K Sabatier Au Carbone Bolsterless 8.75" Chef's Knife

The first thing I noticed about this knife is that it feels great in the hand. The handle, while definitely western in profile, feels closer to those of some of my Japanese knives than to a Wusthof. It's thoughtfully rounded and a little smaller than some other western-style handles that I've tried. The lack of a downward bolter makes choking up into a pinch grip easy and, to me, makes the knife more more comfortable to use for long periods of time than some of my German knives. The profile of the blade is also a little flatter than a traditional German knife, making it behave a little more like a gyuto, but with a more aggressive tip, which adds some nice precision.

The factory edge isn't going to win any prizes and edge retention isn't really this knife's game. That said, it comes back to life in a hurry on a steel and a quick pass on a stone, even with my bad technique, gives it a pretty wicked edge without much effort.

The blade is already taking on a nice patina and, with some more time and use, should look pretty cool.

Overall, I really like this knife. But its not made of fancy steel, is fussier than a stainless knife, will require more honing and sharpening than you may want to do, and is not as nimble as some Japanese knives. What it is though, is tough as nails, very easy to sharpen, comfortable in the hand, and packed with character.

My First French Chef's Knife. Nice thin traditional profile just need to keep it wiped down and kept dry use light coat of mineral oil on the blade when not in use for a while and you will be fine will patina on its own.

It’s a beautiful knife, has a vintage look and feel. It’s definitely heavier than you’d think, but I personally like that. I rated 4 stars for two reason. First the spine on the knife is pretty sharp, it won’t cut you. But it will definitely get uncomfortable if you use it for a prolonged time. Second, this is the first knife I’ve ever bought that was kinda dull out of the box. I’m decent at sharpening knives, but for some reason. I can’t seem to get this one as sharp as all my other knives. I’m still happy with it, this is just my first stubborn knife.

This one is a little hard for me to review because I have some mixed feelings about it. The knife came packaged well and the blade was covered in a generously applied layer of some kind of clear grease to keep it from oxidizing. It feels good in my hand, solid and well finished, felt sharp enough when I ran my thumb across the blade, nice size small chef knife, and I love that it's carbon steel that has already started to get a little character after only 2 uses. So why the mixed feelings? It wouldn't slice a tomato. I had to saw at it 6 times to get it to cut the skin, that's pretty bad for a new knife. I'm starting to learn sharpening skills so I don't consider this a serious problem, I'd have to sharpen it eventually anyway, but I can't tell you how it performs because until I get it sharper it really doesn't. Disappointed in the sharpness but that can be fixed and I think it will be a great little knife once it is, so I'm only taking off one star.