Sabatier Reviews

These knives are beautifully designed and have the perfect weight and balance to allow for superb control. The carver slid through our turkey, the bread knife left hardly a crumb, and the paring knife made peeling a potato feel like sculpting. I am so glad a friend convinced me to buy Sabatier. In addition, the wooden block is itself a work of art.

This set was bought to fill out a reasonably complete set of premium knives acquired one at a time over the years. It does that splendidly and made the other "premium" knives feel sub-standard. The balance and finish are suberb. It is delightful to cook with these sturdy, well-made knives.

I recently purchased this and felt the knives were high-quality (I'm no expert though) - the sharpening steel seemed cheap quality - as did the scissors. Ovarall, good value - and attractive. I would have liked to keep it - but pulling an 8" knife out of a vertical block requires a lot of clearance. I couldn't effectively place the block on my countertop - and pull the knives out. Returned for a similar set (on Amazon) with a standard block for $70 less!

I currently own a small collection of Sabatier and Henkels knives to support my cooking habit. I have been hoping to upgrade to higher quality Sabatier or any of the Wüsthof Collections.

Unfortunately, since I had perfectly good collections of lower end Sabatier and Henkels knives it was hard to justify the money ...for top of the line knives when my wife and I have so many other home improvements in mind.

Once again, Amazon to the rescue. You'd have to be an outlet troll to beat the sale prices at Amazon.

I found this Sabatier Grand Chef 10-Piece Knife Set in Glass Block for over 70% the retail price. This a great knife set that is made in France not China like the Precision line. Even the glass block is top of the line. A set of this quality demands proper care and storage.

Remember that even low end Sabatier Precision and Henkels International knives must be hand washed and hand dried. If you want to wash your knives in the washer buy some cheap "always sharp" knives for ...[a lower price] and replace them regularly when you notice they no longer hold an edge or start to rust. Don't waste your money on a quality knife set. If you invest in good product you'll need to take care of it.

If you don't know what I'm talking about you should read up on the various product lines in the knife section. Look at the % off the list price too. In general, the list pricing by the manufacturer reflects the quality of the product line.

If you are spending money on a knife set remember that research pays off. Don't be foolish and pay more for less.

The Sabatier Grand Chef 10-Piece Knife Set in Glass Block at 70% off is an incredible value. At full retail I'd recommend looking for other sets at a discount.

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When you read this the pricing will likely have changed. I recommend understanding the various lines (Precision, Classic, etc.) for each knife manufacturer (Sabatier, Henkels, Wustof) and also looking for decent percentage discount before buying a quality knife set.

Good luck and happy browsing.

Sabatier is a grand old name in blades, but the current product line from Sabatier USA uses that fine name on a lot of lesser products. The Grand Chef series at least retains the classic Sabatier shape - a bit thicker in the spine and stiffer than most French blades, yet leaner and lighter than most German blades. Like the better Sabatiers, it's made in Thiers, France; it's forged of high-carbon stainless, with a full tang; the handle has pressed-on resin scales secured by three rivets. It's a nice compromise, which is why I bought it. The balance of this slicer is just forward of the bolster, and it sits well in the hand. The fork's straight, forged tines seem designed more to poke into the meat for stability, rather than holding it in place with downward pressure - I prefer slightly curved times. If you use a slicer only occasionally (say, a dozen times a year or so), and want the control a stiffer blade gives you and the smooth slicing through finer-grained meats that a French shape gives you, then this is a good set at an acceptable price. If you like the shape but use a slicer a lot more, then you might consider a Thiers-Issard. If you use a carving set only a couple times a year, you'll probably be just as happy with a cheaper set from a different maker.

nice carving set a must have good bbq gifts

I was just deliverd the sabatier grand chef set and I am disappointed in the workmanship of both the blades and the block. Normally when you look at a set of forged knives of this supposed caliber in a mall store, they are razor sharp and exhibit no blemishes on the cutting edge nor the blade itself. This is absolutely not true about the 2 sets I received! By ordering two and picking through each knife I was able to get one set that I would say is acceptable. When feeling the blades with the edge of my thumb they simply are just not that sharp. Moreover, when I ran the blade edge over my thumb nail I could feel rough spots or burrs and imperfections in the edge of most of the knives. These will probably come out when next sharpened, but shouldn't they come razor sharp?? They were covered with cardboard, so they were not damaged in shipping. The black stamp is fading on most knives that I put in the set I am sending back and on the block. I was at Costco and looked at the $168 set of henckels that are made in spain and they feel better and definitely sharper and no burrs in the edges. The imperfections in the edge were to me the worst. After all this is a set of knives not tires, I will probably send them back and get the Costco set.

I own this 10-pc. set in the Provence model (rosewood handles versus the Grand Chef's traditional black) and am delighted with it. The knives are beautiful -- they should be kept on a knife magnet instead of hidden away in a block.
These Sabatier knives are made in France -- most of their lines are not, just as most of Wusthof's and Henckel's are not -- buyers need to check carefully. The simplest advice is that only the most expensive sets are made in France or Germany, respectively.
This set competes head-to-head with Wusthof's Classic series and Henckel's Professional "S" (Pro-S in the trade lingo) series. I own the Wusthof set and a number of the Pro-S knives. While I have a slight personal preference for the Pro-S ones, they are much more expensive than this set and the current difference in price gives Sabatier the nod hands down. The Sabatier handles are more squared off than the others, but you're not likely to notice that. If you can buy a 10-piece set of Sabatier Grand Chef knives for $$$, do it. I think it's the best relative value in a knife set today.

I concur with knife collector, the 6 French knives are as good as any German or Japanese forged knives I've used.

The knife handles are not wrapped in plastic and come into contact prior to opening in the shipping box (foolish Sabatier). This leads to very very minor surface scratches on the handles, hence the scratches leading some reviewers to mistake the product for used. Knives are really not damaged from such things but I can understand how that would make someview view an item as imperfect. However, these people are being very picky. You get scratches like this on Henkels and I assume those come from the factory and I've gotten Wustof knives with grind defects on the handles (so even the best get it wrong sometimes).

When this set in Seven-ty percnt or more off it's the most incredible knive value on the Internet. In general, the Grand Chef sets at Amazon when deep discounted are the most consistent best buy in forged cutlery.

Unlike some reviewers, I got the same block and scissors illustrated on the box and the web site pictures. If you dont' get what you order you can trust Amazon to give you a refund and make the return relatively painless.

on the image it appears to be a beautiful set, however once you take it in your hands it is absolutely the worst. The knifes arrived dull. The handles have holes in them, especially the steak knifes. The gold trim is not gold but rusted. Very disappointed that i got suckered into purchasing it for 99.99. Honestly it is not even worth the 79.99.

Unless you are a professional chef you will surely appreciate the quality of these stylish knives. At a price of 79.99 or now 99.99 you can't go wrong, the knives are VERY sharp and the block is well built. If I had one complaint it would be the scissors which aren't as sharp as the rest of the set....but apart from that a great set especially at that price...