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Every saber we engrave begins in a workshop with a story. Some of these houses have been shaping steel for more than four centuries; others are family firms carrying a regional tradition into a new generation. Many also make fine cutlery, but here we focus on what brings them to Sonoma: their champagne sabers and swords, and the towns that taught them how to make a blade worthy of a celebration.
England
Founded by Tom Tuke-Hastings, Henry Tuke is a British luxury house known for objects made in the old way and made to last. Its champagne sabre was unveiled in 2011 in the gardens of Champagne Canard-Duchêne in Ludes, a house whose coat of arms has carried a sabre for a century. At the launch, Tuke-Hastings set a world record by sabering 35 bottles in a single minute, and the blade came away without a scratch.
The sabre is hand forged in England from stainless Damascus steel, its rippled pattern the signature of many layers folded together. It is fitted with a solid sterling silver guard and a shagreen grip, and is deliberately a little shorter than a cavalry sabre for balance in the hand. It is one of the rarest and most collectible sabers in the world.
Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia
Solingen has been called the City of Blades since the Middle Ages, and WKC is its most storied sword maker. The company’s King’s Head mark traces back to the 16th-century bladesmith Johannes Wundes and was acquired by Peter Weyersberg in 1774. The Weyersberg brothers founded their firm in 1787, and in 1883 the family joined with the Kirschbaums, renowned blade traders, to form Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie. Its former administrative buildings are now part of Solingen City Hall.
Today WKC supplies ceremonial swords and sabers to military academies and services around the world. Each sword and scabbard passes through more than 100 hand steps, following the old Solingen method where forging, hardening, grinding and polishing are each done by specialists. Our WKC Briquet champagne swords are modeled on the short infantry sabre of Napoleon’s era, the very style tied to the legend of sabrage.
Designed in Sonoma · Forged in Germany
Morgan King is our own line, created here at Sonoma Champagne Sabres after years of engraving and sabering blades from every maker on this page. We knew exactly what we wanted in a champagne sword, so we partnered with German craftsmen to build it.
The Morgan King Sabrage Sword is forged from German stainless steel, hardened and well tempered, then hand polished to a mirror finish and paired with a polished brass guard. It is longer than most champagne sabers yet perfectly weighted for an easy, confident stroke. The sword rests on a black lacquer stand designed to show off the blade and to carry an engraved nameplate, making it a natural choice for awards and milestones. For a French accent, our French Country sabers are made in Thiers, the historic heart of French cutlery.
Thiers, Auvergne
Perched above the Durolle river, Thiers has been France’s cutlery capital for centuries, its old mills once driven by the rushing water below. The Dozorme family opened their workshop there in 1902, and over more than a hundred years the house has become known for reinterpreting Thiers traditions with a modern, creative eye.
Dozorme makes its champagne sabers entirely in its own family factory in Thiers, with every stage handled in house. The Prestige collection pays tribute to Napoleon’s marshals with names like Lafayette, Ney, Kellermann and Mac Mahon, and their wrist straps recall the way cavalrymen of the Imperial Guard carried their sabres. Each piece arrives in an elegant box or oak case, ready for display.
Espalion · Aubrac plateau, Aveyron
The Laguiole knife was born in the 1820s in the mountain village of Laguiole, on the high, windswept Aubrac plateau of southern France. Laguiole en Aubrac carries that heritage forward from its forge in nearby Espalion, where the bee set where blade meets handle has become a mark of authentic French craftsmanship.
Their philosophy is one craftsman, one piece. Each saber is hardened by hand, shaped and fitted to the artisan’s eye, and assembled from start to finish by a single cutler, which is why no two are exactly alike. The champagne sabers feature mirror-polished Sandvik stainless steel blades with handles of olive wood, horn or ebony, and are delivered in a wooden box with a certificate and a lifetime guarantee.
Maniago, Friuli
At the foot of the Carnic Alps, Maniago has been known as the City of Knives since the Middle Ages, when its smiths forged blades, scythes and tools for all of northern Italy. Oreste Frati founded Fox Cutlery there in 1977, and the company remains family owned and one of the most respected names in Italian knife making.
Fox’s Sciabola del Sommelier is built true to the original cavalry form. The unsharpened blade is T5MoV stainless steel, and the cast handle with its decorated guard and pommel is finished in nickel or bronze. It comes in a wooden presentation box with a stand, ready for the table or the wall.
Maniago, Friuli
Due Cigni, Italian for two swans, is the historic brand of the Maniago knife district, producing professional knives and scissors since 1896. Today it is part of the Fox group, which carries the old name forward with modern technology and the same commitment to quality.
The Due Cigni 1896 Sommelier’s Sabre and the Perlage sabre honor that heritage. Perlage uses a T5MoV stainless blade with a satin finish, a bronze or silver-effect guard and pommel, and an elegant wooden box. The compact 1896 Demi brings the same look to a shorter, easy-to-handle saber.
Maniago, Friuli
After years of experience in Maniago’s blacksmith workshops, Fervido Maserin founded Coltellerie Maserin in 1960 with a simple goal: knives of excellent materials and real technical skill. The company is now run by his children, Gianfranco, Maurizio and Claudia, and was among the first Italian firms to collaborate with custom knife makers on its designs.
Maserin pairs modern CNC machining with traditional hand finishing. Its sommelier sabers use a 5 mm thick, unsharpened stainless blade with a glossy finish, fitted with handles of olive, bubinga or paper stone and presented in a wooden box.
Scarperia, Tuscany
Founded in 1306 in the Mugello valley just north of Florence, the medieval town of Scarperia has been making knives for over 700 years and is known as the town of cutting irons. Its skyline is still marked by the tower of the Palazzo dei Vicari. Parish records show the Saladini family working there as master knifemakers by the mid-19th century.
Saladini still forges its own blades and stamps its mark into each one during forging. Its champagne sabers are crafted by hand with handles of olive wood or black horn, combining traditional Tuscan knife making with an artisan’s eye for detail.
Rotterdam origins · Milan, Italy
In 1898 the Dutch butcher Wilhelmus van Berkel invented a machine that could cut the perfect slice, and his red flywheel slicers became icons of the European kitchen. The brand’s Italian story began in Milan in 1924, and today Berkel applies the same obsession with precision and design to fine kitchen tools.
Berkel’s Elegance champagne sabers take a corsair-inspired shape with a gently curved, cutlass-like profile. They are made with forged stainless steel blades and handles of wenge wood, horn or resin, and are presented in an elegant gift box.
Maniago, Friuli
Tecnocut was founded in Maniago in 1987 to make sporting knives under the Viper name, blending advanced manufacturing with local craft. In 1992 it produced its first Damascus steel blades and has since earned a reputation as one of Italy’s finest producers of Damascus and wire Damascus.
Viper’s Mathusalem saber shares its name with the grand six-liter champagne bottle. Its 33 cm blade is deliberately left unsharpened, with a stainless steel guard and handles of olive, rosewood or cocobolo. A Damascus edition, forged by hand by Viper’s smiths, has been made in a limited run.
Every saber from these masters can be personalized in our Sonoma County workshop. Learn about our engraving or browse the full collection.
