Category — Cutlery

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France has a long tradition of knife manufacture and production. Handmade products and traditional processes have enjoyed a renaissance of interest that benefits these manufacturere. One of the most famous regions producing knives is the Laguiole area (in the Aveyron). The area is situated in a rural region of the South of France at the junction of three different departments, the Aveyron, the Cantal, and the Lozère.

The Laguiole name is famous for pocket knives. Laguiole is a village in the middle of the Aveyron region of France, with a long-standing reputation for quality. Despite knock-offs and imitators, the real Laguiole name still has tremendous marketing appeal. What used to be an implement for farmers and laborers has become a trendy and fashionable item for many.

Laguiole knives have been produced for almost 200 years. A Renaissance took place in the early 1990s when production was resumed in the village of Laguiole. Some Laguiole designs can today be found in famous collections and even one at he Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City.

Throughout its existence the Laguiole knife has been adapted and evolved and met new demands. The first piece that was added to the traditional blade was the “poinçon, the piercer that was used to make holes in the horse harnesses or to pierce the paunch of sheep suffering from colic, to remove stones from horse’s shoes, or to cut horses hair.

Corkscrews became poplar after 1880 with the emigration of poor farmers from Aveyron to Paris (first selling coal and wood, then opening bars and restaurants, still to be found in Paris today).

Laguiole is not one single company and the bee alone does not guarantee authenticity. “Laguiole” is the name of the town in the Aveyron region. It is almost a generic name for a folding knife. The two main sites of production for the real thing are centered around the town of Thiers (almost a capital for French cutlery production, 70-80 companies are active there) and the village of Laguiole itself.

The knives used to be made with carbon stell blades. Steel of curse is easy to sharpen and long-lasting. But is oxidizes and rusts too. Stainless steel is now the material of choice, especially since a European Union law prohibits the use of carbon steel for kitchen knives in public use (eg restaurants). Two types of steel are mainly found. Type 440 is surgical steel. It does not rust and stays shiny. But it needs to be sharpened more often. Sandvick steel is also now often used, and it combines the advantages of stainless steel (surgical) and carbon steel, without some of the disadvantages.

Handles are found in many different materials. Initially when the knives were first produced, the material of choice was bone or stag horn, the sturdiest materials available at the time. Ivory was used for luxury pieces. Later, cattle horn was used, but restricted only to cattle in the region. Modern day products use new materials, which allows for more diverse designs and colors. Woods of all sorts have become a nice and trendy alternative.

The knife is finished with a small triangular relief with a bee carving. No one explanation exists for the bee other than it is decorative. The bee is an imperial emblem but some also think the bee was meant to represent a fly. Whatever the case may be, it has become a signature of Laguiole and is seen on virtually all pieces.

The blade, made of high-grade stainless steel, is stamped, then ground and then polished with over 25 different manual production stages.

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