# Vintage Chefs Knives



## chipshopman (Mar 6, 2014)

Please delete if you think I'm breaking the rules.
Over the last 5 or 6 years I have been collecting and refurbishing vintage knives. 75% carbon all German or French 90% before 1970. Even the rbeautifully referbished ones with and exotic wood handles and mosaic pins are tools and I'd hate to see them sit in some yuppies draw being wasted. Where is the best place to market vintage knives to professional chefs who appreciate the difference between a Henckels POS International and a 100 year old Sabatier Veritable Bresduck. Just trying to do the right thing and put these tools where they need to be. I've been in the business nearly 40 years at 53 I've owned 3 restaurants in NYC 2 for 15 and 17 years. Just starting a new vegan concept. I'm not trying to make a quick buck, I'd love to see the faces on some of the young chef's when they use a 75 year old Sab 8"carbon steel knife for the first time that cost them less than a new stainless one. The other thing is when buying a vintage knife you can bench test it, literally grab a few pounds of vegetables and cut and to make it more interesting I'll enter into a cutting competition with anyone. If you can beat me on a set cutting task I'll discount the knife by 20%, if you can't you pay a 10% premium that goes to charity. I can travel within the 5 boroughs and I have a commercial kitchen to play in.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Got pics to back up your brag????

P.S. I like vintage chef knives too.


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

Screw the pictures. Post a video of those lit cutting skillz and show these young G's how the old timers can roll hard. (Sorry. My grandson, who's home from school today supposedly sick, told me what to say. lol)


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Math test?


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## chipshopman (Mar 6, 2014)

brianshaw said:


> Got pics to back up your brag????
> 
> P.S. I like vintage chef knives too.


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## chipshopman (Mar 6, 2014)




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## chipshopman (Mar 6, 2014)

sgsvirgil said:


> Screw the pictures. Post a video of those lit cutting skillz and show these young G's how the old timers can roll hard. (Sorry. My grandson, who's home from school today supposedly sick, told me what to say. lol)


Tell your Grandson he's welcome to come and challenge me for a buck. Chefs knives are my thing, I can shave with them and and i've had nearly 40 years to practice.


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)




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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

chipshopman said:


> Tell your Grandson he's welcome to come and challenge me for a buck. Chefs knives are my thing, I can shave with them and and i've had nearly 40 years to practice.


He's 12.


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

brianshaw said:


> Math test?


lol....probably.


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## Anita Hamilton (Nov 1, 2018)

chipshopman said:


> Please delete if you think I'm breaking the rules.
> Over the last 5 or 6 years I have been collecting and refurbishing vintage knives. 75% carbon all German or French 90% before 1970. Even the rbeautifully referbished ones with and exotic wood handles and mosaic pins are tools and I'd hate to see them sit in some yuppies draw being wasted. Where is the best place to market vintage knives to professional chefs who appreciate the difference between a Henckels POS International and a 100 year old Sabatier Veritable Bresduck. Just trying to do the right thing and put these tools where they need to be. I've been in the business nearly 40 years at 53 I've owned 3 restaurants in NYC 2 for 15 and 17 years. Just starting a new vegan concept. I'm not trying to make a quick buck, I'd love to see the faces on some of the young chef's when they use a 75 year old Sab 8"carbon steel knife for the first time that cost them less than a new stainless one. The other thing is when buying a vintage knife you can bench test it, literally grab a few pounds of vegetables and cut and to make it more interesting I'll enter into a cutting competition with anyone. If you can beat me on a set cutting task I'll discount the knife by 20%, if you can't you pay a 10% premium that goes to charity. I can travel within the 5 boroughs and I have a commercial kitchen to play in.





chipshopman said:


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chipshopman said:


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Great Knives. I can show my students the picture of your knife collection and in stil in them if you buy good quality knives and take care of them they can last for all of your culinary career.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I’ll take the oxblood handle one, first photo, second from the left. PayPal and ups should do.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

The carbon knives can fetch $30 and more on ebay, if they are not convexed at the edge like some you show, lot of work to restore the convexed ones, that got that way from the ignorant who wouldn't grind back the full bolster [that never should have been there in the first place]. They do have some selling for hundreds, but descriptions are full of phony hype/outright lies, not many Sabs or old Germans would sell that high, perhaps something like a Gustave Emil Ern from the 1800's and in great shape. There are usually ways of finding out if they were hand forged or drop forged if the logo markings are still discernible. The stainless ones are essentially worthless. Vintage Forgecrafts are grabbing good money also.

I'll soon be in the NY area for a while, would love to stop by.


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## chipshopman (Mar 6, 2014)

foodpump said:


> I'll take the oxblood handle one, first photo, second from the left. PayPal and ups should do.


Veritable Bresduck, the Rolls Royce of Sabatier. I thinned down the end a little because I have big hands. Sorry that ones for me. I have the same Knife Chef au Ritz that has a small crack in the composite handle. Its the same sort of quality. It takes about 5 hours to replace a handle and costs about $22 in materials, its labor intensive so the custom handled knives do not come cheap. A regular vintage stainless sab that size would run $40-$60 and a Carbon steel $60-$100 ( from a good condition four star to a mint condition Veritable or similar). I usually charge $100 to replace a handle.


sgsvirgil said:


> He's 12.


Then I'll be guaranteed a buck! I gave my daughter her first knife when she was 7, I'll make her a custom stainless set when she leaves home in 5 odd years/


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## Seoul Food (Sep 17, 2018)

Vintage knives seem pretty reasonable price wise. The "upscale" shops around here that cater to mostly home cooks sell knives for outrageous prices.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Forgecraft Knives have gotten stupid overpriced in the past few years. I was lucky to procure mine before the runup. I love the profile and the they are perfect candidates for "Wa" conversion. I have other "no name" carbon knives that are just as good that deserved a re-handle and the heat treat is spot on for what I'm assuming is 1095 carbon.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Never heard what the FC's had for steel, most likely 1088 though for a guess, cheaper and easier to HT. Old Hickory is 1095 steel, coming from recycled bandsaw blades I heard (possibly some anyways), you might have even said that. I've seen a lot of old no-name carbon American knives, with nice Sab profiles. Most likely supplied to restaurants by sharpening services.

Sabs use a nice fine grained carbon, though very soft HT. Stainless Sabs, vintage or no, are just Krupp 4116, soft, lousy edge taking and holding.

American company Deluxe Persona made some nice stainless knives of 440C, rosewood scales and steel but cap. I have a thing for the Imperial Very Very Sharp line, all of these show up on ebay regularly.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

The heat treat on FC's is @ 60+HRC so I'm guessing 1095, but when bandsawing the tang for wa conversion it gets really slow going near the choil on the edge side.


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## CookingVink (Jan 30, 2019)

Those are beautiful knives. One of my regrets on my trip to Paris was not buying an antique knife.


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