Sabatier knives

I really like the design from a visual perspective but not sure about the point in every day use. They are quality knife that stands the test on time.
 
Do you really want the carbon? Try Google.
I highly rec the Wilkin's Ryback chef knife as your main work knife.
 
I like them. I had this one re-handled by Dave Loukides. It's beautifully balanced and easy to work with. 9.5" blade. It's become my go-to knife for chopping veg.

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I love my old Sabatiers. I have a paring knife and a utility that is one of my two most used kitchen knives. If you are getting into these vintage chef knives some of the Gustav Emil Ern knives are on par too.
 
A problem with buying online USED vintage carbons is you hardly can see the work that is involved to make it into a well performing knife again. Major issues as overgrinds may remain hidden. When I see the price raise I guess most buyers are collectors and don't actually use them in their kitchen.
In most cases, the work to be done includes restoring profile after oversteeling, correcting the heel, abrading some of the finger guard, restoring geometry - thinning, setting a relief bevel...
It seems to me that you're much better off with the UNUSED vintage carbons from the fifties by Thiers-Issard and k-Sabatier. But their prices have risen considerably as well.
If you're just looking for performance, the Japanese carbons whose profiles are largely inspired by the French are an excellent alternative.
 
What do you mean by a Sabatier knife? I thought that the Sabatier name was used by pretty much every maker in Thiers. It looks like the knife community has sorted it out as you all understand each other well, but I'm still lost :p
 
they are perfectly good knives, but i had to put about 15 hours of work into mine before I was happy with it.
 
Stumbled into this thread from searching something, and registered so I could reply.

The Sabitier name has been and is still used by a number of French knife producers over the past couple of centuries. Personally, I love old, original the French design. These were high carbon steel and prone to discoloration from food acids. If left wet, they will rust. If neglected, they will corrode and pit. Because of that they largely fell out favor in the U.S. market, being displaced by stainless steels.

The use of the Sabatier name became the point of a trademark infringement dispute in the U.S. several decades ago. Two of the oldest established unrelated French producers, both with the name Sabatier, claimed it. As a result of the dispute and market preferences, both left the U.S. market at that time. At least that is how the story was told several decades ago.

One of the oldest Sabatier names in Thiers knife production was Phillipe Sabatier. Many consider him to have been the original Sabatier. His descendants today operate Sabatier Aîné & Perrier. They produce the famed Sabatier-K knives. They can still be purchased online from their website (sabatier-k.com), in U.S. dollars if you wish, and the ship to the U.S.

An established French knife producer who also uses the Sabatier name is Therias Et L’Econome. They've been around since 1819, but it is not clear when they added their Sabatier Mexeur et Cie line. These are produced today in the traditional design using high carbon steel. They can be purchased in the U.S. from both Fantes and Sur La Table. Fantes has a good write-up on the knives.
 
I would add that you may find the vintage Nogent by Thiers-Issard in the US with thebestthings.
 
Just found out that K-Sabatier knives are being sold via Amazon from a seller identified as China Fair Inc. They are showing both the carbon steel (Au Carbon - Vintage) line as well as the stainless Authentique line. The prices seem about the same as the direct prices from the sabatier-k.com website, but the offering is not everything in the two lines, nor did I see any of the other K-Sabatier lines - Sabatier Aîné & Perrier have 7 different lines, mostly SS plus some of their early "antique" SS knives made ~ 1970 listed.

For those interested in the Thiers Issard Sabatier version, the folks at thebestthings are offering several lines in SS and high carbon steel. They are an old Thiers company, but were relatively new in Sabatier knife history (their historical claim to fame was straight razors). They did, however, remain in the U.S. retail trade when the more historical Sabatier knife names left.

If you like the French patterns, there are a number of options for new knives in either SS or traditional high carbon steel from at least 3 well established French manufacturers in Thiers. Nearly all of the vintage Sabatier knives I've seen listed on eBay are those from Thiers Issard Sabatier (look for the elephant).
 
I have a 10, an 8, and two paring knives. These are my favorites, and get the most use.

The shape of the French knives, with the narrow blade and sharp tip works best for me. I work more with the tip of the blade than the belly.
 
I have a 9.5" chefs knife my brother brought back from the Med in 1982. It is a 4 Star Elephant(the logo on the handle), I am not sure which company that is, as mentioned, there are several companies that call their knives Sabtatier. An ok knife, it discolors and rusts in the blink of an eye.
For older knives, try "ralph 1936" on Ebay. He has over a thousand vintage knives for sale at prices from <$5 to >$100. I would look at the American makers, CaseXX, Old Hickory, Buck, Village Blacksmith and others. Good, solid knives you can buy for cheap.
the old sailor
 
I'm French and I can tell you they are average quality knives. My problem with carbon steel for food is that it gives it a sort of metallic taste that I don't really like. Sabatier K knives are made in Thiers and that would be my choice among those you mentioned.
 
I have one and used it for several years at work. It was okay. I liked the pattern better then the steel and blade I had. You can easily find someone to make you a french pattern chefs knife out of a different steel and if you are not going stainless, there are many nice carbon steels available. I chose 52100. I use it at work during the tourist season and at home off season. It is pretty much like a very old sabatier I have except it is thinner, stiffer and takes and holds an edge better.
 
There are a lot of different brands of &#8220;Sabatier&#8221; knives out there; *including POS knock-offs. The authentic ones made in France by one of several manufacturers...like K-Sabatier, ****Elephant / Thiers Issard, Veritable Bresduck, *and 2 Lion.

I *have a couple carbons from the early 50 or 60's. I like the blade shape and tapering. It sharpens very easily, and gets pretty sharp, but their 55 ish hrc is thier archilles heel... the blade dulls and rolls easily, and requires frequent steelings during use.*
 
I had K-Sabatier & the ****Elephant....The fit and finish of the K-Sabs was better & the out of the box sharpness was a little better.
 
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