Please sign in to post.

Sabatier Carbon Steel Knives: Available in and for Purchase and Shipment to US from Paris?

Are there reliable "kitchen stores" in Paris where carbon steel Sabatier knives (chef, paring, etc) can be purchased and shipped to the US by the stores while we're on Paris later this year? (We'll be lodging on the Ile St Louis.)

Carbon steel knives (which are higher maintence--they will rust at the sight of a lemon--but can be sharpened much more effectively than stainless) are nearly non-existent, certainly in Seattle, and the one importer I could find appears to charge a fairly hefty separate shipping fee for each knife. I'd like to compare the prices and shipping costs from Paris to see if a significantly better deal can be had there, and I'd never pack the knives--or anything else of value in my hold baggage (clothes and toiletries are usually easily replaceable, except for serious Paris fashions, and are not so attractive to thieves in airport baggage processing.

Posted by
7161 posts

Jim, have you looked at Williams-Sonoma stores around Seattle? They sometimes carry Sabatier kitchen knives.

Posted by
9110 posts

BHV on Rivoli at about the Hotel de Ville metro station has / used to have a whole floor of cooking stuff.

Posted by
2092 posts

Jim, Julia Child liked to shop for her kitchen supplies at DeHillerin. I don't know if they carry the Sabatier knives but it certainly would be a fun shop to check out. It's on my agenda!

Posted by
149 posts

Thanks for the tips, folks. I'll check Williams-Sonoma, but I expect that any "Sabatier" knives are likely to be of some stainless/carbon alloy. While they won't rust easily, they'll not take the reliably sharp edge that one can get with a steel.

Posted by
5850 posts

There are a bunch of kitchen supply stores in the same general area as Dehillerin. Other stores to check are A. Simon, Mora, and La Bovida. Most of these stores are focused on the trade, so the prices are displayed without VAT. However, as a consumer, VAT will be added on.

I would first try to see if you can find one in the States and get the price. I mostly just browsed at these cookware shops and just bought a few unique items. The prices were generally higher than what I would pay in the States for the same item.