- Joined
- Aug 17, 2013
- Messages
- 1,558
Well I have to say I am very happy with my Forge de Laguiole with Black Horn Scales. In pretty much every regard it performs excellently and the fit and finish is superb, with (depending on your perspective) one exception. There are definitely gaps between the liners and spring. I was a little surprised as I looked through all the Laguioles at the shop I got it from to find that pretty much every single one had this issue. Granted the highest end ones did not have such prevalent gaps, but anything in the standard series did. So when I got back to the states I decided to write to FDL to get an answer straight from the horse's mouth. I asked them if this was a defect or what they considered par for the course. I must say I was very appreciative at their prompt response. They wrote me back personally within the hour and then followed up over the next couple days. Here are pics of my knife (sorry they're lowfi phone pics.)
And here is their response:
Dear Ryan,
After having checked that with our quality manager, and even if it is always very difficult to talk from a picture, we can answer that this small gap is necessary for the good functioning of the knife. This small gap allows the plates and the spring sliding without any resistance / rubbing. If you look at this gap carefully, you will probably notice that it is wider near the bee than at the end of the handle because the movement between the plates and the spring is more important at this level. We know that and we try to find the best compromise between this necessary small gap and the fact that the knives have to be as flush as possible.
Thank you for your understanding and support !
Kind regards from a very hot Laguiole today !
And with that (at least for me) the matter is laid to rest. The lesson for me is that perhaps different manufacturers and perhaps different cultures hold a different perspective on things and that there is no absolute criteria for a perfect knife. According to their attitude it is not really a defect at all. And to be honest it doesn't cause any issues at all. Sure its possible dust and lint may get in the gaps, but I'm not that worried about that. I realized also that a big part of the reason I wrote to them was just to lay to rest my fear that I got a bad one and that that worry would niggle me and compromise my enjoyment of an otherwise beautiful gift, but according to them its a normal example. Sure they may just be saying that to cover for shoddy craftsmanship, but maybe they're just more laidback than us. I know I'd still get upset at GEC if they produced a knife with these gaps, but thats more because they themselves would consider it a defect in production. Personally I'm glad I wrote to them and got the clarification. Also If there's one thing I learned about the french while there is that they seem to be perfect examples of "respectful disagreement." They just seem to be more willing to argue a point without personal malice in general. A generalization, sure, but one I found to hold up over and over in my interactions (especially with knife nuts). Well thanks for reading.
And here is their response:
Dear Ryan,
After having checked that with our quality manager, and even if it is always very difficult to talk from a picture, we can answer that this small gap is necessary for the good functioning of the knife. This small gap allows the plates and the spring sliding without any resistance / rubbing. If you look at this gap carefully, you will probably notice that it is wider near the bee than at the end of the handle because the movement between the plates and the spring is more important at this level. We know that and we try to find the best compromise between this necessary small gap and the fact that the knives have to be as flush as possible.
Thank you for your understanding and support !
Kind regards from a very hot Laguiole today !
And with that (at least for me) the matter is laid to rest. The lesson for me is that perhaps different manufacturers and perhaps different cultures hold a different perspective on things and that there is no absolute criteria for a perfect knife. According to their attitude it is not really a defect at all. And to be honest it doesn't cause any issues at all. Sure its possible dust and lint may get in the gaps, but I'm not that worried about that. I realized also that a big part of the reason I wrote to them was just to lay to rest my fear that I got a bad one and that that worry would niggle me and compromise my enjoyment of an otherwise beautiful gift, but according to them its a normal example. Sure they may just be saying that to cover for shoddy craftsmanship, but maybe they're just more laidback than us. I know I'd still get upset at GEC if they produced a knife with these gaps, but thats more because they themselves would consider it a defect in production. Personally I'm glad I wrote to them and got the clarification. Also If there's one thing I learned about the french while there is that they seem to be perfect examples of "respectful disagreement." They just seem to be more willing to argue a point without personal malice in general. A generalization, sure, but one I found to hold up over and over in my interactions (especially with knife nuts). Well thanks for reading.
I actually told them as respectfully as possible that they would stand to up their sales substantially if they just went the little extra mileage and closed the gaps, but you know after all, and this may not make perfect sense, but I'm actually relieved by their response. Now I, and anyone else, knows their take on production standards and shouldnt be surprised or disappointed if they happen to get one with gaps. Its funny I dont usually prefer the attitude of "i didn't try at all" to "I tried but failed," but in this instance it just seems like a difference in standards and priorities. If I had looked through those knives and found one with no gaps I would have concluded that the others were defects, but since they all had gaps it was just par for the course. Somehow a relief. Noone wants to pick the ugly duckling. What's the emoticon for "tongue in cheek"?
