French Laguoile Brands

P

PWork

Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
3,164
There are several makers of the French Laguiole knives. Which ones offer the best fit, finish, materials....etc.?
Of course links to manufacturers and dealers are always welcome, as are pics of any you may have.

Paul
 
I was looking at some of the Languiole knives made in Languiole France at a show today. They look pretty good. I have never had a chance to look at the Indian made product however.

The line offers laminated wood handles, various solid wood handles, rams horn, buffalo horn, synthetics and probably a few others that I didn't notice.
Bolsters are brass or stainless with the stainless available in mirror finish or satin finish. All blades that I saw were mirror finished.

Fit and finish was pretty good, no gaps and filework was crisp and consistant when it was used.
 
I recently bought a Laguiole folder from a large internet store. I would strongly advise you not to buy one without being able to handle it yourself. Fit and finish are quite variable from maker to maker (and there are a lot of makers) and from knife to knife. I did a little research and got what should have been a good one, but... The "blade stop" was the tip of the blade, and the blade was slightly bent (if I'd bent it straight, the tip would have hit one of the liners). The backspring is STIFF, even after quite a bit of lubing and working and leaving it half-opened for days on end. Actions is pretty rough. I removed some of the metal from the inside of the spine so that the blade did not rest on it, but I still have to be very careful when closing the knife, if I let it "snap" closed at all the blade still whacks the spine. Finally, I spent a good bit of time with the Sharpmaker, the factory edge was dull, and I do mean dull. I was getting weird results, and ultimately came to realize that the blade was actually twisted along the long axis. It's subtle, but when I look along the blade I can definitely see it. By then I'd done so much to try to make it right that I didn't feel right trying to return it. I was too taken by the overall look of the knife, and set about trying to make it right when I should have sent it back before I'd done anything to it. In retrospect, I think I've become spoiled by makers like Spyderco, such that I don't feel the need to inspect my purchases to make sure QC wasn't out taking a dump when my knife rolled by. Anyway, enough. Bottom line, handle the knife before purchase if possible, alternatively call and ask questions before purchase. Once you get the knife, look it over closely and send it back if you find flaws.
 
I didn't make my point well in my first post. "Laguiole" is a region of France where "Laguiole" knives are made by many different companies. "Laguiole" is not a brand, like Spyderco or Benchmade. The bee that striper28 refers to can be found on knives made by several different companies. An analogous hypothetical situation would be if you could buy "Spyderco" knives, all made in "Spyderco" Colorado, and all able to put the "Spyderco" bug on their blades, but these knives could be made by several different companies. So, for a real example, there's "Forge de Laguiole" and there's "Laguiole en Aubruc". Both Laguiole knives, both with the Laguiole bee, they look very similar, but they're made by different companies. Just be careful, saying you're going to buy a Laguiole knife is like saying you're going to buy a mid-sized sedan or an SUV.
 
So what are the better brands to look for? Handling any before purchase is out of the question. What brands give the most consistant quality?

Paul
 
The brand that I was looking at had Laguiole stamped on the blade superimposed over an outline of a knife partially open.
 
@george tichbourne

That must be the logo of "Forge de Laguiole"


@PWork

"Forge de Laguiole" makes very good knives.
The "Laguiole Origine Garantie" (LOG), affixed to every model made by FORGE DE LAGUIOLE, assures the origin, quality and traditional manufacture of each knife.
This seal guarantees the following quality criteria:

1. Place of business must be within a certain named region of the Petit
Aubrac, in which the traditional LAGUIOLE-forges were situated at that
time. Hereby it shall be avoided that other or even foreign manufacturers
who traditionally have nothing to do with the fabrication of the knives are
profiting from its brandname.

2. The blades of the knives must be forged and must adhere to certain
quality standards, among others: stainless, minimum temper of
56 Rockwell.

3. All parts of the kife must be fabricated within the company and no com-
ponents whatsoever can be bought outside.

4. The knife must be fabricated in the traditional way of workmanship.

5. A controlling and supervising system checks the compliance with the
quality criteria.

The society "Le Couteau de Laguiole" owns the trading rights and is entitled to
confer them to any manufacturer complying with these criteria and submitting
to the controls. Until now, however, no other enterprise but the manufactory
FORGE DE LAGUIOLE has received this seal of quality.



----------------
Beowolf
 
Forge De Laguiole as Beowork said and Rossignol are the best brands AFAIK.

Beware, there is lots of absolute cr*p out there in Laguiole knives.

Ted
 
Ted Voorde said:
Forge De Laguiole as Beowork said and Rossignol are the best brands AFAIK.
Click to expand...
As far as I know, these are the two only well-know (semi)industrial brands. There also are many many custom Laguiole makers but I’m not a specialist so I can’t give you any relevant advice. :(

You maybe just have to know “les Forges de Laguiole” are located in the Laguiole town whereas the Rossignol knives are made in the Thiers city. :D

Laguiole%20c.jpg
 
I have seen others offered for sale marked Daisault? and a 440 marking on the choil. Where do they fit into the scheme of things?

I also ran across an Indian knife making company's site that offered Laguoile knives as their own product.
 
Are there no manufacturers making this type of knife in the USA? I would prefer to keep my American dollars here, rather than send any of them to France.
 
If I could do it all again, I would've bought a Texas toothpick style knife. Queen makes a nice toothpick and a "utility knife" which is similar to their toothpick but about an inch smaller (4" blade on the toothpick, 4" handle on the utility knife). Both use D2 steel in the blade, and come in either cocobolo or bone. A.G. Russell makes an "Arkansas toothpick" folder that looks very similar, with 4 different scale materials, ATS-34 steel, and some sort of lock. I like the look of the Case toothpicks, but I find their blade steel unacceptable. I don't know if Queen is an "American" company, but then again I believe "buy American" is a dated and simplistic concept.
 
Ritt said:
I recently bought a Laguiole folder from a large internet store. I would strongly advise you not to buy one without being able to handle it yourself. Fit and finish are quite variable from maker to maker (and there are a lot of makers) and from knife to knife. I did a little research and got what should have been a good one, but... The "blade stop" was the tip of the blade, and the blade was slightly bent (if I'd bent it straight, the tip would have hit one of the liners). The backspring is STIFF, even after quite a bit of lubing and working and leaving it half-opened for days on end. Actions is pretty rough. I removed some of the metal from the inside of the spine so that the blade did not rest on it, but I still have to be very careful when closing the knife, if I let it "snap" closed at all the blade still whacks the spine. Finally, I spent a good bit of time with the Sharpmaker, the factory edge was dull, and I do mean dull. I was getting weird results, and ultimately came to realize that the blade was actually twisted along the long axis. It's subtle, but when I look along the blade I can definitely see it. By then I'd done so much to try to make it right that I didn't feel right trying to return it. I was too taken by the overall look of the knife, and set about trying to make it right when I should have sent it back before I'd done anything to it. In retrospect, I think I've become spoiled by makers like Spyderco, such that I don't feel the need to inspect my purchases to make sure QC wasn't out taking a dump when my knife rolled by. Anyway, enough. Bottom line, handle the knife before purchase if possible, alternatively call and ask questions before purchase. Once you get the knife, look it over closely and send it back if you find flaws.
Click to expand...
I’m surprised by the poor quality of the knife you describe. What is the manufacturer ? "Les forges de Laguiole" ?
 
Thanks guys. It looks like a 9cm "Forge De Laguoile" is in my future. Now to decide which handle material to get, and come up with the cash. :(

Paul
 
Thanks! I've been after info on quality Laguoile knives since I see them as sheeple friendly knife that can be used for self defense. You all have made the search simple!
 
Hi,

Just don't forget this website :

http://www.layole.com/

They are located in Laguiole


Along with "Fontenille-Pataud" of Thiers and "Forges de Laguiole" of Laguiole they make really good laguiole knives there.

There are other very good brands that have no webpage.

ELDE
 
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