Sabatier Reviews

I my opinion the pleasure of using high quality tools far outweighs the troubles of the work of maintaining them. And this knife is no exception. It has to be sharpened frequently, but I actually find that easy to do because it takes the edge so much better than other knives.

I have owned one of these carving knives for about three years and it still looks good and works perfectly. The same goes for my 30 year old Sabatier carbon steel chefs knife.

Even though I am fairly careful with always handwashing and drying my knives after use the carbon steel ones do discolor over time and I find that I have to give them an extra cleaning (usally just with a nylon scour pad) every couple of months to keep them in a state that I like.

As a carving knife this one outshines every other knife I have worked with. With a bit of practice it makes it easy to make perfect thin slices of any piece of meat, poultry or fish. It is not an all-round knife - it is made for a very specific purpose and is not well suited for other things - if you are a vegetarian you won't need one of these!

This is the perfect tool for people who care about the presentation of their roasts and the fine balance between sauce and meat that can be obtained with perfect slicea.

Well, these knives start discoloring pretty much right away, as they are supposed to.

Who cares??? Unless you're a TV chef, pick up a couple of these babies. They hold an excellent edge and feel pretty good in the hand (but not great).

My Henckels are more comfortable, but I have been using the carbons almost exclusively since they landed on the step six weeks ago. (I also bought a boning knife.) They feel like serious knives, more professional than most of the upscale blades I've tried. They're certainly easier to control, more finesse. Sharp is better.

I have had this knife for twenty-one years and it is a faithful kitchen companion. Watch out with its care however, they do stain and must be washed and dried immediately. You may see some dicoloration when cutting fruit or onions with this knife but it is a true chef's knife.

I have a collection of Sabatier Au Carbone knives, all at least 30 years old; few days go by when I don't use the at least the paring knife. They do rust, they do stain, they can leave dark residue on very acid foods, and they can't go in the dishwasher. But in my humble opinion, there is no knife which will cut like a carbon steel knife. A stainless steel knife will solve all the above problems, but will never have the sharp edge of the properly sharpened carbon steel knife. A couple of passes over a sharpening steel will restore that edge on a carbon steel knife, but, again, in my opinion, a stainless steel knife, takes a lot of work to sharpen and will never be as sharp as a carbon steel blade. So if you want a pretty, easy to care for knife, buy a stainless steel. If cutting with ease with a razor sharp blade is more important, get carbon steel. The Sabatiers will last a lifetime if cared for properly.

I just bought this knife and I love it. My husband and I like to make many boneless dishes and we use this knife all the time. The handle is very comfortable and easy to use. Your hand does not get tired when you use it.

This knife is full carbon steel. Not high carbon stainless steel, but full carbon. It is old fashioned steel, now rare because it goes rusty and needs care, but can take a much finer and sharper edge than any other knife, even those fancy japanese ones. The steel is softer, so it both blunts quicker, but is faster to sharpen. When using it do as an old fashioned butcher does, and resharpen it with a couple of pulls along a steel every few minutes, when it seems to be dulling a bit. Take care, the knife is super-sharp, so it will cut whatever you are doing like a scapel.
The steel rusts, so never put it away wet, and ideally wipe it down with an spot of oil. The surface will dull and acquire a patina, which is part of the charm. Never, ever put it in a dishwasher. Look after it, and it will look after you, gliding effortlessly through the work. The tang goes all through the handle, so it will never come loose.
This is a boning knife, thin but stiff. Neat, light. Feels like a natural extension to the hand.
Great for slicing, cutting meat both raw and cooked, jointing, carving poultry, cutting veg, slicing cheese and so on It's the knife I use first. Its not so good for mincing, as the thin blade means the tang doesn't allow it to lie flat on the baord, but for everything else it is love at first use.
I had one for years, and recently lost it. I was bereft. Thankfully they are still made, and despite being in the UK I tracked one down and had it sent to me by a US friend. Now kitchen work is again a pleasure.

We were given this same knife as a wedding gift 20 years ago, I was told to simply hand wash and dry it and it would last. Twenty years later, everyday use, the Sabatier Au Carbone 5-Inch Carbon Steel Boning Knife is still sharp. I can't explain why it has kept an edge and I don't think I could cook without it. I just bought a new one to last the next long while.

After waiting for nearly two months for the knife to ship, I finally canceled the order. Do not purchase this knife from Amazon if the shipping status does not say "Usually ships within 24 hours." Go to other online vendors for this knife, it is worth owning.

Have about 40 kitchen knives of all sorts, use them all actively, have several chef's knives, this is by far the best, heavier than standard sabatier chef knife, great knife, holds edge cuts well, comes back to cutting edge easily with just a few strokes of a steel

When the knife arrived, I knew I was going to have to work with it a bit to get it in the shape I wanted. First, it comes pretty dull, but I have a good collection of oil, water, and diamond stones so I got to work. First a diamond stone to reduce the angles, for a sharper but more delicate edge - that's how I like them. That done, I find that I like the effect I get with a rather coarse oil stone because it makes the cutting edge just a little toothy, but if the blade responds to different techniques, so you can do "custom" sharpening if you're into that. As other reviewers have mentioned, carbon steel will get far sharper than the grades of stainless most people probably use. The next thing I did was get out the Wizard rotary tool and reduce the full bolsters down to about 2/3 so that last back part of the blade can be sharpened and used for chopping and so forth.

After the reworking, the knife is a joy to use. Some American knives (Dexter) are good. German knives, forget it, stainless forged pieces that really don't sharpen that well. If you want the most beautiful and sharpest knives, get laminated Japanese ones with carbon steel centers that are exquisite and expensive. But this knife is made to work. It's staining up now, and starting to look good and used, but that adds to its character. The shape is perfect for chopping, slicing, or mincing, and I like the thick and heavy weight of the blade, which is a perfect compliment to the thinner lighter blades on my favorite Japanese knives.

The 8" size can do both small and large jobs, and if you were only going to have one kitchen knife this would be a great choice for all around work. Considering the utility and the quality, the price is very fair for this classic piece of kitchen equipment.

Well, these knives start discoloring pretty much right away, as they are supposed to.

Who cares??? Unless you're a TV chef, pick up a couple of these babies. They hold an excellent edge and feel pretty good in the hand (but not great).

My Henckels are more comfortable, but I have been using the carbons almost exclusively since they landed on the step six weeks ago. (I also bought a medium chef's knife.) They feel like serious knives, more professional than most of the upscale blades I've tried. They're certainly easier to control, more finesse. Sharp is better.

I love this knife. Extremely sharp, light, flexible. I've never had a better blade for doing intricate cuts like cutting the membrane out of a bell pepper, splitting a carrot, and it still makes me smile every time I slice a tomato! I used to goto my cleaver for all chopping and slicing, but nowadays this is my #1 goto blade.

...must have made a mistake and ordered the wrong knife. He seems to have wanted a stainless knife, and this is not.

It's a wonderful stainable carbon steel knife that will take a razor sharp edge, and be in your family for generations...but it's going to get a nice "patina"

Quality construction, thick blade is rigid, but does not slice as well as the Henckels and Wusthof.

of the many knives ive used in my years of cooking both profesionally and at home I've come to much prefer the Sabatier High carbon stainless knives for there balance and ability to hold and edge. These knive are truely for the person who conciders culinary preperation an art form

(ps.stay away from there made in china cheepies!!!)

the made in france one are worth ever penny (grand chefs)(au carbon)(provence)(traditional)

Joe Jazz

I've had this knife for 21 months. When I read Kitchen Confidential, there was a chapter where Anthony Bourdain states his belief that all the middling utility knives are unnecessary. All a good cook needs is a single large chef's knife. With a point for small work and the heel for large, there simply isn't a need for anything else (except a fine paring knife if doing intricate, artistic work). I took the advise to heart (perhaps a bit too much) and after research, purchased this knife.

Oh my! 12 inches of blade is far more steel than I ever imagined, and I worked hard to envision it. "Honey, it appears I purchased a scimitar by mistake." 17" of knife can't casually be laid just anywhere (on the other hand, you don't lose it among the ingrediants and other tools of a meal). Nonetheless, I stuck with it and I've discovered that Bourdain is correct, I don't use any other knives - with a single exception: this knife is thick (3/16" at the heel) and sometimes I need length and delicacy. At those times I turn to one of my shorter, high carbon knives. The rest of the time, this knife handles everything I do: mincing, paring, slicing, chopping anything from roasts to garlic, it does it all.

Following other advise, I have it professionally sharpened periodically (every six to nine months) and use steel day in and day out. It is only due to the pure carbon makeup that I can do this. The German knives require excessive maintenance, while the Sabatier takes and holds an edge beautifully and easily. This is fortunate since, despite my best efforts, I have limited success in actual, effective sharpening in any kind of timely fashion, but the steel keeps a beautiful edge even for me.

I am somewhat less dutiful than other reviewers in terms of immediately washing/drying/putting away my knife. Because of this and food reactions that stain the knife, I find it necessary to occasionally use Barkeeper's Friend and a green scrubbie. This combination easily removes surface rust and stains and makes upkeep of this knife reasonable.

In short: this is a huge knife (that my small handed wife uses anytime it's laying about) that requires some attention, but serves better and more easily than its "high carbon" counterparts. Additionally, almost no one (other than my wife) is willing to just grab it and use it when helping out, thus my high carbons still get used and I don't have to retrieve my knife (or suffer) when others are cooking with us.

I bought three Au Carbone blades to add to my (excessive?) kitchen knife collection. The 12" Chefs, the 12" slicer, and the 6" utility/filet knives. The quality of each is identical, which is to say that they are well built and finished examples of classic three rivet knives.

There are a few differences between carbon steel and stainless steel that account for the strong and weak points of these knives. On the good side, carbon steel blades seem to be able to take a much finer egdge ( very razor like, delicate taper that isn't as subject to chipping as a similar edge would be in stainless steel. The edge will deform, but that can be fixed with a few strokes on a steel. This makes for effortless cutting when kept sharp. That was the reason I went with carbon steel for the long knives (slicing a watermellon or a large roast has never been easier). They can be sharpened to make big cutting/slicing jobs a breeze.

The utility/fillet knife showcases another good quality of carbon steel. The blade is not only razor sharp, but it is incredibly flexible as well. It has the same thickness as my stainless steel utility knives, but the "live" blade makes it feel more like an extension of your will than something to simply slice with. I prefer it over any of my other knives for fillet duty.

Now the bad side of carbon steel knives. If you are used to the "always new" look of stainless, carbon steel knives will drive you nuts. They have to be kept clean and dry when not in use, and probably should be given an oil rub before being put away. When shipped, they are oiled and sent in a cardboard sleeve, but I'll bet that a few small pits appear somewhere on the steel before they make it to your home. Even when kept clean and oiled, it is likely that they will develop a patina of black iron oxide over the years. That's pretty much the nature of carbon steel, and I think it looks pretty good, but you still have to take precautions to prevent red rust and pitting from killing your blade.

That's it in a nutshell. For ultimate sharpness, special applications, or just to have something unique in your kitchen, the Au Carbone line offers fine cutlery at a pretty good price. Just be sure that you understand that their benefits come at the cost of needing more attention than stainless steel. I think it's worth the trouble, and if you are willing to accept the extra work, I'd bet that one or two of these knives would end up among your favorite kitchen tools.

By the way, I ordered my knives at different times, and in each case, they were shipped without delay. Enjoy.

The review section is for reviewing the products, not Amazon's service. Nobody cares about you.

I needed new everyday dishes that could go well for entertaining as I don't have "fine china." I shopped all the kitchen stores, the malls, and catalogs, but these were hands-down the best value for the money.

The plates are large, European-style, with a scalloped edge (gadroon?) and deep centers. There are no saucers, just large mugs. I got the burgundy color, which has a black accent on the rim and black spatters to give a rustic look. The bowls have large flat rims. They are made of a pottery-stoneware but seem rugged enough.

Alas, these dishes are not durable. I lost quite a few plates to chips because the pottery is soft. These are inexpensive, so you could use them for occasional table settings, and they look nicely French Provence style, but for everyday use they are not durable.

I ordered two sets of the midnight blue about 2 months ago. I think its a great looking set of dishes, very practical, and very good value. The bowls are perfect for pasta or a big salad, and the cups are nice and big.

So I rated it a 4... it would have been a 5 had ALL of the pieces arrived unchipped and unbroken. (2 cups broke on their way to my doorstep. Was it the UPS lady that doesn't like me? I don't know:) I do however love the rest of my new dinnerware set. I like the weight, the flow of the design, the color and the size. Nice and heavy, but too heavy. It's not cheap looking. The set is quite pretty actually - it has a deep burgundy tone with a shimmer of effervesance. All the pieces are nicely sized. The plates work for salads and ribs. The bowls are just awesome. I'm not a formal china type - so this set suits my "upper-end casual taste" quite nicely. P.S. Amazon is sending me a replacement sent so I can ship back to broken set. I'm happy.

I bought this set to go with my dinnerware and because of its excellent price. Unfortunately, the set was still not worth it. I have owned them for 5 months; three of the knife handles are already broken--all broke without having any unusual type of pressure applied. The silverware does rust easily, even when properly cared for. Overall, these are a horrible product and an even worse investment. If there was any way I could return them, I would.

I bought this set to match our everyday dishes from Sabatier. They looked great when they arrived and I have used them everyday till recently when one of knives handle broke while I was cutting a cucumber! Also two of the forks have rust marks on them now. I have been washing them in dishwasher so that could be why they rusted, but the box didn't say anything about handwashing them. Also I have contacted Sabatier and they told me that they will send me a replacement knife as soon as I send the broken one back!

The decorative metal on the handle tends to be a bit loose, giving these pieces a less-than-quality feel. The knives are large and very sharp. I like them best of all the pieces. The handles are top-rack dishwasher safe and so far, no problems.