This summer we visited the Thiers Issard factory and showroom in Thiers, France to see how our beautiful Sabatier knives are made. Their dedication and pride in their work was evident immediately as we looked through an expansive showroom of knives for professional chefs, cooking schools, butchers and home cooks.

The Showroom

The array of knives from was astounding, from vintage and traditional to modern and creative, from stainless steel to carbon, from specialized uses to every day cutting. There were paring knives, steak knives, pocket knives and straight razors, with a surprising variety of handles in wood and bone. There were knives with olive wood handles and brightly colored epoxy handles with shells, grains and colorful fabrics embedded.

The Factory

Heading to the factory floor, we passed the office of the head Sabatier knife maker Eric. He had a huge collection of elephant figurines, the symbol of Thiers Issard 4 star **** Elephant brand. The owner Gilles Reynewater was there too along with his two daughters Marie Laure and Sandra who manage the business side. Every one of the employees there are treated like family and many have worked there for decades.

We toured the factory floor to see the raw materials that go into making a Sabatier knife including the unhoned blades, handles and rivets. We met the master craftspeople honing the carbon and stainless steel knives by hand, followed by detailed inspections for quality under a magnifying glass, acid etching of the 4 star elephant brand and careful packaging.

After the extensive tour, we were off to the local bar for a proper French meal and a bottle of wine!

Manufacturing Sabatier Knives

One of our favorite parts of the tour was watching master knife maker Eric create the serration for a brand new Sabatier bread knife. To experience the making of a bread knife yourself, please see the video here. Caution the factory is loud!

More about Sabatier Knives

Our Sabatier **** Elephant chef knives are handcrafted by experienced artisans who are passionate about their work. The quality is evident in every Sabatier knife they make and greatfrenchknives.com is proud to bring them to you! To see more images from our factory tour, there is another video below.