Which laguiole is real

Stainless steel rivets. Forged springs are much stronger than traditional springs with their welded bee. Few handle materials, which are more brittle, cannot be used for Laguiole full handle knives. Damas steel DS93X is made with two different steels of different hardness. This steel is highly corrosion resistant, it has a unique cutting capacity and a very high quality cutting edge. This Damascus blade does not oxidize, is easy to maintain and corrosion resistant.

Clean the blade with water and dry it well before closing the Laguiole knife. Sharpen your blade regularly, don't wait until it stops cutting. It is an outstanding handcrafted Damascus blade. The Damascus carbon steel blade can oxidize over time, giving it a slightly gray patina.

We advise you to clean the Damascus carbon steel blade after each use: Wash the blade quickly with water Dry it immediately afterwards with a soft and dry cloth. Grease the blade lightly with edible oil.

Store the Laguiole knife in a dry place well protected from humidity. The advantage of this Damascus carbon blade is to be very easy to sharpen. The cutting edge is always of a very high quality. Home How to recognize a genuine Laguiole knife How to recognize a genuine Laguiole knife Laguiole is not a trademark, as too old. A genuine Laguiole must include : Handle with high quality raw material real horn, wood Which elements should you check before buying a knife?

How can you check the authenticity of a knife? Where can you find the information you need to ascertain the origins of a Laguiole knife?

Can you buy a Laguiole knife on a foreign website? So many questions which will at last be answered on the Actiforge blog dedicated to cutlery making, hosted by knives lovers, from the Thiers cutlery-making tradition.

Please send us your questions directly via email to know whether you have acquired a true or fake Laguiole. In Thiers, there are workplaces that have their roots in Laguiole and still produce in an authentic way, such as Fontenille Pataud and Laguiole en Aubrac. Together with Forge de Laguiole they are the only ones who abide to the traditional production level. There are also a number of small workshops that authentically produce beautiful and unique Laguiole knives on a very small scale and only on order.

The real purists believe that Forge de Laguiole is the only real brand. They are the only ones based in the village of Laguiole itself and also produce from there. Genuine Laguiole pocket knives and table knives are characterized by the artesian craft.

Each knife is hand-made from start to finish by one person. The beautiful fine file work on the back of the blade is very characteristic. In addition, special and unique material is used for the handle. Think of Buffalo Horn, juniper wood and warthog tooth. But also the use of damask steel, silver and mammoth ivory is very common with the more exclusive Laguiole knives. Original Laguiole pocket knives do not have a lock. They are equipped with a slip joint-spring, making sure there is resistance when closing the knife.

At the same time, there is no stop pin that prevents the blade from contacting the spring when in the handle. It is therefore important to always be careful when closing a Laguiole pocket knife to prevent the cut from damaging. You can clearly see the manual labour when looking at a genuine Laguiole knife. The personal touch of the maker is always visible.

The most important is the manual labour and tradition. A Laguiole knife does not have to be very sharp: a Laguiole is generally sharp enough to neatly cut a steak and a piece of cheese, but is not sharp enough to shave with.

A Laguiole knife originally has a number of Silver pins in the side of the handle that represent a Christian cross. The story goes that when the shepherds were far away from home in the mountains, they could pray to their own cross. The name of the village 'Laguiole' comes from La Gleisola which means 'small church' in Occitan local dialect. Laguiole is a generic name for the model that originates from the village of Laguiole. The name Laguiole is not protected.

A lot of people think that Laguiole is a brand name. This is not the case: Laguiole is a generic name for the model that originates from the village of Laguiole. At least, not the knives. This means that only cheese produced in the village of Laguiole may carry the name Laguiole. Violation of this is punishable. The tricky thing is that there is no official ruling which prescribes what a true Laguiole knife must be. Of course, the mayor of Laguiole supports this, but as of yet the name Laguiole is unprotected.

This means that everyone may use the name Laguiole. It does not matter where the knife is created, the country of origin could be France, China, Pakistan or even South Africa. Since the Laguiole knife is nowadays increasing in popularity, producers from around the globe eagerly make use of the unprotected brandname. At local and large vendors we find knives that somewhat resemble a Laguiole knife, but have absolutely nothing to do with the tradition and history of the original Laguiole knife.

Often, these knives are promoted by including a "certificate of authenticity" with them. Or there are a few French words on the packaging.

The word "authentic" or "traditional" on such packaging also has no value; who determines to which tradition the knife was made?