Information on a Vintage Set of Carbon Steel Professional Cutlery

At one point in life I was a chef, so I love a good knife, but have since moved to online sales. I will probably use this forum in the near future to upgrade to a high quality knife.

I have many questions regarding a "NAPCO 10-Piece Collection Carbon Steel Professional Cutlery Set" I found the other day. I have searched the internet and cannot find any information regarding them at all, as though they never existed.

The little information I have is that they were produced in Taiwan (so produced post-1944 due to the name). The black and white picture on the front cover is two men working at a forge in what appears to be Japanese garb. They were originally sold for $59.95 USD. I would guess they were sold at some point in 1950s, which means $60 in 1950 is the equivalent to $600 USD in 2014 dollars, so they are a high end set for the time.

I figured it would be best to directly ask the knife gurus. Has anyone ever heard of such a brand? Is there a way to find out information and the value?

Any and all help would be appreciated.

why dont you try it and tell us if it's any good?

One of the things I know about Asian made knives of that period is that the price marked on the box often had very little to do with what they actually sold for or what they were worth. I'm also old enough to know how much respect a 10 piece set of cutlery from Taiwan would have received by pros back then. My guess is $60 would still be very optimistic today.

panda said:

why dont you try it and tell us if it's any good?

Click to expand...

I have no need for any other knives, outside of a high quality blade. The set has also never been used and is in the original box. I am looking to resell or give it as a wedding gift.

i wouldn't mind seeing some photos of these, sounds interesting.

Noodle Soup said:

One of the things I know about Asian made knives of that period is that the price marked on the box often had very little to do with what they actually sold for or what they were worth. I'm also old enough to know how much respect a 10 piece set of cutlery from Taiwan would have received by pros back then. My guess is $60 would still be very optimistic today.

Click to expand...

Certainly, I understand that the retail price works in the same way then as it does now. I assume the same, but I have been surprised by obscure things in the past. Thank you for your input.

ramenlegend said:

i wouldn't mind seeing some photos of these, sounds interesting.

Click to expand...

Is there an easy way to post pictures to this particular forum? It does not give an option. If not, I can go about posting to an image hosting site.

Use a host for pics. Waaaayyy easier.

brainsausage said:

Use a host for pics. Waaaayyy easier.

Click to expand...

I will do that then. I have a 3 am deadline I am working on, so it may be late or tomorrow.