Laguiole

C

Cornelis Böhms

Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
224
I like my laguiole more and more (Laguiole en Aubrac).
It's a perfect food preparing and eating pocket knife.
Also an eyecatching EDC.
What are your experiences with a Laguiole?

Cor.
 
Hey Cor,

I'm have been actually living in St Maarten, the Dutch Netherlands for the past year and was first exposed to Laguioles in the restaurants and stores. They are beautiful knives and after awhile just had to buy one. The fit and finish is great and although I don't usually care for non-locking knives, they hold nice and tight, and closing with a nice click. They are definitely different and I love using mine. The Languioles are tough, solid cutting gentleman's knives. I don't think they are as popular in the US. I had never heard of them until moving to the caribbean where there a greater European influence altogether. I am defintely on planning on getting a few more before I leave the caribbean in a year.:thumbup:

Brian
 
Pronounced "Lay-yowl".
I have one in stainless and ebony and my wife had a custom one made in brass and olive wood. My wife uses hers for a steak knife more then I do but the knife does a unique appearance.

Ciao
Ron
 
I don't think they are as popular in the US.
Click to expand...
No, they aren't as well-known here. But if you ignore their tendency to be thicker than our Texas toothpick, they are very similar to it, in blade and handle shape.
 
Esav Benyamin is correct IMO. The toothpick and laguiole are sister designs.

I've had a few. I look for the ones in 12C27. Easy to sharpen steel IMO.

The design is very EDC practical. Handles well, nice and simple blade profile. Strong hold open and snapping shut (watch them fingers). Only thing I disliked was the need to put cork or something in the blade channel to prevent the blade from flat-spotting when closed.
 
These are made in every region of France. The best some say are made by Gilles ( Jill eh ). Nice workmanship and sturdy. Cons, the steel is at RC54.
This is not the range of most knives in the USA, or does it comply to Sandvic specs. The French make them that way and that is the way you get them.
Their answer is that they are not work knives but made to part bread or a sandwich. They feel great in the hand and are very compelling. Some of the carbon pieces by other makers may be harder. But I have never seen any tests on a piece. Take 12C27 up to 58-59RC and it is a fine cutlery steel.

Floyd
Be American, Buy American , ( made in ? )
 
We sell very many Forge de Laguiole to Americans, they seem to like them quite well, as often i see the same customers coming back for more.
The knives from this brand are for the most part well made knives, coming with various kinds of handle inlays and bolsters made of brass or stainless steel, and completely polished or satin finished.
Workmanship is good, but sometimes i like to think they should implement some design features modern day knives have, like a locking blade and a kick or heel to keep the blade from hitting the inside of the handle with the edge.
For their steel they went from 440A to T10, a proprietary steel according to their sales pitch.
I don't know the exact hardness, but as i sharpen quite a lot of these for restaurants in Holland, my guess would be around 55-57 HRC.
They keep quite a good edge.
:)
 
FWO said:
These are made in every region of France. The best some say are made by Gilles ( Jill eh ). Nice workmanship and sturdy. Cons, the steel is at RC54.
This is not the range of most knives in the USA, or does it comply to Sandvic specs. The French make them that way and that is the way you get them.
Their answer is that they are not work knives but made to part bread or a sandwich. They feel great in the hand and are very compelling. Some of the carbon pieces by other makers may be harder. But I have never seen any tests on a piece. Take 12C27 up to 58-59RC and it is a fine cutlery steel.

Floyd
Be American, Buy American , ( made in ? )
Click to expand...

Oh yes, they are work knives, used by farmers and sheperds for more
than 150 years. The french had a differend vision on how a
workingknife should look like. By the way, an Texas toothpick is also
a working knive. But than again; what is the definition of a working
knife? So many different jobs, so many knives.

Cor.
 
Maybe it's good to say that Laguiole is not a brand, but a knife model.
You find some L. brands on :
www.worldknives.com.wkfrenchknives.html.

The company Fontenille-Pataud produces theirs with a lock back and
blade stopping heel. A laguiole is always to be closed gently and not
with a click. French know that, and never use "a piece of cork" or
something.

Cor
 
The Laguiole is as copied as the Buck 110.
The REAL Laguiole has the mention "Laguiole Origine Garantie"
The other are copies, some really good, some really bad.
I have a more "modern" style Arbalete G David Laguiole, wich is a copy, but still handmade, good (and axpensive). It has a liner lock on it :)
That knife can take a lot, it was made for farmers in France.

Personally, this is my Sheeple Friendly knife or the one I have for serious dinners where I must have a tie...
 
cybrok said:
The Laguiole is as copied as the Buck 110.
The REAL Laguiole has the mention "Laguiole Origine Garantie"
The other are copies, some really good, some really bad.
I have a more "modern" style Arbalete G David Laguiole, wich is a copy, but still handmade, good (and axpensive). It has a liner lock on it :)
That knife can take a lot, it was made for farmers in France.

Personally, this is my Sheeple Friendly knife or the one I have for serious dinners where I must have a tie...
Click to expand...


There is no 'real' laguiole. There only are Laguioles made in the region
Laguiole/Aubrac and the ones in the French town Thiers.
(not to mention Spain,Italy,Taiwan.... etc)

Purists only consider the ones made in the region Aubrac as real.

Buck is a brand, so it can be copied. Laguiole is an old design knife
originaly made by artisans around the town of the same name.

No factory can claim that theirs are the original.

At a blade length of 3 3/4 - 4 inches they can raise an eyebrow ( Sheeples ).

Cor
 
Cornelis Böhms said:
There is no 'real' laguiole. There only are Laguioles made in the region
Laguiole/Aubrac and the ones in the French town Thiers.
(not to mention Spain,Italy,Taiwan.... etc)

Purists only consider the ones made in the region Aubrac as real.

No factory can claim that theirs are the original.

Cor
Click to expand...

The one made in "La Forge de Laguiole" have the mark, they could not put a patent on it because it is the name of a region.

All other are only assembled in the factory, but forged elsewhere.

Knives from this factory were all made in the factory.

They also are the most expensive laguiole for that reason.

A fridn of mine went to France and visited that place, his knife is so sweet.
 
cybrok said:
The one made in "La Forge de Laguiole" have the mark, they could not put a patent on it because it is the name of a region.

All other are only assembled in the factory, but forged elsewhere.

Knives from this factory were all made in the factory.

They also are the most expensive laguiole for that reason.

A fridn of mine went to France and visited that place, his knife is so sweet.
Click to expand...

Laguiole is not a region, but a small town in the region Aubrac.
Forge the Laguiole can not put a patent on a knife model that they
did not designed. As I sad before , it's an old design that was made by
many little forges in the region Aubrac.
Personaly I like the knives made by 'Laguiole en Aubrac' better.
It's an old factory, much older than 'Forge the Laguiole'.
Their prices are in the same range as 'Forge the Laguiole'.

Cor.
 
Some of the oddest knives I own are a set of Jean Dubost Laguiole steak knives I received as a gift. Fashioned to look like an open pocket knife, they're actually full tang fixed blades. They even have fake pivot pin heads and the blades have nail nicks. Nice decorative work on the blade spine and tang, but it has a "production" look to it that says it's probably not hand-done file work.

They're very nice knives that can be made razor sharp in a minute. They seem soft, but then, they're steak knives. They don't balance on a plate very well, though!

-- Sam

P.S. Gotta try using one of my toothpicks as a steak knife.
 
This link has some interesting history of the Laguiole knives and even some rumors from over the years.
A genuine Laguiole folding knife will have the "BEE" on the top of the bolster, It will have a "shepards cross" on one of the handle inserts. Mine also has the "bull" engraved on the nick side of the blade along with the name Laguiole and some cursive words I can not read (maybe in french).

http://couteau-laguiole.net/us/history.htm

Ciao
 
muzzleup said:
This link has some interesting history of the Laguiole knives and even some rumors from over the years.
A genuine Laguiole folding knife will have the "BEE" on the top of the bolster, It will have a "shepards cross" on one of the handle inserts. Mine also has the "bull" engraved on the nick side of the blade along with the name Laguiole and some cursive words I can not read (maybe in french).

http://couteau-laguiole.net/us/history.htm

Ciao
Click to expand...

Your knife with the "bull" is a 'Laguiole en Aubrac' ( en aubrac, are the words
that you can nor read) a very fine traditional laguiole from the region.
You're right about the bee and the shepherds cross, formed by pins in the handle material. The roman catholic shepherds in the fields, stab their
knives in the ground, so the handle with the cross formes a little altar,
thats where they say their prayers.

Cor.
 
muzzleup said:
Pronounced "Lay-yowl".
Click to expand...
In fact we pronounce "Layole" :D

Esav Benyamin said:
No, they aren't as well-known here. But if you ignore their tendency to be thicker than our Texas toothpick, they are very similar to it, in blade and handle shape.
Click to expand...
Thanks Esav for this clarification, i believed that the Texas toothpick was similar to it :cool:
 
Cornelis Böhms said:
Your knife with the "bull" is a 'Laguiole en Aubrac' ( en aubrac, are the words
that you can nor read) a very fine traditional laguiole from the region.
You're right about the bee and the shepherds cross, formed by pins in the handle material. The roman catholic shepherds in the fields, stab their
knives in the ground, so the handle with the cross formes a little altar,
thats where they say their prayers.

Cor.
Click to expand...

Cornelis congrats, you know very well the history of this pattern, i also own a "Laguiole en Aubrac" with a super fit and finish for a good price. Today, this pattern seems to be neglected, perhaps too common and also they spread the market with fakes, copies coming from everywhere with prices within 20 Eu and 1000 Eu.:confused:
A positive point is that today, everybody can get a mythic knife.:D
 
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