laguiole?

I have handled a few different laguiole knives. A friend of mine carres one as an EDC. The basic laiguiole knife is a design which is very old, very useful, and comes in enough variety for everyone to have a favorite! The knife that my friend had sharpened up easily, responding to light stropping VERY well.

Laiguiole has all kinds of different products out. My fiance ehas been gathering blue handled Laiguiole stuff for a while now. Steak knives, cheese cutters, meat carvers, butter curlers, etc. There is a lot of neat stuff there! I have even seen Laiguiole champagne sabers too. Go for one and I know you'll enjoy the heck out of it. Just drop it in the pocket or maybe get a nice leather sheath made for it, that would make a nice package.
 
From what I understand, Laiguiole is actually a town or region where many cutlers work. I'll try to find more info on this.
 
but confusingly there appears to be numerous "genuine" makers of Laguioles
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The only true authentic Laguiole feature a small symbol of a half open knife in the same style.

There are many knockoffs and from working in a cutlery I, as well as the other companies, noticed that the cheaper ones didn't sell as well as the nice ones. So the rival companies upped their prices as well to confuse everyone into thinking that they were the first.

A few facts:

Laguiole is a town in France.

They were issued to the French military (what a laugh).

They were meant to be shaped like a females leg for the long weeks away from home.

The "pins", when the knife is staked in the ground, form a cross so soldiers could still have private mass in the field.

The "bee" on the spring has something to do with honoring Napoleon.



Cheers-
laguiole.gif
 
The company Nic is talking about is "Forge de Laguiole" and makes perhaps the best quality laguioles (only production ones - there are knifemakers specialized in custom laguioles, too) "Laguiole en Aubrac" is very good, too. The second company has an ox head-logo.
The knife is a very traditional pattern and was the classic peasant knife. It´s available with a screwdriver, too. I doubt the story with the woman´s leg, sounds more then a legend. But a nice one :)

Forge de Laguiole

Overwiew
 
Actually the deal with Laguiole is that in that town, there is a guild. Only members of that guild are alowed to craft a "Laguiole" knife so they're all authentic.
Interestingly the design is very old and actually originated in a nearby town called Thiers. The Laguiole guild patented the design so the guild at Thiers developed a new design and patented it. Now there is also a "Thiers" knife as well. Although it doesn't have the history, the Thiers knife IMO has a bit more elegance to it. Worth checking out.
 
Originally posted by Nic Ramirez
The only true authentic Laguiole feature a small symbol of a half open knife in the same style.
Click to expand...

Please take a look at this article:

Directory and History of Traditional European Knives
http://www.the-ekd.co.uk/800/france.htm#laguiole

QUOTE:
By the middle of the nineteenth century there were at least six artisans producing Laguioles entirely by hand in the village. However one hundred years later, as a result of cheaper mass produced knives, the local knife makers were no longer in business although the knife was still being made in Thiers.
The industry was revived in 1985 but the name Laguiole is nowadays associated with the style of knife rather than the village where it was created. As demand for the knife increased, the blades were made in quantity in Thiers 160 km to the north. The knives are assembled there and in the Aubrac region but there are still craftsmen who create Laguiole knives entirely by hand, in Thiers, the Aubrac and once again in the village of Laguiole.
UNQUOTE

The "bee" on the spring has something to do with honoring Napoleon.
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I didn't know this either since just about everyone says it's a "Bee" - but it's supposed to be a fly -

QUOTE:
The fly decoration on the end of the spring at the top of the handle, common to all Laguiole knives, was introduced around 1910. It is said to represent the flies on the Aubrac cows. The knives were originally made without any chasing or "fly" motifs. The end of the spring head took the form of a triangle, sometimes with "wings" at each side.
The word "fly" is also a technical term for the part of the spring which becomes compressed when it is forged.
UNQUOTE
 
I doubt the story with the woman´s leg, sounds more then a legend. But a nice one
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An old timer came in the shop and told me that one. I love it! LOL

Yes, I was refering to the factory knife, not the fine customs that are available.
 
There is a lot of bull... about laguiole. Anybody in the world can produce a knife and put it the name Laguiole. Many "french laguiole" are made in Albacete in Spain or in Pakistan. The story of the women leg, the bee and the cross is all bullshi..
Laguiole is only 100 years old knife is like "beaujolais nouveau" this is not a good wine but because marketing everybody said this is a bood wine.
You can find some good Laguiole but be carrefull inspect them before buying.
 
What if I like to order it from the site I mentioned? I like 12C27 with Snakewood and corkopener - the round one.
Did anybody ordered it there?
Thanks, Vassili.
 
Originally posted by Nathan S
David - Does that have a lock, or is it a slip joint?
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Sorry for late response. No lock but it is very difficult to close the blade. The backspring is very strong.

David
 
Originally posted by UnknownVT
unfortunately Laguioles also seem to have a reputation for variable quality.
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A couple of years ago, I bought a Laguiole (ox headed) from CutleryToGo. I wasn't impressed with either the knife nor the company's customer service.

The knife in question was delivered more than a month after the order placing and payment. Further more, it was badly packaged.

The overall fitting among the various components (i.e. scales/ liners) was very bad. There were a numerous gaps here and there.

However, the most annoying issue was that the knife was constantly hitting the back spacer (or spring?) inside the liners, rendering the blade with a blunt spot on the edge.

When I mentioned this in a mail to the Co's boss, he questioned my level of intelligence, argueing that all the knives he was selling were checked and aprooved and he suggested that I, myself must have been messing with it.

Well after several mails, I was allowed to send the knife back and I haven't looked back since.

~Paul~
 
I've got a nice little Laguiole with a blond horn handle. It opens easily but snaps shut with some authority. To close it safely, I close it halfway, then pinch the pivot area and snap it closed the rest of the way with my fingers well clear of the "guillotine" action :) No problem.

This style knife has a barrel of a body but a thin narrow blade, easy to grasp and great for slicing. Probably coincidentally, it resembles a good old American style "toothpick". I think they are both beautiful and useful working knives.

The stories I read were that the cross picked out in pins is a "shepherd's cross", so that those simple, devout men could stick the knife in the ground at night and sleep protected by their faiith. The bee is the Napoleonic emplem, awarded to the town by the Emperor in honor of (take your pick) the industry or the bravery of the men from Laguiole.

Both tale are obviously advertising, but at least quiet, friendly advertising, not screaming internet porn style advertising! :p

I also have a Laguiole offshoot called the Colibri, with a deeply curved handle, a typical Laguiole blade, and a fleur-de-lis in place of the ... insect. This one will chop your finger off if you close on it. Stiffest backspring I have ever owned.

The Thiers style knife is an elegant design. In fact, the Al Mar Shrike looks like it was inspired by it.
 
Not a bad-looking knife. Nice design, interesting way of folding what looks like a big kitchen knife.

Of course, the steel's the thing. It seems pretty inexpensive. I would be interested to hear how it holds up.
 
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