if you know knives, and you like carbon steel, you will love this knife. this knife is not faberware. its not high chromium super hard steel. it is NOT stainless and does require more care than german stainless knives such as wusthof or henckels. it must be dried immediately after use to prevent rust, and will require a few extra passes across a steel each time you use it. it will oxidize and the shiny finish will darken the first time you use it on anything containing iron (meat). this is NORMAL. it is part of the characteristics of carbon steel cutlery. if you look on ebay you will see old grungy looking knives covered in dark patina selling for upwards of $250 and in good condition they are worth every penny. to find a k sabatier at this price without having to pay $30-40 for international shipping from france is unheard of.
this is a relatively new seller on amazon, without much of a track record. i decided to take a chance and am very satisfied. they shipped within 48 hours, and i have the knife 48 hours in advance of my expected delivery date.
the feel, fit, and finish is exceptional. it has a full tang, brass riveted handle which is just about perfectly balanced so us pros that have a knife in our hand 40+ hours a week can use it with little fatigue. once you develop a good patina on your knife you will also notice that food sticks less to carbon steel than high chromium stainless. the shape of the french chef's knife is slightly straighter and thinner than german cutlery which makes it less suited for a rocking motion, but its like a razor when it comes to slicing. one last time as a caveat, this is carbon steel, you cannot dunk it in a bucket of sanitizer and leave it there all night, and if you ever put it through the dishwasher (which will not only stain and pit the metal, but will remove the temper from the blade), please immediately remember this review and slap yourself for me.
with proper care, this knife will end up with your children, and thats no exaggeration as i know people with both solingen (germany) and thiers-sabatier (france) cutlery that is upwards of 80-100 years old.
This knife is excellent. Amazon and China Fair Inc. are great to deal with. The bottom line for the knife is that dollar for dollar carbon steel will out perform stainless by a good margin. Terminology can be confusing since all steel contains carbon, and can be a "high carbon" version. However, stainless steel also has about 13 percent chromium alloyed with the steel to resist rust and stains. The newer tech stainless "super steels" and Japanese layered steels give incredibly outstanding performance but are both very expensive. In this price range, however, you simply can not beat carbon steel for ease of sharpening, attaining a very smooth, sharp edge, holding the edge, and maintaining the edge. The only drawback is a little extra care and maintenance and appreciating the beauty of patina over shine. This knife is a quality carbon (not stainless) knife. Choose a stainless knife if you prefer easy maintenance and shiny looks. Choose carbon for cutting performance.
Steel is iron with carbon. Carbon makes steel harder than iron and makes the steel able to be heat treated and tempered to a very high degree of hardness. Plain carbon steel (without the chromium) is better with this process because stainless becomes more brittle during heat treatment. Also, carbon steel will sharpen into a nicer edge just like smooth peanut butter spreads smoother than "chunky". Also, when you straighten out an edge with a steel rod the plain carbon is more forgiving of being worked back into place and can do it more times before needing actual sharpening.
Dulling of a knife edge starts with tiny bends in the extremely sharp thin edge. If neglected, the edge becomes really dull when these tiny bends bend clear over and sometimes break. Frequently "steeling" a knife with a honing rod straightens the small bends back in place and greatly slows the dulling process. Sharpening (cutting the steel edge with a stone) is postponed for a long time by keeping the edge straight. All knives need this, but plain carbon steel tolerates this better and will last longer between sharpenings and then even be easier to sharpen. A smooth honing steel like the Victorinox, and an easy to use sharpening guide like the Lansky will keep your good carbon knife a superior performer that will last your whole life.
I communicated with China Fair Inc by e-mail before ordering. Their incredibly quick response and good information convinced me they are indeed knowledgeable and passionate about their lines of quality French and German knives. They shipped really fast. I highly recommend China Fair and this particular knife.
Buy Sabatier 10 Inch Forged Carbon Steel Chef Knife Made in France Now
As far as I can determine this is an authentic, Thiers-forged K-Sabatier knife, offered here for about the same price that K-Sabatier charges through their website. The rivets on the knife that I received are brass, rather than stainless as in the image (brass rivets may indicate an older date of manufacture, which is probably a plus for those who want to buy this kind of knife). Other than that the knife is exactly as advertised.
This knife has a classic French shape. It offers the robust construction of a German knife (like Wusthof or Henckels) with nearly the grace and lightness of a Japanese knife. The blade has a small, thin bolster or finger guard, a large, heavy, comfortable handle, and a relatively narrow profile. From the edge of the blade to the spine it is shorter than a classic German knife, though it is not so thin or so straight that you cannot use it to rock cut when mincing. It is very well balanced. The blade is thicker than many Japanese knives, but not obtrusive or clumsy.
Sabatier finished this knife very well I found no aesthetic or manufacturing flaws, only imperfections that show that the knife was made by hand.
Sabatier makes this knife from carbon steel, not stainless steel. As other reviewers have said this requires some special care. I found the carbon steel of this particular Sabatier to be less reactive than some (much less reactive than the similar carbon steel of my Sabatier Nogent chef's knife). I cut onions and shallots with it for a few days before it began to develop a faint patina. The metal never stained food or caused a foul odor, which is apparently a problem with some low-quality carbon steels. I like the patina so I haven't tried to remove it; the internet claims that you can do so with baking soda and a champagne cork.
The knife was not particularly sharp when it arrived; this is reportedly not unusual for Thiers-manufactured knives. It took a very fine edge when I sharpened it, and it has held this edge well during use.
On a less tangible level I find this knife fun to use and well behaved. You can tell that Sabatier has made knives of this shape and profile for so long for a reason it feels comfortable and natural in the hand and it excels at all kinds of food prep tasks, from mincing herbs to portioning raw meat (of course this should be true of all chef's knives, in an ideal world). This K-Sabatier feels tough when using it I never worry that it will chip or bend, as I sometimes do with more delicate Japanese knives (many of which imitate this French blade shape).
It is difficult to believe that you can get a knife of this quality for less than one hundred dollars. This is an absolutely superb chef's knife, and it should last a lifetime. I recommend it very highly.
Read Best Reviews of Sabatier 10 Inch Forged Carbon Steel Chef Knife Made in France Here
This is the real deal. If you want a great chef's knife, buy this one. I have dozens of high quality kitchen knives (Wusthof, Henckels, Sabatier, Masamoto, F. Dick, Suisin, etc., etc..), but this is now my favorite of all of them. It feels sooo good in the hand. Perfect balance, light, agile. Honestly it feels like an 8" knife, not a 10". That's the first thing: a knife has to feel good when you use it. Secondly, it sharpens wickedly sharp in just a few minutes. So easy to get a razor edge on it. Third, and most important for some, it's LESS than HALF the price of anything comparable. Downside? Nothing for me, but some people will object to it being a carbon steel knife. You don't need to do anything different to maintain this knife vs. stainless, BUT, you need to do it right away. You cannot leave it lying around wet. It must be wiped and dried promptly. Is that too much to ask? Yes, it may discolor from acid foods. So what? If you don't like that, simply go over it with a Scotchbrite or a wine cork and some scouring cleanser or baking soda. In other words, this is a terrific knife for those of us who take care of our knives.
Want Sabatier 10 Inch Forged Carbon Steel Chef Knife Made in France Discount?
Wow! This is an amazing chef's knife. I work in the culinary industry and use my knife extensively each day and where my previous knife quickly would lose an edge even with honing the K Sabatier does not. It is easily the best chefs knife I have ever owned my career. There is one point I would like to make there is the many questions I have seen on Amazon about is this a real K Sabatier? Because I guess evidently there are some fakes out there. The knife in the picture featured shows silver rivets, but the knife you will receive if you purchase the carbon steel will have brass rivets. I to of course was concerned with this. I went to K Sabatier's company website and noticed they did not have any knives posted either with brass rivets. I then e-mailed the company and asked them about this issue. The official answer is the knives with brass rivets are carbon steel knives and that is how the company distinguishes carbon steel from stainless steel is with the brass rivets and they were able to verify its authenticity. So when you're carbon steel knives has brass rivets don't be alarmed and be prepared to use an amazing piece of cutlery.
On my first day ever shucking some soon-to-be friends at the table next to us allowed me to use this. I didn't find it flimsy or of poor quality. Actually, I found it to be quite sturdy. The owners were seasoned oyster lovers and claimed this to be "the" knife which other should be compared. Yes, it has a slightly curved tip. I don't think I needed the added safety of that, but the more cautious of the two diners appreciated the added measure. The wood grip was thick and did not slip even when wet. As a rookie user, I found it excellent and actually wrote this review because it will soon find a place in our utensil drawer.
