Are Cutco knives worth the thousands ($) they want for a full set of them?

Depends on your point of view. I bought mine in 1973 and they are almost as sharp as the day I got them (never needed the double-D edges reground). Nearly 48 years. 48 years come June. I did have the French knife resharpened cuz I used it enough that the blade wore down to past the point of the hollow grind. I’ve used many other knives, even bought some others. Certainly not cuz I needed them in the technical sense of the word. But I have developed some strong opinions about where they fall short and I hope I am sharing them before you place an order. Don’t get any “steak” knives. You can’t do justice to the steaks without a point at the end of the knife. (B’Jaysus, I wonder what became of Grampa’s steak plates?) And my least used knives are the “carver” and “petite carver”, tho I use the short one quite a bit (on raw meat and veg, mostly). Two things get in the way of their utility (1) the curve of the blade and (2) the double-D edge. I bought some other knives for actual table-side carving, tho you want that Cutco Carver if you are dealing with a crown roast or rack of ribs. You might want more than one Trimmer. Get the 4 inch parer (was not an option for me) and skip the 3 inch. The salmon knife (I added that when it came out, so mine is only 25 years old – ish) can also be used to shecht small animals. (Let it go if that makes no sense.) I use the Butcher in place of a cleaver. There was no cleaver then. But I honestly don’t know that I would use the Cleaver… Cutco steel is brittle (which is why you void the warranty if used for prying or twisting) so I am afraid it could break if I actually wanted to chop through a bone. The paring knife pulls to the right. Something to be aware of if you are trying to make equal halves of small tomatoes, for instance. So my Cutco knives – all of them, including the hunting knife, and in some cases up to 3 copies, and that is 12 steak knives – have worked out to cost me under dollar a month. Pennies a day, for the free use of cutlery that is genuinely World Class. And if you consider the competition, those other knives are also quite “expensive”. And you, mate, have just taken my MasterClass.

Authentic XYJ Since 1986,Outstanding Ancient Forging,6.7 Inch Full Tang