Oh yeah, I forgot we chatted about these a while back!
It certainly would've worked as a splitter in its original state, but pretty much nothing else. When I sharpened and used it before doing the mods; I could
just get it to cut newspaper, and it was very irritating to try to prep a meal with.
I'm not sure I could really recommend it in good faith to anybody who didn't have a belt grinder. I did
a lot of work on it, the experience was more like buying a HT-ed blank with a nice handle. Which is kinda was I was expecting (even hoping for), and probably a lot of people buying these NOS Nogents would be the same. But for a regular member of the public - I think they'd be a bit miffed. The profile was quite different to the picture shown on the website, where it was sold as an
11" Chef's Knife, and I struggle to see that. I've made it into one now, but before it was a splitter/butchery knife, imo.
But then that is what you were after, so actually - why not! There are cheaper options, but not many as cool as an old Nogent Sab, and they won't be around forever.
---
Something I
would recommend wholeheartedly though is the other thing I picked up on a whim when I noticed it before checkout - their
30cm Surprise Package (they also do 60cm and 100cm versions). It cost 45 euro and you get at least two knives with a combined edge length of 30cm. Though I actually received three knives with a combined edge length of a little over 40cm.
100mm Nogent Petty, again with rather nice wood for the handle:
View attachment 323915
100mm old carbon K Sab petty with plastic handle:
View attachment 323916
205mm newer inox K Sab Chef's with wood handle:
View attachment 323914
Which I thought was pretty decent for 45e, and it felt like someone had picked them specifically to go nicely with the big knife I bought. Obviously it means that I now probably have too many Sabs really, but I knew that was going to be the case, and I'll probably sell a few on the cheap or give them away.
---
Overall very happy with my experience with K Sab; I like the knives, shipped via Fedex so arrived in two days, and didn't attract the attention of the tax man.
I'd also add that I've sharpened a decent amount of new K Sab carbon and inox knives, as well as an awful lot of old Sabs. And I don't buy the line that the older steels are superior - modern K Sab knives and steels are really good, imo.