Made in America

[Beestie]

I just went on my favorite knife site. They carry everything.

But no Cutco knives. What's up with that?

Is it one of those deals like SnapOn tools?

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Beestie

I just went on my favorite knife site. They carry everything.

But no Cutco knives. What's up with that?

Is it one of those deals like SnapOn tools?

Pretty much - you can only buy them from UG.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by Beestie

I just went on my favorite knife site. They carry everything.

But no Cutco knives. What's up with that?

Well, you could always look at the Cutco website. The shears on the first page you see aren't cheap, but brother do they perform. Mine are eighteen years old and they are not merely in tiptop condition, they are freakin' unchanged. We have to test these things for wear using cardboard strips. Cardboard is very mean to scissors by itself -- and we have to add a ten percent silica content to the cardboard just to get wear we can measure!

We deal factory-direct, no distributors, no anybody else -- and we reckon it the kind of product that takes a hands-on, one on one demonstration to really sell it, so it primarily goes through the sales force. Includin' such as me.

Classic, with all due respect, you ain't even seen what the stuff can do, let alone felt it at work. Cutco's something you have to feel.

UT, we have our methods. We have, after all, been selling Cutco on word of mouth since 1948. Vector Marketing becoming Cutco's sales arm in the early 1970s was because of its selling knowhow. Cutco makes 'em in its Olean NY factory, Vector sells 'em, Alcas Corp. owns both -- and Ka-Bar Knives besides.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

Classic, with all due respect, you ain't even seen what the stuff can do, let alone felt it at work. Cutco's something you have to feel.

I spent nine years in restaurants specializing in French saute'. Please do not underestimate my knowledge on the subject. The Cutco knoives are fine for most average people who will use it sparingly to cut a few veggies and whatnot for their family's dinner. We would regularly chop up to 50 lbs of mushrooms, onions and assorted other vegetables every day for weeks and months on end. Add to that the slicing of prime rib 5 nights a week... Puhlease - I know damn well what I am talking about. We blew through knives on a monthly basis.

They are a fine blade for Joe or Jane homeowner. In my opinion, for those that want to step up into the big league there are only two players: JA Henkels and Wüsthof.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by classicman

I spent nine years in restaurants specializing in French saute'. Please do not underestimate my knowledge on the subject. The Cutco knoives are fine for most average people who will use it sparingly to cut a few veggies and whatnot for their family's dinner. We would regularly chop up to 50 lbs of mushrooms, onions and assorted other vegetables every day for weeks and months on end. Add to that the slicing of prime rib 5 nights a week... Puhlease - I know damn well what I am talking about. We blew through knives on a monthly basis.

They are a fine blade for Joe or Jane homeowner. In my opinion, for those that want to step up into the big league there are only two players: JA Henkels and Wüsthof.

Great to know. I am looking at upgrading our kitchen stuff, I will definately check those out. Thanks.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by classicman

I spent nine years in restaurants specializing in French saute'. Please do not underestimate my knowledge on the subject. The Cutco knoives are fine for most average people who will use it sparingly to cut a few veggies and whatnot for their family's dinner. We would regularly chop up to 50 lbs of mushrooms, onions and assorted other vegetables every day for weeks and months on end. Add to that the slicing of prime rib 5 nights a week... Puhlease - I know damn well what I am talking about. We blew through knives on a monthly basis.

They are a fine blade for Joe or Jane homeowner. In my opinion, for those that want to step up into the big league there are only two players: JA Henkels and Wüsthof.

mmmmm... I love to eat great food. Wanna get married? I'm REALLY good in bed, and I LOVE giving head... :p

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Merc, well, a few things. It often works better from your point of view if you throw the other guy on it.

[TheMercenary]

I still say they are the best around, IMHO. They stay sharp, and the one I have is used exclusively for cutting up game.

[classicman]

A nice story about the Cutco organization.

Summer Job: Nice Pay, if You Can Cut It

By EILEEN GUNN
August 7, 2008

When Derek Kernus failed to land a summer internship at a big company, the College of William & Mary student responded to an ad in the paper for an admittedly unusual job. Now he's spending the summer traipsing through the homes of friends, neighbors and strangers—armed with carrots and rope—selling stainless steel kitchen knives.
It might sound odd at best, nightmarish if you're shy—and a far cry from an elite internship at an investment bank, law firm, or media company. But, say many an alum of the knife-hawking business, the skills and experience you need to boost your résumé and land a job postgraduation can be found in the quirky summer job.

The knife company in question is Cutco Cutlery, an Olean, N.Y., manufacturer with $198 million in revenue, according to Sarah Baker Andrus, director of academic programs for Vector Marketing, Cutco's sales arm. Ms. Andrus says the company brings in 60% of its sales over the summer, when a force of 40,000—85% of whom are students—fan out to ply their wares.

These junior salespeople don't receive an hourly or weekly wage. Instead they earn a commission that starts at 10% and can climb to more than 50% for top sellers. Ms. Andrus says students who work the whole summer earn an average of $3,000 to $5,000. But there are plenty who earn more.

Students around the country earn money every summer hawking books, makeup, pet supplies and other goods via rehearsed demonstrations in their own homes or those of their customers. It's tough work—even those who are successful at it say so.

"It's not for everyone, but people who go through the process are better for it," says Larry Curran, a managing director for Garrett Sayer Group, a temporary and permanent staffing firm in Parsippany, N.J., who made $5,000 selling Cutco knives in 1989, between semesters at Eastern Connecticut State University.

But Mr. Curran and others who have done it say that it provides a more marketable experience than other fallback jobs.

John Williams, 34, who now does research and consulting in Cincinnati for a technology-oriented think tank, sold Cutco knives in the summer of 1992 before he entered Northwestern University. "It was a unique and, in some ways, unnatural experience," he recalls. "You have to go into someone's home and quickly gain their trust." But in the process, Mr. Williams says, he learned how to market himself and his product, make presentations and respond to questions, adjust to new and unexpected situations, and quickly connect with people. "You also learn about integrity and following through," he notes.

These are skills Mr. Williams says he has touted in every job search he's conducted and used every job he's worked in. What's more, he and others say, the experience has caught the eye of recruiters and interviewers.

Asher Abraham also has fond memories of his Cutco years. He sold the knives throughout his four years at Queens College, in New York, and earned more than $100,000 one year, and he learned a lot in the process, he says. "The first time my [Cutco] manager asked me to speak at a weekly meeting, I thought, 'Who, me? Talk to everybody? No way,' " he recalls. But he did it, and after doing it over and over, it became second nature, he says. He graduated in 2006 and left Cutco a year later for a job at Liberty Mutual, selling commercial insurance.

[classicman]

I am more than spoken for.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by classicman

I am more than spoken for.

What is "more than spoken for", yelled at?

[sugarpop]

Oh well. I had to try...

[TheMercenary]

Cheater.

[sugarpop]

What? When have you ever cooked for me? :p