Of all the things we sell, perhaps the most troublesome search was that for kitchen knives. We looked first to Germany, and then to Japan, where we found many good knives proudly produced in sterile, controlled, fully automated conditions, with humans only checking, polishing, packing, monitoring the machines, and that is about it - brilliantly consistent but lacking a little in soul. Then we looked to the French Sabatiers, which have, it must be said, gained something of an indifferent reputation in recent years; but then we found these, and learned a little history.

The term Sabatier is derived from 2 cutlers who worked in the French town of Theirs at the beginning of the 19th century - Jean Sabatier of Le Moutier, and Philippe Sabatier of Belleveu. Quite naturally they marked their knives with their own name. This quickly became a byword for quality, and in an age before trade marks or copyright protection was adopted by many pretenders. Of the originals only the Bellevue Sabatier company survives, operated from the same address by the 8th generation of Philippe Sabatier's family, as Sabatier Ainé & Perrier. Since 1834 the Bellevue Sabatiers have added the letter 'K' to all their knife blades, initially to differentiate themselves from their Le Moutier namesakes, and latterly the multitude of 'Sabatier' brands. The mark however first appears engraved on the Silver Tablet of Cutlers, held in the Thiers town archives, dated 7th June 1813. All their knives are forged individually, from a single billet of steel, and are still ground, sharpened, polished and finished by skilled craftsmen proud of their tradition and heritage. There seems perhaps something wonderfully French in their refusal to renounce tradition for economy and mass produced efficiency. For those of you who are interested the steel used in their stainless steel ranges is Z50C13 and tempered to Rockwell 54-56 HRC.

Their 'Carbone' knives are perhaps even more extraordinary. They are noticeably heavier than their identical stainless steel counterparts, and carbon steel, because it contains smaller carbide granules (essentially has a finer grain) holds a keener edge, and hones more effectively, but unlike the easy care compromise of stainless steels will if neglected rust. In use the blade will stain and develop a darkish patina - this is quite normal, even attractive - but it should never be left wet, or damp, but instead be wiped and dried after use, and perhaps lightly vegetable oiled if left for any length of time. Having said that, those who keep these knives will tell you that the care requirements are simply those of any quality knife, and it's no coincidence that truly sharp hand tools, planes, carving chisels, shaves etc. are always made of similar high carbon 'rustable' steels. Again these knives are tempered to Rockwell 54-56 HRC, but a comparison to a similarly hard stainless knife will show that there is more to keen edges and their retention than hardness or geometry alone.