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We know, we know… we should be sharpening all of our knives on a regular basis. It’s a necessary chore to keep cutlery polished and sharp, in order to slice our ingredients with ease and safety.
But sometimes, busy lives (and laziness… and forgetfulness…) get in the way. And many of us don’t know exactly how to sharpen knives properly, so we may just avoid that responsibility altogether.
So we trudge the dangerous path of dealing with dull, blunt cutlery. Not good.
Thankfully, the Sabatier brand picks up our slack!
The Sabatier Edgekeeper series features self-sharpening knives to ensure your cutlery stays sharp before and after every use, without a big effort required on your part! The brand offers a variety of styles, to suit every cutting, chopping, slicing, and dicing need in your kitchen.
In this review, we’ll explore the brand’s cutting-edge system for this self-sharpening series. We’ll go over company details, product maintenance, warranty info, and your many options to purchase.
Sabatier Self-Sharpening Knives Reviewed
About the Company and Products
The Knife Set
Individually Sold Knives
Other Products
About the Company
Sabatier is one of the leading kitchenware brands sold under the company Lifetime Brands, a leading global provider of kitchenware, tableware, and other home products.
Inspired by the impeccable demands of French cookery, Sabatier provides lines of cutlery, tools, gadgets, cookware, and bakeware to meet the needs of today’s busy-bee households.
The Sabatier products, while designed in the United States, are manufactured in China. The Lifetime Brands company has offices worldwide, with its corporate headquarters in New York.
Staying Sharp: How it Works
All Sabatier knives, both individually sold cutlery and cutlery sets, come with a patent-pending, built-in knife sharpener. As they claim, this ensures each blade will cut like new!
Integrated ceramic sharpening rods are installed inside the sheaths used for the knives’ storage. Ceramic is less abrasive than alternative materials and will gently sharpen knives, resulting in a finer edge.
The rods are aligned strategically to sharpen the blade at the correct angle, so there’s less work and worry for you. Every time that you remove and replace the knife into the storage sheath, your knife’s edge will be subtly filed by the blades.
With the individual knives, the sleeve that stores and protects the knife’s blade includes a built-in sharpener. Taking a look at the sheath, the sharpening rods are built inside the maroon section located at the opening base of the sleeve.
With the cutlery sets, the blades are located inside each opening slot where you store each knife. So like the individual knives, every time you take out replace the knife, you’ll be sharpening it.
The Right Technique
Instructions for removing the knife are very simple: when taking the knife out of the sleeve, hold the bottom of the sleeve and gently remove the knife with the opposite hand.
When you’re ready to store it, use a similar technique: hold the bottom of the sleeve with one, and gently slide the knife back into the sleeve with the opposite hand.
When removing the knife from the block of the cutlery set, gently pull the knife out while pressing lightly down to sharpen it while removing. Apply the same technique when returning it back to the block.
Ah, so easy!
Editor’s Note: Sharpening vs. Honing
While you’ll be sharpening your knives every time you use this line of cutlery, this process alone is just one of two essential steps to take to maintain a superior edge:
1. Sharpening: the process of removing metal from the edge to make it thinner and sharper.
2. Honing: re-aligns the edge, giving it a sharper feel.
You’ll still need to hone your knives every once in a while to re-align the edge, in addition to sharpening it. Learn more about honing, and the tools required, right here.
The Knives: All the Basics
The materials for all of the knives reviewed here are the same.
Each blade is made with an ultra-sharp, high-carbon stainless steel for both strength and durability. The material is also resistant to stains and corrosion, so long as it is cleaned and maintained as recommended.
Each knife is forged with a full-length bolster and a full-length tang, and finished with a traditional, triple-riveted black handle. They are all weighted and balanced for optimal control, and the handles are ergonomically designed for a comfortable grip as you are using them.
Please note that the steak knives included in the 12-piece cutlery set are not forged.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The sleeves sold along with the individual knives are dishwasher safe.
However, Sabatier highly recommends hand washing the knives. As with all fine cutlery, they are best maintained when they are gently handwashed, rather than being cleaned in a dishwasher.
Wash with warm, soapy water, and rinse thoroughly. Immediately dry them after washing. Once the knives are fully dried, you can store them back in the sleeves, or in the cutlery block.
Warranty
Sabatier’s line of Edgekeeper products has a lifetime limited warranty. All are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship.
If any piece is defective under normal use and care, the company will repair or replace it with the same item, or an item of equal or better value, at no additional charge.
You can send these defective pieces to the company address, listed on the packaging.
Let’s explore the options you have to purchase below!
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The 12-Piece Knife Block Set
The Sabatier Edgekeeper 12-Piece Cutlery Set has all the basics you’ll need for any cutting adventure. Like many other sets, you’ll get the perfect range of tools.
The 12-piece set includes the following:
- 8-inch chef’s knife
- 8-inch slicing knife
- 5-inch chef’s knife with kullens
- 4.5-inch fine-edge utility knife
- 6 4.5-inch steak knives
- 3.5-inch paring knife
- Black storage block with self-sharpening slots
We will go into further detail to describe most of these knives in the next section on Sabatier cutlery that is also sold individually.
Sabatier Self-Sharpening Edgekeeper 12-Piece Set
The majority of the storage slots are installed with integrated ceramic sharpening rods.
Please note that the slots in which the six steak knives are stored do not have the Edgekeeper self-sharpening technology installed. You can use the sharpening slots for the paring or fine-edge utility styles to keep the steak knives sharp.
The unique block design that houses all of the knives is quite a beauty. The steak knives are all aligned and organized in the bottom row, while the others are stored on the top row.
With a sleek, clean, modern design and matte black color that matches the knives’ handles, it will look great in any contemporary kitchen.
Get prices and read customer reviews on Amazon!
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Individually Sold Knives
Chef’s Knives
An essential tool for every cook, the chef’s knife is the mainstay of kitchen cutlery. Sabatier provides a few options to consider purchasing.
The 12-piece cutlery set does include both an 8-inch chef’s knife and a 5-inch chef’s knife with kullens.
Kullens, or kuhlens, is a shortened name for kullenschliff, which loosely translates as “hollow” or “deepening.” These shallow, oval scallops along the blade are designed to prevent food from sticking on the blade as you cut.
For individual retail, you can purchase 8-inch or 6-inch models.
8-Inch
The Sabatier 8-inch Chef’s Knife has dimensions of 0.8 x 2.4 x 13.6 inches, and it weighs 8.5 ounces.
6-Inch
The Sabatier 6-inch Chef’s Knife has dimensions of 0.8 x 2.4 x 11.6 inches, and it weighs 7.7 ounces.
3.5-Inch Paring
The Sabatier 3.5-inch Paring Knife is perfect for small dicing and garnishing – so it’s essential to keep it razor-sharp for all these small details!
Sabatier 3.5-inch Paring Knife
Its dimensions are .06 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches. The weight listed at the time of this writing on Amazon.com, 14.4 ounces, is incorrect. Upon weighing the paring knife at home, the weight is 2.8 ounces.
8-Inch Slicing
The Sabatier 8-inch Slicing Knife is designed to cut large pieces of meat into neat, precise slices. Its dimensions are 0.6 x 1.4 x 13 inches, and it weighs 5.4 ounces.
4.5-Inch Fine-Edge Utility
With the same design as the paring knife, the Sabatier 4.5-inch Fine-Edge Utility Knife is slightly longer. Sabatier recommends using this knife for peeling, slicing, and cleaning fruits and vegetables.
Sabatier 4.5-inch Fine-Edge Utility Knife
The product dimensions are 0.6 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches, and it weighs about 3.2 ounces, different from the weight provided by Amazon.com.
7-inch Santoku
The Sabatier 7-inch Santoku is another great option to keep in your cutlery arsenal.
While not quite as versatile as the chef’s blade, the curved tip and kullens marks will help you quickly chop through large mounds of vegetables and other larger quantities of food with minimal effort.
The product dimensions are 0.8 x 2.4 x 12.6 inches, and it weighs 10.6 ounces. It is also sold as a 5-inch option.
Get prices and read customer reviews on Amazon now!
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Other Cutting-Edge Products
Loving the cutlery? You might want to consider a couple of the other self-sharpening products the brand sells.
You can’t use these beautiful blades without a stellar cutting board. The Sabatier Edgekeeper Nonslip Cutting Board features a built-in sharpener for easy and convenient sharpening as you are prepping your ingredients.
Sabatier Cutting Board with EdgeKeeper Pop-Up Sharpener
The ceramic pop-up sharpener in the corner can be pushed back down to create a flat surface. The cutting board is reversible, making it easy for both right-handed and left-handed chefs to use this feature with no trouble.
The strong, white board has non-slip corners, and is safe to clean in the dishwasher. The dimensions are 11 x 14 inches, a perfect size for prep work.
They also sell kitchen shears with an Edgekeeper self-sharpening sheath. The shears feature high carbon stainless steel blades, and an ergonomically designed black handle for comfort.
Sabatier Shears with Edgekeeper Self-Sharpening Sheath
This is such a practical tool for everyday use. Everyone has tried using dull scissors before. Useless! You’ll be happy every time you use these, since they are guaranteed to cut perfectly.
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Keep Your Knives at Their Best without a Thought
Don’t let a busy schedule, laziness, forgetfulness, or fear get in the way of having the sharpest knives.
With the Sabatier Edgekeeper collection, you can take the guesswork out of keeping your knives in the best condition, and rely on the self-sharpening features to maintain a great edge on each piece of cutlery.
And the range of styles you can get makes it super convenient for all your needs. If you’re looking for small paring options, a go-to chef’s style, or an entire cutlery set, Sabatier has it all.
So, if you’re not the kind of home chef who wants to worry about taking the time to sharpen (ahem), and you don’t want a sharpening tool, block, or stone taking up precious space in your drawers or on your countertops, definitely consider purchasing this unique set of cutlery – the sharpening work will be done for you automatically.
Convenience. It’s nice, isn’t it?
What do you think of this line of cutlery? Do you enjoy the convenience of these self-sharpening options? Please give us your feedback in the comment section below.
And don’t forget to take a look at all of our knife reviews! Foodal is here to help you make the right decisions for your slicing and dicing lifestyle.
Credited photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Product photos via Sabatier. A complimentary knife set was provided by the manufacturer for review.
About Nikki Cervone
Nikki Cervone is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional and cheesemonger living in Pittsburgh. Nikki holds an AAS in baking/pastry from Westmoreland County Community College, a BA in Communications from Duquesne University, and an MLA in Gastronomy from Boston University. When she's not nibbling on her favorite cheeses or testing a batch of cupcakes, Nikki enjoys a healthy dose of yoga, wine, hiking, singing in the shower, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
My husband received an Edgekeeper knife sharpener (red) last Father’s Day. Today it quit working… not sure if they have a warranty or where I would find one, but I always register for the one-year warranty. Can you advise?
Sabatier Edgekeeper is a line of self-sharpening knives, but there is also a brand called EdgeKeeper that makes a two-stage electric knife sharpener in red. If this is the product that you’re referring to, it comes with a one-year limited warranty. Contact the customer service department at Lifetime Brands directly with your warranty inquiry, and they should be able to help.