schmellba99 said:

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I don't think anybody has claimed they are the top of the line, but they are good quality knives that don't require a lot of maintenance, hold an edge fairly well and for general average joe type cooking, are a very solid brand. Which meets the needs of probably 99% or more of people out there. A big thing with them is their warranty and the fact that they don't nitpick you to death - most of the time they just replace the knife, no quesitons asked.

The handles, to me, are very ergonomic. I don't get wrapped up in my kitchen knives needing to have narwhal horn handles or any of that crap - they are kitchen knives and need to be somewhat utilitarian because they aren't going to be treated with kid gloves. They are a resin, just like most other production kitchen knife brands out there.

Cutco uses 440A, which isn't top of the line steel - but isn't a cheap grade either. And, frankly, anybody that thinks they need a supersteel kitchen knife that is hand forged is pretty much either a knife nerd or somebody that just thinks they have to have super expensive things just because.

Stamped vs. forged - almost no discernable difference. Forged sounds better than stamped, but most forged kitchen knives are drop forged or stamp forged where the manipulation of the steel is minimal at best. I mean, if you are forging it yourself, there is something to be said about that....but for the most part, forged knives out there are little more than semi-fancy production knives with an extra price tag. Same with most damascus steel knives - they are more than likely made with India or Paki cheap AF damascus and you'll find they don't sharpen for sht or hold and edge for sht either.

Are their "better" knifes? Abso-freaking-loutely. But in all reality, it is a very, very, very rare person that needs anything above "pretty solid" when it comes to normal every day cooking. Most of the rest is just "I want this because i fancy myself as a michelin chef on the weekends" or those that need to brag to the guests when they invite somebody over.

Don't get me wrong, the idea of a custom or some badass knife is apeallng and nothing wrong with it. Hell, one day I'd love to make a custom brisket knife out of a custom wootz blend with a nice handle, that would just be cool as hell. Even better if I could make it myself and have it come out close to how I picture it.

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