Good kitchen knives. Cutco?

Mr.Ritz

Are these really the best and if so can I talk the dealers down on prices. I can only afford 2 knives if 50 dollars each is the going price.

schuss

No, they're not even close.
Get a good chefs knife and paring knife from either a japanese specialty or Wusthof etc. There's a ton of resources out there.

KalTorak

I've never used Cutcos, but Victorinox's knives consistently get the highest ratings from Cooks Illustrated (they periodically test kitchen equipment) and are less expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-47521-10-Inch-Fibrox-Handle/dp/B0000CF8YO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346776615&sr=8-2&keywords=victorinox+chef's+knife

Some people prefer forged blades for some things (i like forged chef's knives for the extra weight), but in terms of getting the best quality for the price, I'd recommend a 10" Victorinox chef's knife, 3.25" paring knife, and bread knife.

That comes to about $65 for the three knives.

Mr.Ritz

That is a much better price. How well do they do for not going dull?

see317

A quick google search turns up some bad reviews for CutCo. Ignore the reviews on Amazon, they're crap and most likely planted by CutCo or associates. Ignore the reviews on CutCo.com (obviously).

Here's a link to Cheftalk, most of the posts seem like they're pretty down on CutCo.
My suggestion, if you're on a budget, pick up a knife set at Wal-Mart or somewhere similar. Unless you're a professional chef, they should work well for 5-10 years and will cost a fraction of CutCo.

Noisymunk

http://www.amazon.com/Henckels-International-2-Piece-Hollow-Santoku/dp/B000N8R278/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1346777287&sr=8-7&keywords=henckels

I like this line for beginner knives on a budget. I've got one of the larger Santoku's, and it's held up through a few years of abuse. Keep it out of the dishwasher and use a honing steel properly and it should last you a while.

schuss

I personally hate Santoku's. I have a victorinox, and it's nice but the edge is less durable than some nicer knives. If you learn how to use a steel and pay attention, it will be fine.
If you buy a good knife and take care of it, it will take at least a decade as a home cook to mess it up. Another option:
http://amzn.com/B00004RFMT

Dr. Frenchenstein

i have a full block of knives, and i use the chef knife for 98% of everything (not including the steak knives that came with it) i chop/cut/whatever. it's not even a high end set (i don't think, my parents bought it for me when i moved out), and i've had it for years.

mts

I have a cutco chef and paring knife. I like Em. Have held their edge well and the balance is good

Djeet

Get a heavy 8-10" chef's knife. They say all you need is a chef's knife and a paring knife, but I can pare with a chef's knife by holding the spine in palm. I've 4 chef's knives (a cheap 10" stamped, an 8" santoku, an Asian "cleaver", and a heavy 10" forged Henckel) and I usually bring out the heaviest (10" Henckel Pro line) because the heft usually helps, unless I need to slice veggies real thin (then I'll use the santoku). These were inherited; I'm not really brand-conscious, just get a heavy forged chef knife. You can do anything with it. I could replace all my knives with chef's knives except a filet knife and bread knife, and both those would be cheap stamped stuff.

Delphinidaes

My personal experience (granted this was years ago) with Cutco is that they go for the serrated edge style of cutlery (This is a very bad thing imo). I'll echo what others are saying here in that you really just need a nice solid forged chef's knife, a paring knife, and a Santoku if you like. I really just use my chef's knife for pretty much everything. Oh and yeah get an actual bread knife as trying to cut bread with anything else is an exercise in frustration.

wonderpug

Don't buy a Cutco.

If you have $100 to spend, buy a nice $100 chef's knife. I like 8", but 10" is also popular. I'm a big fan of the Shun brand, but brand choice is a personal thing. You should head to a Williams-Sonoma or something and hold a few to see what feels right, even if you end up buying elsewhere.

I use my 8" chef's knife for almost every cooking thing I do. Paring knife pretty much only gets brought out if I want to peel an apple.

You should also get a honing steel if you can and have someone show you how to use it. I used to feel silly bringing it out--like I was just going through motions I saw someone on TV do without any real benefit--but now that I've gotten used to doing it I can notice a real difference and I do it just about every time I cook.

Grifter

I invested in a set of Wustof knives a while back. They're great quality but aren't incredibly cheap. Henkels are supposed to be good too but you. They make some lines that are rather affordable. For most kitchen work you only need a few knives. A good chef knife, paring knife and bread knife should sort you out for the majority of the work that you're going to do in the kitchen. My wife generally uses her santoku for almost everything because she's afraid of the chef's knife.

schuss

main reason to get both is so you can cut raw meat and veggies simultaneously during prep.

wonderpug

I just wash in between. I'd rather use a chef's knife for most veggie prep.

mrt144

Shun knives are the best.

fightinfilipino

Cutco does not use a serrated edge, exactly. on some of their knives, they use a regular repeating pattern of d-shaped "teeth" that have cutting surfaces on all three sides. the suckers are actually incredibly sharp and retain their edges surprisingly well. they are however a complete pain in the ass to sharpen. their chef knife uses a plain straight edge.

Cutco isn't necessarily crap, but you CAN find much higher quality stuff for lower cost. i'd actually take a look at some of the new ceramic knives out there. they look really really interesting.

djmitchella

KalTorak wrote: »

I've never used Cutcos, but Victorinox's knives consistently get the highest ratings from Cooks Illustrated (they periodically test kitchen equipment) and are less expensive.

+1 -- I have a (not serrated) Cutco knife that we were given as a gift, and it's sharp, sure, but the Victorinox ones are just as sharp and much cheaper.

If you want really sharp knives, and are prepared to take care of them, then the hand-made japanese ones like the ones from knifewear.com are the way to go.