A cheese knife

T

Tar18

Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
144
Hi folks. I was asked to restore and bring back what the lad called a cheese knife. It has no name on it and the blade is about 4 inches with a nail nick. On the back of the blade going from the blade to the butt, there is a cork screw. Now what I do not know is about the lock. Looking from the rear to the front and just before the blade there is a part with a flat edge leading to a point and then the blade. When I try to close it , this "arrow" part lifts up but it is still very hard to close. Is there a way to lubricate this? I have never seen something like this before.
Any suggestions would be great.
Tar :)
 
Sounds like a Laguiole or clone. Some of them have a corkscrew. The little tab is supposed to be a blade lock. It is often called a "bee" because the original Laguiole design is engraved with the image of a bee on the tab. It should click into place when the knife is fully opened.

Not familiar with the maintenance techniques, but it sounds like that's what you have there.
 
When the blade is opened it does click when it is fully opened. It is when I go to close it, it is very hard to close. Once started it does close nicely. I wish I could post a pic but not sure how to on this board. The lock at the front does lift but it is very hard that is why I wondered what I could do to make it more smooth or where to lubricate it.
Oh there is some fancy scroll work on the back of the handle down to where the cork screw starts. It has brass bolsters. Actually it is a nice looking knife once I get it all cleaned up and sharpened.
Regards
Tar :)
 
Hi folks. Thank you jc57 it is a Laguiole knife. I looked it up and found the exact same knife that I am restoring. So I suppose the question that I have been asking is how does this knife close. When I push on the spine of the blade, it is very hard to close but it does after a great effort. I am wondering if someone can get hurt trying to close this knife. I thought maybe an oiling would help but again not sure.
So now that we know what it is, any help with this would be appreciated.
Regards
Tar :)
 
I think you are supposed to lift up on the locking tab so that you can close it. I am not sure, I don't own one myself.

If you want to lubricate it, I would suggest a small drop of mineral oil.
 
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Thanks again jc57. Well it seems that they are just plain hard to close. I am just in the process of sharpening this one and I must say it seems to be taking a nice edge. I will know more about that when I have finished it. If it does get nice an sharp then one will have to be careful when closing the blade. Once you get it past the first 1/4 or so it goes real well.
I think that this one is going to be a good looking knife once it is finally all done.
i just remember something. No one has mentioned the kind of knife it really is. Is it indeed a 'cheese knife" ?
Thanks again everyone for the help.
Regards
Tar :)
 
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