Cutco knives

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Hurt, no treatment

   Made Apr 25, 2011 · , published by CPSC Jun 2, 2011

   The product, in the report: 18 piece Cutco cutlery set

   We have, well HAD an 18 pc. set of Cutco knives. We’ve had them for at least 8 years and never had a problem like we just experienced. In fact, they are/were seemingly great (although pricey) kitchen knives, durable, did a great job, etc. Two days ago, they inexplicably went up in flames. My husband lit a [REDACTED] candle (small, votive) near the knife set and placed the candle on the counter about 4 inches away from said knife set. He went upstairs and no more than a few minutes later, the fire alarm went off. Our six month old baby was asleep in her swing not far from the kitchen. My husband runs downstairs to see what is going on and the knife set is in a full on blaze. He was able to pick it up with some towels and throw it out into the yard, burning one of his fingers in the process. Once he was sure the baby was fine and nothing else was on fire, he went back outside and extinguished the fire with the water hose. Afterward, we immediately saw that the counter as well as one nearby cabinet were scorched/bubbled, thus ruined. I called the Cutco corporation this morning to tell them what happened. They said there is no way that a votive candle burning a few inches away could have caused that. I said yeah I know, there is NO logical explanation, which is what really scares us and why I called. [REDACTED] I told them if that were the case and there was a logical explanation as to why it happened, I wouldn’t have called. I was calling because they seemed to have caught on fire for no reason whatsoever. I also told them I Googled “Cutco flammable” and found several websites that noted the following: [REDACTED] I mentioned this to the rep, saying of course I take what I read on the internet with a grain of salt unless from an absolutely reliable source, but the fact that this verbiage was mentioned on so many websites, well... I felt it was worth mentioning. She said she has never heard of such a thing and likely the postings of disgruntled consumers. (Uh, maybe a consumer whose knives caught on fire?) She then said if we file an insurance claim and send them the paperwork, they’ll be glad to sell us another set at 50% off retail. Wow. I told her I’m not looking for free or discounted knives (especially flammable ones), I simply felt I needed to report this to them because it could have had a MUCH worse ending than it did and (I thought) they needed to know. Thank God no one was badly hurt. We have a gas stove and I think of all the times I’ve used the turning/carving forks while cooking - yikes. She didn’t even ask me for my contact information and ultimately referred to the situation as a probable “user error”. I was dumbfounded. My guess: The candle “spit” if you will and a very small but hot particle landed somewhere on one of the knife handles, starting the fire. There is absolutely no other logical explanation and if that is in fact what caused it (which we’ll probably never know) I hope someone takes a closer look at what these handles are made of. Very frightening. Thanks for your time. [REDACTED]

   Model

   Homemaker + 8 Set With Block, Item #’s 2018C, 2018CR

   Bought from

   Gift, Louisiana

   Bought

   Dec 31, 2003, about then

   Where

   Livingston, Louisiana: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 33, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Spouse

   As this report names them

   Brand Cutco, made or sold by CUTCO

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources