When the grinder has completed his task, the knife then passes into the “polisher's“ hands. What he has to do is reduce all the traces left by the millstone, using a leather polisher and a piece of felt, both of which are dipped in polishing paste (mixture of fat and fine “emery“).
Work on the blade is now nearly finished. The final operation is buffing to give the final brilliant shine. The technique used is very similar to polishing; the blade is rubbed against disks of cotton or flannel dipped in fat. This same buffing process will be repeated later on for the handle.

Now the blade is finished, the handle becomes the centre of attention.

Production of the handle is entrusted to the “handle maker“. At the time we are talking about, the handle maker would use noble materials such as mother-of-pearl, ivory, precious woods, tortoiseshell or horn. Each of these materials requires specific knowhow and skills. Horn, for example, needs to be softened in water then passed through a flame to clean it of impurities. The operations involved in making the handle depend in fact on the material used and the desired result. It may be moulded in dies that reproduce the desired shapes, ground with small grinders or sculpted by hand for the greater pleasure of knowledgeable collectors.

The blade and handle obtained are then passed to the "assembler" who has the important job of assembling and adjusting the various parts of the knife. The number of parts would vary depending on the type of knife being made (folding or not).
The traditional SABATIER knife whose blade, bolster and tang are forged out of the same block of steel, is given 2 “plates“ or "sides" to make the handle. These are riveted right through the tang using three tubular brass rivets.

The “polisher“ is called upon again to polish the blade one last time using the technique described before. Now the knife is irreproachable.

The last operation belongs to the “sharpener“. He puts an edge on the blade, and the knife now has its final cutting quality.