I agree. San Mai III is a laminated steel that is supposed to have a high carbon, hard center knife with two slabs of softer, tougher, more corrosion-resistant steel on the side. The thing is, CS doesn't use a particularly hard, high carbon core steel, but uses VG-1, which is an upper medium quality steel that CS also uses to make large knife blades. But if it's suitable for making large knife blades by itself, why does it need the soft slabs?
I don't know, perhaps they make that center core harder than their other production pieces, but I'd pay the extra $$$ for a really nice premium knife unless, as Steelscout30 said, you can get it at a good, reduced price.
The Black Sable is a gorgeous knife, however, and if you can get one at a decent price, you won't regret it. I bought two Konjos for a hundred bucks apiece and they are incredible. I certainly wouldn't have paid the normal asking price for them, though.