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Being very pleased with my Opinel, i wonder what other quality knife manufacturers there are in France?
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Couteaux français
- Thread starter Vicarious Reality
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Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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Laguiole and Thiers knives can be good, from the better manufacturers.
Douk-Douks are inexpensive and hard-working.
Douk-Douks are inexpensive and hard-working.
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If I may, I'd recommend that you buy in person, rather than online. It is very helpful to be able to select the best example for purchase, rather than just the one on the top of the stack.
I took a look at a Laguiole at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. I chose to not buy it because the blade had been badly mis-ground. It was neither sharp nor symmetrical. I have been assured that this is not typical, and that there are some excellent examples from the factory. Just choose carefully.
TC
I took a look at a Laguiole at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. I chose to not buy it because the blade had been badly mis-ground. It was neither sharp nor symmetrical. I have been assured that this is not typical, and that there are some excellent examples from the factory. Just choose carefully.
TC
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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I have no way to buy in person, but I have had excellent results buying on the Exchange here. I may be buying a used knife, but a knife with any original issues found and corrected.
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On a recent trip to France I visited this place:
www.couteaux-courty.com
It was an amazing knife shop. France has a deep knife culture. Most villages and towns have a signature knife. I left with 2 douk-douks, they are quite well build and very cheap. My douk-douk is the knife I bring to NY due to their strict knife laws. If you every go to france go to this place, it was one of the highlights of my trip.
www.couteaux-courty.com
It was an amazing knife shop. France has a deep knife culture. Most villages and towns have a signature knife. I left with 2 douk-douks, they are quite well build and very cheap. My douk-douk is the knife I bring to NY due to their strict knife laws. If you every go to france go to this place, it was one of the highlights of my trip.
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Courty is indeed a splendid shop. I've spent many a dime there.
The online shop couteaux Berthier is also worth a visit (you can view the site in English). A well-stocked American site is Worldknives.
For a recommended next step, I suggest to try a "Le Compagnon" by Chambriard (preferably not the small variant, you want the one with 3.5" blade). This is a lovely "Le Thiers" design, manufactured by multiple makers, and Chambriard is among the best for quality/price.
Also pick a nice laguiole from a good brand. Fontenille-Pataud, Forge de Laguiole, and Laguiole en Aubrac come to mind. While not fully traditional, Fontenille-Pataud offers also a hyper-slick backlocking variant; and a smaller "gentlemen laguiole", also backlocking.
A classic, ancient design is the Nontron. Handle nearly always in boxwood:
Two perfect timelessly styled folders by Perceval are the wonderful Le Français and L-08:
Another really nice one (there are more though), a good example of a "neo-regional" knife, is the L'Arconsat. The handle here is blonde horn, which I think looks great:
Finally, I don't want to be perceived as pimping my video reviews too much, but if you want to see more details of these knives, then watch clips 1,2,3,8,20,42,68,74 and 81 in my list of youtube reviews. The above knives and a few more are discussed.
The online shop couteaux Berthier is also worth a visit (you can view the site in English). A well-stocked American site is Worldknives.
For a recommended next step, I suggest to try a "Le Compagnon" by Chambriard (preferably not the small variant, you want the one with 3.5" blade). This is a lovely "Le Thiers" design, manufactured by multiple makers, and Chambriard is among the best for quality/price.
Also pick a nice laguiole from a good brand. Fontenille-Pataud, Forge de Laguiole, and Laguiole en Aubrac come to mind. While not fully traditional, Fontenille-Pataud offers also a hyper-slick backlocking variant; and a smaller "gentlemen laguiole", also backlocking.
A classic, ancient design is the Nontron. Handle nearly always in boxwood:
Two perfect timelessly styled folders by Perceval are the wonderful Le Français and L-08:
Another really nice one (there are more though), a good example of a "neo-regional" knife, is the L'Arconsat. The handle here is blonde horn, which I think looks great:
Finally, I don't want to be perceived as pimping my video reviews too much, but if you want to see more details of these knives, then watch clips 1,2,3,8,20,42,68,74 and 81 in my list of youtube reviews. The above knives and a few more are discussed.
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Nice, thanks
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Dagon is the man! His taste in gentleman/leisure knives is impeccable I fully recommend his videos as a great source of information!
In terms of French knives it depends on two factors- your taste and your price range!
I would heartily recommend a douk douk or two since they are cheap and really nice, inexpensive slender knives with a great history and a Laguiole from a quality manufacturer. Laguiole is a pattern- not a maker (think of it like the french texas toothpick).
If tactical stuff is more to your liking you will most likely have to go custom with Bastinelli, Sasha Thiel and Fred Perrin as the makers of tactical excellence.
In terms of French knives it depends on two factors- your taste and your price range!
I would heartily recommend a douk douk or two since they are cheap and really nice, inexpensive slender knives with a great history and a Laguiole from a quality manufacturer. Laguiole is a pattern- not a maker (think of it like the french texas toothpick).
If tactical stuff is more to your liking you will most likely have to go custom with Bastinelli, Sasha Thiel and Fred Perrin as the makers of tactical excellence.