Carbon Sabatiers

I always wanted a carbon Sabatier tho not much on full heel bolsters.Picked up a Santoku wt. olivewood handle.Sanded the handle rounded the edges & took it to 600 grit sandpaper.Now the handle is more comfortable & the higher grit sand brings out the beauty of the olivewood.

I was wondering Best Things carries the old steel Sabatier hidden tang pre war Nogent's.Has anyone used this steel.I have a over 100 yr. old thin carbon carving knife the steel in it is excellent.

I have owned two Nogents, so I'll tell you from my experience. The chef knife does have a nasty little bolster/finger guard, but it's not as visually obnoxious as the modern day ones we see. It will need to be filed down to the same angle as the primary bevel, in order to sharpen it properly/like a j-knife. Even then, you'll have to make sure it is wearing at the same rate as the bevel, etc, or you could get some funky stuff going on.

As for the steel: it's fine. Haha. It is reactive, patinates to a dark grey/black, and seems to have a habit of coming off on acidic items. Mine never fully set, so this might not hold true for all of them. The steel does get nice and sharp, however, and there is something nice about them, in general.

You might be surprised how large they are as well. My 10" chef, which is now with Mike Davis, I believe, was huge compared to what I was expecting.

They're really cool blades, but those are the "truths", as
I see them.

Oh, I really love the parer.

Love my Nogent!

-AJ

I love my nogents...have 10" chef's, 10" slicer, and 6" slicer. Mine all took a while to get past the 'stink' phase, but now seem completely neutral. My small slicer is the knife I use in hand for just about everything including citrus and it is almost black--but the patina doesn't come off on anything. Chef's knife has beautiful blue/purple patina. Agree with Lefty as to the bolster, it is a pain and requires extra work every few sharpenings. Overall, great steel and lot's of fun.

I picked up a 10" elephant with matching steel in the same olivewood. Really liking them lots. The carbon is super responsive to steeling. The profile is as good as it gets. The taper to the tip is great as well. The best thing is the price....super cheap!

I like the geometry of my carbon Santoku,less rocker,the steel has some nice blues in the patina.I wanted the elephant only thing it has the oval scoops on the side for nonstick.It's a good cutter,touch it up on 5K rika.Since it's a home knife I do not think I will sharpen it enough to reach the ovals.

It's cool that some of you have the Nogents,I would think that those non slab handles & limited supply would give those blades some collective value in the yrs. to comeirate2:

I remember opening mine and looking at the handle thinking it was the ugliest, tiniest, chintziest, most uncomfortable looking handle I have ever seen. After using it though, hands down it is the most comfortable knife handle I have.

-AJ

ajhuff said:

I remember opening mine and looking at the handle thinking it was the ugliest, tiniest, chintziest, most uncomfortable looking handle I have ever seen. After using it though, hands down it is the most comfortable knife handle I have.

-AJ

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+1 and I still don't know why that is...

I have a full set of Nogents (10" Chef, 10" Slicer, 6" Slicer and 3" Parer).

They are my favourite knives and I will never get rid of them. These are the classical french knives.

ajhuff said:

I remember opening mine and looking at the handle thinking it was the ugliest, tiniest, chintziest, most uncomfortable looking handle I have ever seen. After using it though, hands down it is the most comfortable knife handle I have.

-AJ

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Interesting how perception is so variable. I think they are extremely stylish--like a 1961 e-type.

FWIW, my better half is an industrial designer and she thinks, from an aesthetic point of view, that the Nogents are "perfect." She likes using them too--

Of course many complain about the "finger guard" but I never found it to be an issue either in practice or when sharpening. Yes, you do need to spend a little more time at the heel, but this does not equate to more than an extra 5 minutes---and that's for serious sharpening jobs.

BTW, I have a periodical called "The Art of Eating" with a small 1-page article on the TI nogents in it. The wood used for the handles are actually real ebony (not painted) and they are extremely dense. The article has an interview with the owner of TI talking about the nogents (relative to their standard production line).

Does anybody know of the best way to get rid of the finger guard short of a full grinder?

pitonboy said:

Does anybody know of the best way to get rid of the finger guard short of a full grinder?

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There's no real need to remove it, all that needs to be done is to make enough clearance to allow you to get to all the edge.

Boar de Laze wrote a column in his blog about this: http://www.cookfoodgood.com/?p=351

Here's a pic of my 6" Sab:

Pensacola Tiger said:

There's no real need to remove it, all that needs to be done is to make enough clearance to allow you to get to all the edge.

Boar de Laze wrote a column in his blog about this: http://www.cookfoodgood.com/?p=351

Here's a pic of my 6" Sab:

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Exactly. I've never found them to be a real issue.

Some might see them as redundant, and depending on how you use your knife this might be true.

Thanks for the link and more so for the pic. I wish BDL was around here. I like him. He turned me on the Jon at Japanese Knife Imports.

-AJ

He used to pop in from time to time....

ajhuff said:

Thanks for the link and more so for the pic. I wish BDL was around here. I like him. He turned me on the Jon at Japanese Knife Imports.

-AJ

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I've seen him on other forums and I always enjoy reading his posts. He sure knows a lot about Sabs and Japanese knives as well.

That being said, I would adjust the finger guard a little more. I would suggest to even it with your relief bevel.

How is the edge retention on these, I like the idea of having one of them in my kit.

Edge retention before you need to slap it against a honing rod? Or between sharpenings? My old Verifiable Brunswick needs some love from the rod quite often, but that's just how they're used. Haven't been using mine long enough that it needs to hit the stones again though.

Von blewitt said:

How is the edge retention on these, I like the idea of having one of them in my kit.

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Edge retention is fair, certainly not like s hardened Japanese knife steel, but the edge is great and they resharpen quickly. The tradition aspect is very attractive also.

Recently took on a new job at a local CC. Plastic boards everywhere. The Sab is wonderful in this environment. Doesn't mind the plastic, and hones up really quick; couple light strokes. Haven't messed with the finger guard yet, although mine came slightly angled up from the factory, so it would take quite a bit of sharpening before it started getting in the way.

NO ChoP! said:

Recently took on a new job at a local CC. Plastic boards everywhere. The Sab is wonderful in this environment. Doesn't mind the plastic, and hones up really quick; couple light strokes. Haven't messed with the finger guard yet, although mine came slightly angled up from the factory, so it would take quite a bit of sharpening before it started getting in the way.

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I've noticed the same thing about my sabs and other carbon steel knives that feel more "springy" if that makes sense. The Masahiro virgin carbon and my newest aquisition the misono swedish do very well with poly boards aswell as my sabs.