If you’re looking these up you are either curious on what Cutco is because you saw them being demo’d at a home show, or someone mentioned these knives to you. Then, you found out how much they run and you wondered, “What on Earth makes these knives so expensive?” Next, you most likely followed that question up with, “Are they really worth the money?”
I’m going to give you the most annoying answer there is: It depends.
Do I own these? No. I saw them at the home show and our Brother and Sister-in-Law bought them there.
Their Experience:
- They use them every day since they cook at home every day.
- After the initial sticker shock I have never heard either of them complain about the price.
- Our Brother-in-Law cut himself with one of the knives last week and verified that even a few months into their use they are still as sharp as the day they received them.
- I’ve used them at their house and I’m convinced I could do surgery with these tools. They slice anything with very little effort.
Would I personally buy a set? Probably not, because I am too cheap and because I don’t cook enough to warrant it.
But, I would invest in a few of their ad-hoc items (not a full set) because I was pretty blown away by their scissors . Even for a little over a hundred dollars, I think they are probably worth it. Check the other reviews if you want to be convinced, but most everyone says these are hands down the best kitchen scissors on the market and can cut through literally “anything”.
These do introduce a certain element of danger though – all of a sudden you start looking around the house for a scissor challenge and pretty soon your gutters are chopped into confetti.
After using these in person and reading reviews from people who are completely loyal to this brand, the company has earned my respect and I don’t think it’s a scam like some others out there who seem enraged by the price of what they consider an “inferior” product.
We bought my Mother-In-Law the ($50-ish dollar) Cutco ice cream scoop because she had used a friend’s and said putting it into frozen ice cream was like “cutting soft butter”. So I have eaten my own dog food so to speak in advocating their purchase.
Why They Are Expensive
Cutco products can be classified as an overly-pricey but legitimately high-quality product that is backed by a trusted reputation, a la Pampered Chef kitchenware, which I also feel is really nice in quality but usually over-priced for what you get.
These are a bit of a luxury item that makes the buyer “feel” good about their purchase, and rightfully so. Again this is targeted to a very specific customer which seem to be primarily family households.
These are expensive for a few reasons:
Lifetime warranty. It is lifetime, no hassle, and completely reliable. Cutco prides themselves on their warranties and how easy the replacement process is.
Free lifetime sharpening. If you purchase a full set (runs around $1700.00) Cutco will typically have a rep go to your HOUSE and sharpen your knives for you. I don’t know of any other company offering this type of service. You can of course also mail your dulled knives in and they will mail them back sharpened, for life.
They are manufactured in America and go through several manual refining processes. While some of their manufacture processes are automated, the knife-making requires manual refining which means the company has to pay labor costs here in America, which are typically higher than what you might pay for products made in other countries.
Sales model. Cutco products are sold by commissioned sales teams who typically do physical demonstrations for potential customers at home shows or other kitchen venues. This isn’t a pro or a con to you or me, but it’s part of the reason these knives do run higher in cost.
Materials. I can’t say these materials are top grade – plenty of debates can be found online about the steel being sub-par to the top of the line grade steel vs. those who claim it is surgical quality and processed in a way that makes it higher quality than the metal alone would imply. But whether or not these claims are true, what we know is that the steel holds up without any staining, retains its sharpness for many uses, and can be resharpened for decades without degrading the quality of the metal.
Reputation. You do have to pay more for proven entities that you know will be around in 30 years when you need a replacement knife. You could alternatively go with “JoBlow’s Knives” and probably pay 1/10th of the price, but you are probably not signing up for a lifelong contract. When MAC lovers buy a MAC, they have a pretty solid understanding of what they will be getting. This is the reason people love, trust, and return to buy Cutco products. They know the brand and that they deliver on their promises.
The Home Show
I had ventured down the row to purchase some cool sheets (with straps so they never fall off – read about those here) and when I looked back I saw my Brother and Sister-in-Law getting roped into a sales demo for some knife company. I went over to them and watched them getting the sales “spiel” from the salesman.
Blah, blah, blah the knives are good – sure… whatever.
They said they were going to buy them.
I asked how much the set went for and was told seventeen hundred dollars. WAIT, WHAT? SEVEN-TEEN HUNDRED?
COUGH… CHOKE… “WAIT, HOW MUCH”???? I took a closer look to see if they were made out of gold, which for that price, I would have thought they were.
“Do the penny thing for her”, my Sister-in-Law said.
I was thinking, “The penny thing better be really cool”. Okay, yes, it was cool.
The dude took a penny, took his scissor, and made an animal out of it like he was cutting up a piece of paper. It was neat, but wait, SEVENTEEN HUNDRED? Not that neat.
But I’m not going to lie, it made me want (and I still think about them often) those scissors. If they can do that to metal, think of all the food possibilities… mostly I’m thinking it would be nice for cubing up chicken.
It didn’t totally surprise me that my Brother-in-Law signed up for this, because he needed a better knife set and he is the definition of a hassle-free person. Meaning, he will never sharpen a knife, he will only use things that can be beat up terribly and still work, and he throws EVERYTHING in the kitchen into the dishwasher.
These knives were supposedly durable, resilient, indestructible (or replaced if destroyed), and never required maintenance or sharpening from the buyer since the company will sharpen them for life.
I was still surprised however, that my Sister-in-Law, who would do anything to save a buck, was okay with this purchase. But that’s why they work, she knows when to argue and when not to.
A girl in her twenties with a really sparkly wedding ring positioned herself next to me with her husband. She tells the other sales guy “we decided we’ll do the black set”. I’m thinking that’s an awfully casual decision for these expensive knives.
I asked her, “are you buying these?”, and without hesitation she said “yeah, my family has them, and it’s the only knife set we would ever buy”.
So I realized the appeal factor behind these went beyond owning a sharp knife.
These knives have a reputation as a high-quality, trusted brand, really meant for people who will make this the only set of knives they will ever purchase. I suppose in that sense they are worth the money.
I have read reviews from people who have owned Cutco for over 40 years, love them, and swear by them.
The Cutco Customer
The Cutco customer seems to be primarily families who enjoy owning nice things.
The Cutco customer buys from companies with a trusted reputation who honor their warranty policies.
The Cutco customer doesn’t want to hassle with dragging out a whetstone or grinder sharpener every 2 months to maintain their kitchenware.
The Cutco customer ISN’T a professional chef who wants a specialized knife, like something forged with a specific tang weight. These are the people who seem to get the most outraged at the idea of the Cutco knife being a “good” knife since they have their own opinions of what “good” means.
The Cutco customer isn’t going to put on a Hibachi grill show with their cling clanging fancy knifes. They’re probably cutting some meat and veggies every night.
The Cutco customer is not a college kid who isn’t cooking much besides heating up Ramen 6 out of 7 nights of the week.
The Cutco customer is someone who believes you can use a serrated knife to cut things like steak and it doesn’t necessarily make you a less than civilized cretin.
The Cutco customer makes good use of their kitchen, often.
The Cutco customer is probably not slicing up paper thin pieces of fish. I’m not sure what you would do with that anyway, but it seems to be one of the concerns from the “anti-Cutco” camp – that the serrated knives can’t cut things thin enough. Which might be why there is a Cutco knife included in the set which is not serrated – for that paper-thin fish need that all of us (do not) have.
The Conclusion
In conclusion, I’d say this is a personal decision and comes down to how low-maintenance you are. If very, this might be the decision for you. You can purchase Cutco from Home & Garden Shows, the www.cutco.com website, or from Amazon.
If you like having a mixed set of knives and are more into the “chef” grade knives, if you like doing your own knife maintenance such as sharpening and careful cleaning, you might be better off with a set like this Dahlstrong.
Other good brands recommended by experts are the Wusthof Grand Prix or the Zwilling J.A. Henckels set.
It all comes down to personal preference.
FOREVER is really FOREVER… I just sent my Hand me down CUTCO of 40 + years back for sharpening alongside my pieces of 15+ years and it was $13 to cover return shipping on 26 items… Think about that for Value …. I am getting $2300+ Initial purchase value of cutlery for $13… when I am gone 40 years from now my grandkids will be able to receive a factory polished and sharpened set for just the cost of shipping…
Cutco are very expensive, but so are other high end knives.
For the record it is a “FOREVER” warranty, you can pass them down to your kids and their kids and they will cover warranty. That’s worth the money…
I arrived at this location due to researching kitchen knives for possible purchase. My current German steak knives have deteriorated owing to the rivets on their handles coming loose. My wife and I no longer place these knives in the dishwasher. What brand of kitchen knife is manufactured without rivets in the handle?
Cutco knives actually have a thermo-resin handle, a full tang, and nickel-silver rivets perfectly safe for dishwashing.
Hi William – you can find knives without rivets like the zwilling without rivets brand: https://www.zwilling.com/us/cutlery/chefs-knives/without-rivets/ – but I have to say most knives recommend hand-washing as the dishwasher can be too abrasive and cause corrosion eventually. Hope that helps!
I bought a set of Cutco knives in 1964 at the exhorbitant price of $185.99 I was making $.65/hr and paid monthly until they were paid off. I still have them. I got a set of 8 steak knives for a wedding gift a year later and still have them as well. My son, as an 8-9 yr old, discovered the scissors came apart for cleaning. I didn’t miss them until I needed them. He took them outside and I never saw them again. He also used some of the knives for screwdrivers but, I sharpen them myself with the knife sharpener that came with the set. I have tried finding a friendly Cutco representative to come to my home to sharpen them but have not been able to find one willing to reply. Are they worth $1,700, not for me but I’m also cheap and I am glad I took the chance and bought them 56 years ago.
Great article…very informative! You’ve eliminated my buyers remorse.
Thank you so much – so glad you stopped by! 🙂
Great Review. I sold Cutco for about a year in the late 90s when I was in college. I have a Homemaker set + some other stuff since around 1998 and they’re still amazing in 2020. I have a white set which may not have the same pristine handle look as when they arrived, but the steel is still spotless and the serrated knifes still cut perfectly after 20+ years of use.
Also, as Mikayla said before me, don’t buy these online, go find a friendly representative and you could certainly save some bucks.
Awesome to hear Dario!
Yeah – an investment for certain, but seems to pay off since these are for life. If you buy them in your twenties that’s a WHOLE lot of meals to enjoy. The price tag still makes me cringe though. 🙂
Appreciate you stopping by and commenting!
I am a college student/Mom who makes a living on showing cutco knives. Trust me, cutco.com and amazon are NOT where you want to purchase your knives!! They are more expensive then if you buy from your friendly cutco representative, like me. 🙂 if your going to buy cutco, hit me up first and I will get you a slamming deal!
Please contact me at brt650@gmail.com. I’m looking for a Cutco set with block
Thanks, Blake
GIVE ME A GOOD QUOTE on four