[nordsieck]

> People seem to like them because they've only ever used $100 vacuums and it's their first time with something better, so it feels awesome in comparison.

This is my experience with Cutco knives. They're better than the absolute bottom of the barrel eversharp stuff you can get for $10, but worse than anything that actually looks like a proper kitchen knife.

I think the main reason they get any business is that most people never sharpen their kitchen knives, which is a lot less expensive than buying a set of Cutcos (I get that there's a social pressure aspect as well, but that wouldn't work nearly as well if it were more clear how garbage Cutco's products are).

[beauzero]

Milwaukee Smooth Insulation knife. They cost ~$20, are full tang, and sharpen very easily. They have become our go to kitchen knife. Best bang for the buck imho. People who did duct work and attic batting were found to be using $200-$300 kitchen knives. Milwaukee went back to the drawing board and came up with an excellent product.

[nordsieck]

IMO, if you're looking for low cost, the Ikea 365+ knife set is the best thing out there. It's 3 pieces for $30 and comes with a Chef's knife.

The steel is mediocre, but not so different from high end German knives (if you want good steel, Japanese is the way to go).