Episode-2052- Listener Calls for 7-27-17
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- A perfect question to end the net neutrality discussion on
- Thoughts on the Cutco brand of knives
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- Keeping deer out of your garden
- Thought on using burned mulch, ashes, etc
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- Drip Irrigation with a Rain Barrel
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- The Granddaddy’s Gun Club
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- DaVoice Phone Tripod Holder and Bluetooth Controller
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- Fire Safe I Recommend for Kids or Small Items
- Rain Bird Drip Irrigation Emitter Tubing
- Orbit Single Outlet Timer
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Our local Costco had a Cutco knives roadshow booth recently. I don’t know how the Costco price compares to other sellers.
Cutco is big on market control the prices are set by corporate and any deals must be approved by a field manager, (ie buy x and y and get a free z).
When you see Cutco at Costco there is no Costco price, Cutco has worked a deal to use the space. The money all goes to Cutco with perhaps some fee paid to Costco. If you check Amazon you will find the prices are about the same as buying at Costco or from some teenager with dreams of making a million selling knives who knocks on your door.
I mean they are mostly a direct sales company and you can’t have Amazon and Costco selling at 25% below your reps and maintain that business model. One must wonder with the new batch of young 20 somethings and late teens though, how long before Cutco shifts to a typical retail model all together.
I remember when I was 18 and looking for a job, and going in for what I was told was an interview which actually turned out to be about 15 of us job-seekers being pitched on a Cutco sales ‘job’. The whole thing confused me as it wasn’t what at all I expected, and it wasn’t until I asked my stepdad later did it become obvious what it was. I know Cutco knives are good quality, but I admit that bait-and-switch crap has tainted my perception of them ever since. I wouldn’t hold it against them if the job ad wasn’t deceptive as to the nature of it. That was more than 20 years ago though… don’t know if they still do that or not.
Just a quick note to say that the Cutco rep at Costco told us that Costco insisted that Cutco include a sharpener in the bigger boxed sets of knives.
I know, it is not the same as getting the standard low-percentage markup Costco claims for all their normal products, but hey… “free sharpener” !! 🙂
I did quite a bit of research on kitchen knives when I bought mine. I was trying to decide between wustof, shun, and messermeister. All the chef blogs I read said the same thing. Go with Victorinox. The blades are almost as good and they are way cheaper. I decided to use what chefs use.
First don’t take this wrong because the Victorinox knives are good knives. If you go back to my kitchen show you will see I recommended them as the best bang for the buck at lower costs. They are good, but they are not Shun good, not even close.
Victorinox knifes are made with 1.4110 European Stainless Steel, same steel they make Swiss army knives with, I mean if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right. Does it work? Yes. Does it take and hold an edge well? Yes. Does it preform equal to a multi layer Damascus laminate with a VG10 core? NOT EVEN CLOSE, and it doesn’t perform as well as a Cutco either, there is something to their steel and edge, that makes them very high performance.
I find most people that say things like XYC Midgrade Knife for 50 dollars performs as well as a 200 dollar ABC knife have never used a properly sharpened and maintained high performance knife.
Again I am not shitting on Victorinox as the 50 dollar knife they sell pretty much embarrasses anything up to 100 dollars on the market today. But it doesn’t come close to high end laminate steel Japanese knives that sell for 150-200 dollars.
Also be careful what blogs tell you about who uses what. I have been in quite a few commercial kitchens, and have not ever seen a Victorinox in one. Not saying it doesn’t happen but frankly I have seen mostly Wustof knives in most commercial kitchens. In any sushi restaurant you will only find high end Japanese made knives though. There is a reason for it and it isn’t ego or tradition, it is what that knife must do.
A response to your question about camera gimbals. I just ordered the Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer. I have not personally used one yet, but it does seem to have good reviews. They are on Amazon for $139.99 https://www.amazon.com/Zhiyun-Smooth-Q-Handheld-Stabilizer-Smartphone/dp/B06XNNV5NJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501291433&sr=8-1&keywords=Zhiyun+Smooth-Q+3-Axis+Handheld+Gimbal+Stabilizer .
If you have time you can get them from TOMTOP.COM for $109.00 with code ZYSP30 https://www.tomtop.com/steadycams-321/p-d4623jb.html . I just ordered from TOMTOP so I know it works.
Here are some YouTube reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVdYaNP4uhg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MUuI-NZ7pM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kliLWwxfbY
Hope this helps. George.
Regarding steady camera options – This is an interesting guy and he finds just holding the tripod and carrying it around helps.
https://woodgears.ca/tripod/steadycam.html