Sabatier Knives Misinformation

Mike Mason has just sold this set of Sabatier Knives:



During the sale, Mike implied that these knives had some sort of heritage by stating both that Napoleon once visited the factory where they were made, and that this 'company' had been making knives since the 19th century. However, as Wikipedia states:




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier

Of course, there is no way of knowing the true quality of this particular knife set. :thinking:

Wouldn't surprise me that Mike would make crap up about this.

Sit-up research is absolutely appalling. The presenters make so many mistakes and misleading statements. :headbang:

Cowboys.

You don't think that this fine upstanding sit-up salesman would ever try to pull the wool over the viewers eyes do you? :thinking::thinking:

mr_rossi said:

Mike Mason has just sold this set of Sabatier Knives:



During the sale, Mike implied that these knives had some sort of heritage by stating both that Napoleon once visited the factory where they were made, and that this 'company' had been making knives since the 19th century. However, as Wikipedia states:

The name Sabatier is considered to imply a high-quality knife produced by one of a number of manufacturers in the Thiers region of France using a fully forged process; the knives of some of these manufacturers are highly regarded. However, the name "Sabatier" came into use before intellectual property laws and is not protected; knives legally bearing the name range from high-quality knives made in France to cheap mass-produced products of poor quality from France and other countries; a registered logo or full name, or both, such as "65 Sabatier Perrier", is necessary to establish origin and quality.​

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatier

Of course, there is no way of knowing the true quality of this particular knife set. :thinking:

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We have a set of Sabatier, bought in Paris, and have had them for quite some time. They are well worth the money and the best we ever bought. We certainly wouldn't have bought this crxp which you can buy on any street market in the UK and expect them to blunt before they are very old. If the Sabatier makers knew about this I am sure they would sue, sue, sue. Passing this rubbish off as high quality knives is bad for their reputation.

I've not seen this 'presentation.' If they are genuine then they are very shoddy and maybe from a manufacturer not worthy of the name. I can't see professional spivs like situps not covering themselves. There is bound to be a loophole somewhere. Do you know if this was just a one off genuine mistake on the part of the salesman, or are they doing this all the time? If so, Trading Standards would LOVE to hear about it

Well I'm going to stick up for them here. At first sight, to me anyway, they look like a really good quality set of knives. I've checked them out on the web, and for they do seem to be going for a very good price. There's a review on Amazon which is five star, sadly it's the only review so doesn't give a true picture, I know, but at least it's a good one. The name "Trompette" if you look further down on the Wiki entry is indeed one of the geniune brand names, so unless they're out and out fakes, which I'm sure they're not....I think you've got yourself a deal there! Even with the p&p!

From Wikipedia:

In December 2005 Dutch company Amefa bought France's second-largest cutlery company Couzon, the owner of Cuisinox. They own the Sabatier Trompette (trumpet) brand, but have dropped the Sabatier name. Amefa in 2007 took over Richardson Sheffield, which owns the V Sabatier and R Sabatier ranges.

Companies change hands frequently, many original brands (think electronics! lol) end up as the 'brand' in name only, despite guests/presenters waffling on about their wonderful 'heritage' blah blah blah.
It is highly unlikely that you would be able to buy a decent set of any brand knives for 28 quid however, they look OK on the picture but are probably quite lightweight, poorly balanced & made up of several pieces of steel rather than being forged from one single piece?

I know one of my original Sabatier knives (Mexeur et Cie) cost more than that on its own & that was only a weeny veggie knife but it didn't stop clumsy teenagers breaking the points on two of them *sob* though the few that have remained unscathed are still as good after 30 years of use, whereas the cheap 'Sabatier' replacements I bought are showing their age after only a fraction of that time!

I think the presenters claims are at best a slight exaggeration of the truth....unless Napoleon was fond of visiting Sheffield! LOL

kitten_with_claws said:

From Wikipedia:

In December 2005 Dutch company Amefa bought France's second-largest cutlery company Couzon, the owner of Cuisinox. They own the Sabatier Trompette (trumpet) brand, but have dropped the Sabatier name. Amefa in 2007 took over Richardson Sheffield, which owns the V Sabatier and R Sabatier ranges.

Companies change hands frequently, many original brands (think electronics! lol) end up as the 'brand' in name only, despite guests/presenters waffling on about their wonderful 'heritage' blah blah blah.
It is highly unlikely that you would be able to buy a decent set of any brand knives for 28 quid however, they look OK on the picture but are probably quite lightweight, poorly balanced & made up of several pieces of steel rather than being forged from one single piece?

I know one of my original Sabatier knives (Mexeur et Cie) cost more than that on its own & that was only a weeny veggie knife but it didn't stop clumsy teenagers breaking the points on two of them *sob* though the few that have remained unscathed are still as good after 30 years of use, whereas the cheap 'Sabatier' replacements I bought are showing their age after only a fraction of that time!

I think the presenters claims are at best a slight exaggeration of the truth....unless Napoleon was fond of visiting Sheffield! LOL

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Awww Kitten I feel for you and the tip breaking off your knives. We take such care of them don't we, but just cannot factor in teenagers! Like you said, mine too are forged from one piece and fit well in the hand. TBH I don't think I could get used to the cheapo ones now after having the best. What worries me, is if someone buys these things from situps and thinks all Sabatier are the same. It would be such a shame.

When I did my chefs training back in 1978 we had to have a set of Sabatier carbon steal knives which cost over £100 then.
We had to clean them with oil and a mild abrasive after every use as they turned black after contact with certain foods.
I am still using the same set of knives now and keep them sharp using a Sabatier steel which came with the set.
We spent weeks and weeks perfecting our "knife skills" and thought we would never move on to actually doing any cooking.
I doubt that this set will still be going strong in 40 years time.

Well i dont know too much about knives but if they are selling them on bid now you can probably forget about
linking the name Sabatier with quality. I can now imagine them being made in Hong Kong using melted down
Coke cans. Isnt it awful how someone can take over a prestigious name and then use it to pedal crap, it should
not be allowed...

Yes, earwig. You can be sure if products appear on a Sit-up channel, it's going to be tat, however 'high end' they try to spin it.

madmax said:

When I did my chefs training back in 1978 we had to have a set of Sabatier carbon steal knives which cost over £100 then.
We had to clean them with oil and a mild abrasive after every use as they turned black after contact with certain foods.
I am still using the same set of knives now and keep them sharp using a Sabatier steel which came with the set.
We spent weeks and weeks perfecting our "knife skills" and thought we would never move on to actually doing any cooking.
I doubt that this set will still be going strong in 40 years time.

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Yes, several of our knives are vintage carbon steel (which can be sharpened to a far better edge than stainless steel) & are sharpened with an oil stone - they're a bit tricksier to care for but some are wonderfully made & were often picked up at car booties for a quid or so, a few are really old & would cost a fortune to buy their equivalent today I would think!
Sorry, a bit off topic I know but I do love my knives & cutlery.......am a bit of a cutlery nerd! LOL

As Julius said, it would be a shame if somebody bought a cheapo set like those mentioned in the OP & thought all Sabatier knives were of the same quality because they're obviously not but on the other hand I doubt anyone paying 28 quid for a knife set is going to then go & fork out a three figure sum for a couple of truly decent ones?
I suppose it depends how keen a cook you are but personally, I like to know I can tackle anything from a mango to an entire lamb with relative ease, so for me, decent knives are not only a pleasure but an absolute must! LOL

So glad it's not just me then! Hundreds of years ago I was given a set of Sabatier knives and a steel as a 21st birthday present - I thought it rather odd at the time but I wouldn't have been without them all these years.

Unfortunately, shortly after I got them, a flatmate broke one of the tips prising open a can of soup and I have never let anyone else use them again! I also have some German Solingen knives that OH and others can use and they have been excellent too.

I sharpen them all regularly but occasionally take them to our local butcher who has an oilstone wheel.

Disenchanted said:

So glad it's not just me then! Hundreds of years ago I was given a set of Sabatier knives and a steel as a 21st birthday present - I thought it rather odd at the time but I wouldn't have been without them all these years.

Unfortunately, shortly after I got them, a flatmate broke one of the tips prising open a can of soup and I have never let anyone else use them again! I also have some German Solingen knives that OH and others can use and they have been excellent too.

I sharpen them all regularly but occasionally take them to our local butcher who has an oilstone wheel.

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My butcher sharpens ours too Disenchanted! The step down from our dining room into the kitchen is granite and over 100 years old. I sharpen all my other knives on that (terrifys the dog when they start to spark) but my good ones go to the butchers