Sabatier ★★★★ Elephant Knives

Thiers-Issard · Thiers, France

Sabatier ★★★★ Elephant knives are classic French kitchen knives, forged in one piece and sharpened by hand by Thiers-Issard in Thiers. The elephant is the sign that tells them apart from the many other knives that carry the Sabatier name. Here is where the mark comes from, how the knives are made, and how to choose between them.

1 piece
Blade, bolster and tang forged from a single blank
~27 steps
From steel blank to finished knife in Thiers
57 / 59 HRC
Typical hardness, stainless / carbon
By hand
Every edge is sharpened by hand

One name, many makers: what the elephant tells you

Sabatier is a family name from Thiers, not a single company, and it has appeared on knives from more than a dozen workshops. Each traditional maker adds its own sign: a K, a lion, a trumpet, a diamond. The elephant belongs to just one of them, Thiers-Issard. If you see the elephant together with "Sabatier ★★★★" and the word France, you are looking at a knife from Thiers-Issard. For the full background, read the history of Sabatier knives and Thiers.

The story of the four-star mark

1906
Gabriel Sabatier, a blacksmith and cutler from Chabreloche near Thiers, registers the mark Sabatier ★★★★ and sells it to the knife factory Patural Duprat et Cie.
1918
Patural Duprat renews the mark.
1958
The Thiers family, owners of Thiers-Issard, buy the mark through their company Eterna.
1972
The mark passes to Thiers-Issard itself.
1985
Gilles Reynewaeter takes over Thiers-Issard.
2003
The word Éléphant is added to the registered mark.

The elephant itself appears on knives from long before 2003: Elephant Sabatiers from the 1960s and 1970s turn up regularly on the vintage market, especially in the United States. You can read the whole story on our Thiers-Issard page.

How they are made

Every Sabatier Elephant knife in our range is made in the forged idéal style that was invented in the Thiers area around 1920. A blank of steel about a centimeter thick is hot-forged so that the blade, the bolster (mitre) and the tang (soie) form one solid piece. Older French knives had the bolster added afterward; forging it in one makes the knife stronger and gives it a balance point right where your fingers pinch the blade.

Grinders sharpening blades on water-powered wheels in a Thiers workshop, around 1900
Grinding blades in a Thiers workshop around 1900. The tools have changed, but Sabatier Elephant edges are still finished by hand. Photographer unknown, postcard. Public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.
  • Heat treatment. Blades are hardened in a salt bath, around 1,000 °C for stainless and around 800 °C for carbon, and then tempered.
  • Grinding and sharpening. Blades are ground on the wheel, finished on felt and cotton, and sharpened by hand.
  • Hardness. The guaranteed minimum is 55 HRC. In practice we find stainless blades around 57 HRC and carbon blades around 59 HRC.
  • Marking. The Sabatier ★★★★ mark with the elephant is electro-etched on the blade.

Stainless or carbon?

This is the first decision most buyers make. Both of our idéal series come in either steel; the walnut series is stainless only.

Stainless Carbon
Steel X50CrMoV15 (1.4116), with chromium, molybdenum and vanadium C60 carbon steel, about 0.6% carbon
Typical hardness About 57 HRC About 59 HRC
Edge Sharp, durable, easy to hone Very keen, sharpens quickly
Care Wash and dry; resists stains Dry immediately; oil lightly if stored
Over time Stays bright Develops a gray patina that protects the blade
Best for Everyday cooks who want low maintenance Cooks who love the feel of carbon and enjoy sharpening

The French profile

A French chef's knife (couteau de cuisine) has a flatter edge than a German one, rising gently into a fine point. It is designed for slicing and push cuts and for fine tip work, rather than for rocking. Most of our Sabatier Elephant knives have this classic profile. Our walnut series is the exception: it is Thiers-Issard's traditional German-style model, with a square bolster and a curved edge that rocks well.

Our Sabatier Elephant series

Red pakkawood
Forged blades with a deep red handle of resin-impregnated wood and three rivets. Stainless or carbon.
Shop red pakkawood
Olive wood
Fully forged, with warm, dense olive wood handles; no two alike. Stainless or carbon.
Shop olive wood
Walnut, square bolster
German-style profile with a square bolster and walnut handle. Stainless.
Shop walnut

Which knife does what

French knife names can be confusing. Here are the ones you will find in our range:

French name In English Use
Office Paring knife Peeling, trimming, small work in the hand
Office bec d'oiseau Bird's beak or tourné knife Peeling round fruit and shaping vegetables
Cuisine Chef's knife The all-rounder: chopping, slicing, mincing
Santoku coupe émincé Santoku Fine slicing and dicing of vegetables
Désosser Boning knife Taking meat off the bone
Tranchelard Slicer Carving roasts, slicing charcuterie and fish
Filet de sole Fillet knife Thin and flexible, for filleting fish
Découper yatagan Carving knife Carving, with a sabre-curved blade
Couteau pain Bread knife Serrated, for crusty bread
Fusil Honing steel Realigns the edge between sharpenings

Care and warranty

  • Wash by hand in warm water, dry straight away, never leave a knife soaking.
  • Hone regularly on a steel and sharpen on a whetstone when honing no longer brings the edge back.
  • Use a wooden or plastic cutting board, never glass, stone or metal.
  • Store in a block, on a magnetic strip or in a blade guard, not loose in a drawer.

Thiers-Issard guarantees its Sabatier ★★★★ Elephant knives against manufacturing defects in normal use. The warranty does not cover knives that have been through the dishwasher, used on frozen food, hammered on the spine, used as a screwdriver or crowbar, or used as a cleaver on fish or meat bones.

Frequently asked questions

What do the four stars on a Sabatier Elephant knife mean?
The four stars are part of the original mark registered by Gabriel Sabatier in 1906, Sabatier ★★★★. We have found no record of why he chose four stars, and they are not a quality grade within the range.
Are Sabatier Elephant knives made in France?
Yes. They are forged, heat treated, ground and hand-sharpened by Thiers-Issard in Thiers, in the Puy-de-Dôme.
Should I choose stainless or carbon steel?
Choose stainless (X50CrMoV15) if you want a low-maintenance knife that resists stains. Choose carbon (C60) if you enjoy a slightly harder, very keen edge and don't mind drying the blade after use; it will develop a gray patina over time.
How hard are Sabatier Elephant blades?
Thiers-Issard guarantees a minimum of 55 HRC. In practice the stainless blades come in around 57 HRC and the carbon blades around 59 HRC. That is harder than many German knives and softer than most Japanese knives, so the edge is easy to restore with a honing steel or a whetstone.
Can Sabatier Elephant knives go in the dishwasher?
No. Dishwashing damages wooden handles and edges and voids the Thiers-Issard warranty. Wash by hand, dry straight away and store the knife in a block, on a magnetic strip or in a sleeve.
How old is my vintage Sabatier Elephant knife?
Elephant knives from the 1960s and 1970s often have walnut, pear wood or hard POM plastic handles with aluminum rivets, while recent knives carry a light electro-etched mark. Since the four-star mark only came to the Thiers family in 1958, an Elephant knife will date from after that.

Sources: Sabatier: les fabricants et leurs marques, au cœur de l'histoire de la coutellerie thiernoise by Sylvie Vissà and Jean-François Faye, with Gilles Reynewaeter (Les Amis des Bois Noirs, 2023); Thiers-Issard catalogue 2026 and website; our own measurements of hardness.