Having the right knife or set of knives can make all the difference when you’re whipping up a meal at home. As someone who has learnt this lesson the hard way over the years, having the right knife for each job is key to making chopping, dicing, and cutting a breeze. Today I’m reviewing the Cutco Kitchen Classics set which includes a gift of two table/steak knives.
What’s inside Cutco Kitchen Classics box
Inside the Cutco Kitchen Classics set you will find a 7-5/8” Petit Chef Knife, a Trimmer Knife, a 2-3/4” Paring Knife and two Table/Steak Knives. They each come in a protective cardboard sleeve in an easy to open plastic bag inside a gift box. I think the cardboard sleeve is to protect the blade as well as your fingers as you unpackage each knife. I suggest keeping the cardboard sleeves as well as the plastic bags for future in case you ever need to send them out for sharpening.
You’ll also find the Cutco Product Care Guide where you can read about how to best take care of your knives and browse through all the other knives offered by Cutco. This is also where you can read about the design, material and craftsmanship of the knives as well as learn about the Cutco Forever Guarantee.
Specifications of Cutco knives
Cutco’s knives are made of high-carbon, stainless steel for optimum edge retention and are rust, stain and corrosion resistant. Some minor stains can happen with certain foods or if your household water has a high mineral content, but you can use a non-abrasive polishing compound to remove them. The handles are made of thermo-resin that won’t chip, crack or absorb moisture and they resist most stains. Should a stain occur simply wash them with mild liquid abrasive cleaner or a run through the dishwasher. They’re also ergonomic and fit perfectly in the shape of your hand whether big or small or left or right handed. They have a full tang (excluding the table knife) which means the tang runs the full length of the blade and the handle, giving the knives extra strength and balance.
The Petit Chef and Paring Knife are both straight edge knives and will require periodic sharpening. Cutco recommends using their sharpener or sending them back to Cutco for sharpening, but any sharpening stone or steel will do the job. The Trimmer and Table Knives both have Double-D Recessed Edges. These edges are a series of three cutting edges with a concave grind and are designed to stay sharp for many years. Cutco’s Forever Guarantee is part of their amazing customer service and they will sharpen, hone, buff, repair and if necessary replace your Cutco knives and accessories for free, all you pay is the shipping.
Testing out the knives
After reading through the Cutco Product Care Guide and learning that I should not use the knives on a glass, porcelain or metal surface, I dug out my huge wooden chopping board. I then raided my fridge to see what I had in there I could chop up. I tested out the paring knife on some strawberries and a carrot. Of course, the knife sliced through the strawberry like it was butter and because strawberries are so small you need to watch your fingers while cutting them up. I unfortunately learnt the hard way how incredibly sharp these Cutco knives are. As I was moving them around to have them perfectly placed for the photos I was taking, I bumped the handle of the table/steak knife which caused it to spin on the cutting board. It stopped spinning when it ever so gently grazed the top of my pinky finger leaving quite the cut behind. Lesson learned, and I proceeded to cut and chop with care. The paring knife is the perfect size for smaller jobs and I was impressed with how smoothly it cut through a carrot as well.
Next up I cut and cored an apple with the trimmer knife. This knife has the Double-D edge and it feels quite sturdy in your hand. It cut the apple into pieces effortlessly and was so smooth when I cut the core and seeds out. I have such a hard time with my current knives when I’m trying to cut and core squash and I know that this trimmer knife will easily do the job with less physical strength needed.
For dinner on Sunday night I made chicken flatbread wraps and I tested out the Petit Chef Knife dicing up some leftover cooked chicken I had in the fridge. There was no sawing back and forth trying to get through it, a simple press down and it sliced no problem.
Final thoughts on Cutco Kitchen Classics
There are a few things I love about the Cutco Kitchen Classics, the first being how well they cut, chop and dice. They are lightweight and easy to handle and are extremely sharp. They are dishwasher safe which is always great, and I am so happy that the handles are BPA free. To keep your knives sharp and looking beautiful you’ll want to store them in a wood block, in trays or in storage sheaths and make sure they are out of reach of children. Once they do need a refresh or sharpening you simply send them back to Cutco and they will sharpen them free of charge. Now that is great customer service.
One final note to make that I found very interesting after reading the Product Care Guide is that mayonnaise is extremely corrosive and should not be allowed to remain on the knife blades for any extended period of time. I have never heard this fact about mayonnaise but it’s good to know because you don’t want to ruin an amazing knife just by making yourself a turkey sandwich. The Cutco Kitchen Classics is a beautiful set of knives with a classic look that will last for years and years.
You can find the Cutco Kitchen Classics as well as other Cutco products at bestbuy.ca.
