Sabatier 6 Inch Forged Carbon Steel Chef Knife Made in France

I have been using Sabatier labelled knives from Thiers in France in the kitchen for more than forty years. They require special care or they will rust. They discolor from contact with food no matter what you do. But they simply cut food items better than anything else. When properly cared for and sharpened they cut better than exotic German knives and top of the line Chinese knives, better than anything. The grain of the carbon steel and the ease of sharpening simply make them cut better in an environment (the kitchen) where you can dry them and sharpen them frequently. While the best Japanese carbon steel knives made from similar materials may cut as well, I personally find the traditional triangular shape of French knives to be the most versatile and the best.

The 6 inch carbon steel K Sabatier knife reviewed here is my new favorite among all my kitchen knives. It is big enough/ small enough for most jobs preparing food for 1 or 2 people. The 3" parer is a better peeler and 8" and 10" inch knives come into their own with bigger quantities, but this knife really works for me.

The Sabatier brand is shared by a number of knife makers in Thiers, of course. (We will not even speak of "Sabatiers" which come from other places, particularly places outside France.) K Sabatier is one of the oldest knife works in Thiers, owned by descendants of the original Sabatier family. It is certainly one of the best, forging old school knives for the ages. Amazon is currently making these knives available for about the same price that they sell for in France, considerably less than most US sources. Five stars and three cheers!

First let me say the price of $45.00 was the best I found and these were shipped fast. (The name Sabatier is not protected by patent. Sabatier knives are made by a number of companies including China and really the 4 Star Elephant brand are the nearest in quality to these K Sabatier Knives). I bought a set of 4-6-8-and 10 inch. I liked these well enough to buy my daughter a set. They do have a slight curve to the edge so you can dice or slice with them. These knives have a RC of 54-56 and while may be considered a soft steel it's also easier to sharpen, plus holds an edge pretty well. These are carbon steel (not stainless) and will develop a patina or will also rust If not hand washed and dried, then vegetable oil applied. Truthfully I believe any good knife should be hand washed, even stainless can rust and handles crack. I prefer carbon steel knives for kitchen work . Now I'm 69 years old and own 200 plus knives (stainless and carbon steel) for hunting and kitchen work (some hand and custom made), plus own a number of sharpening systems. Many stainless knives sold today are junk (cheap ones won't hold or take an edge) and good stainless knives will be harder to sharpen due to the alloys used. I'm not a novice when it comes to knives. I'm very satisfied with this brand of Sabatier, have found they do take a good edge and hold it well. I also have three 4 star Elephant Brand Sabatiers, two of steel forged in the 1930's (sold as historic knives) and one of new forged steel. The two historic older forged will match these in edge holding, but the modern one doesn't match them. I really didn't expect that and I know a lot of people like the Elephant Brand, so many will disagree. (Both brands in my view are better than the German Knives, yet generally cheaper in price) Fit and finish on these are good, did notice one had slight grind marks on the top edge, but not bad. Most wouldn't even notice it. But one of my Elephant Brand historic knives did too. That doesn't effect use though. The blades are thinner than some Chef Knives, they are lighter than many, well balanced, but for most of us in home kitchen use, these are great. Handles on the smaller knives are larger than most making them easy to use too. The only kitchen knives I have and rate better are 40+ year old Carbon Steel American made, Wear-Ever and some Clyde Knives. I don't believe anyone has ever matched those in quality, nor do they now. This review is just my opinion and some will disagree and that's OK and why we have many knife companies. Hope this review helps someone and I tried to be very honest.

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I recently bought a set of these Sabatier-K knives a 4" paring, as well as the 6, 8, and 10 inch chef knives.

I'm very pleased with them. As I read on some reviews, most needed some slight sharpening, except my 4 inch was quite sharp out of its shipping sleeve. I like their light weight, feel, and balance. They are fairly thin compared to most German chef knives. The 8 inch chef only weighs about 6.4 oz... The spine did have a relatively hard 90 degree edge. I sanded one down a bit with a little sand paper, but decided why bother on the others, at least for now, my hand is never there. I also noticed the rare, odd grind mark on the spine, which tells me they are hand made, something I like in this day of robotic automation. I am using DMT 8" diamond block to sharpen, which are scary fast. Overall these K Sabatier's fit and finish is top shelf. You do need to take care of them drying, occasionally oiling, but don't fret over common patina spots that develop, its normal. Just don't let them rust!

It is a bit hard to find such quality in vintage, high carbon steel knives these days, but these are the real deal, along with their nice brass rivets and POM handles. And I prefer the brass rivets to the stainless steel ones pictured on the Sabatier-K (Aine Perrier) website. The handles are a nice size, even on the small four inch. I think my six inch is my favorite, perhaps the eight, I can't really decide. I just love looking at them on my wall magnet and watching their patina grow. They are real pleasure to use... You won't be disappointed.

One last thought... I would use a smooth, polished sharpening steel, not the coarse one. F Dicks makes an inexpensive one (Pack House) with nice german steel. One is suppose to very gently, slowly steel these carbons, at an angle a few degrees over their edge bevel angle. One or two strokes is all that is needed, and you might steel them everytime or every other time you use them. I recommend not using a diamond or ceramic sharpening steel with these authentic Sabatier knives.

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just excellent. however you MUST keep it dry all the time as it will stain very easy. great size and keeps sharp

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Accidentally discovered Sabatier knives on a visit to my sister's, who takes poor care of them. They were horribly stained but all she had, so we were shocked to like them so much we had to buy our own, replacing our Henckel knives.