rep. Personally, I would recommend going through the demo, even if you aren’t sure about buying. I can tell you first hand that the sales reps are used to hearing “no thanks” so there should be no guilt or pressure.
The Bottom Line: If you even came across this article and bothered to read it, your interest must be peaked by high quality knives. If so, book a demo so you can witness first hand how much better Cutco knives are than yours. (Note: When I was a sales rep, I did come across some demos where I had to challenge other high quality, high priced knives like Wusthof, Henckels, and Farberware. I always put those to shame as well.)
