vintage sabatier elephant T.I. 4 star versus modern sabatier elephant 4 star T.I.

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labor of love

That’s what Maboroshi said
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has anybody here compared a new sabatier carbon to the old vintage ones? some of the old beat up ones sell for almost as much as a brand new one like the ones sold at the best things...just curious if theyre on par performance wise and if the steel is equally good in the new ones.
 
No I have not but I was more than happy paying new prices for the old stuff.
 
I just hoped onto vintage Sabatier wagon this very week. Am loving to use the two NOS K-Sabatier chef and petty with wooden handle at the moment.
 
have had this one less than a week. Out of the box , it was by far the Dullest knife I have ever purchased! I have had it to the stones for 2, 30 min sessions
before giving up out of frustration. I'm estimating it will be 2 or 3 more bouts to get it as sharp as my 25+ yr. old Mundials. don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful Knife . but they must have honed it on a stick of butter before shipping. { shown W/ 270 gesshin for size comparison }

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NOS is new old stuff; and has two possible meanings. 1. The item has never been used but was made a while ago. or 2. The item has just been made as a copy of an old item. The second is often used with vintage cars, there are companies making new gaskets, window seals etc. copying the old stuff.
 
I've got K-Sabs as New Old Stock from chef.com.au. For vintage carbon, they seem to have quite a few left of: slicer 8", 12", chef 9", 10", and ham slicer 10".

Their oversea shipping charge does not look too bad. http://www.chef.com.au/help/ quotes $25 plus a warning.
 
I like the edge the older ones take compared to the new one I tried. Also I've found that the older they are the more reactive and they take a great patina. The newer one for me just looked grey in places while the older ones have been purple and blue.
 
My nogent seems to be a bit harder than the newer K-Sabs in my limited experience. It also gets a very colorful patina.

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French makers have had very different steel suppliers, changing with the vagaries of war and peace. France lost Alsace-Lorraine in 1871, recovered it with the 1919 Versailles Peace Treaty and occupied Rhenania and the Ruhr in the twenties. When they had the choice makers used steel produced in the Ruhr or in Sheffield from Swedish ore.
For vintage blades it's important to note that HT wasn't as reliable as it is nowadays. You may find poorly treated blades next to an exceptionally good one. The difference might be due to a cigarette and a glass of wine at the right or wrong moment,
 
My thin carbon Gyuto don't like to cut frozen fruit wt. for smoothies.I use a elephant carbon santoku.It is a sturdy little cutter.Even wt. frozen fruit no chipping & holds a good edge.I bought it about a yr. ago have put it to the stones a# of times,sharpens up well.All this makes me feel like it is quality carbon wt. good HT made in France.
 
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