French regional knives...

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Jolipapa said:
Laguiole and other patterns were used as work knives until the end of the 70s, then declined softly but surely and would have faded away.
In the mid-80s, thanks to several factors, including the Laguiole municipality' s aim to prevent the slow death of the village, the Laguiole fabrication in Laguiole was revived, aiming top end, rivalry between Laguiole and Thiers led in the 90s to more sophistication, it became trendy and kinda men's jewelry, tons sold as the gift-when-you-have-no-other-idea and still do. The shop in the St Louis island, in one of the most touristic place is representative of that tendency.
Some years ago, I went at Kindal's to buy a pair of Parapluie poissons, there was a deep pocket family who came to gift a top end Lag to the elder son for his 16?th birthday. This would not have happened in the 60s.
Today's peasants have microwave ovens in their tractors and don't need real knives anymore for lunch. ;)
Nevertheless, there are still lower end, utilitarian and less expensive made by le Sabot, G david, Chevalerias, etc. Counting the number of cutlers/assemblers of Lags would be a never ending job.
Unfortunately, many other patterns did not have that luck.

Charlie, don't know if this helps, here my Parapluie stamps :
View attachment 1419263
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Corto_Malt said:
Some cutlery punches of Thiers :

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Parapluie à l'épreuve :
Langres
Gouttière
Tiré-droit
and the specific one for their range of Laguiole Rossignol
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GENE DAVID L'arbalète, more than 40 years of difference between the Laguiole and the Thiers
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It may have already been posted here but just in case
https://oldbritva.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Les-Marques-des-Couteaux-de-THIERS.htm
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Thanks for all the stampings, JP and Corto!!
Way too many for my pea-brain to memorize, but they make a great reference!!!
 
Some of you may ask; "Why is this man posing his French Laguiole knife with a U.S.A. Zippo SOS cigarette lighter"? Well, we all know that SOS is the international signal for help or assistance and this is my way of crying out for help to stop buying these French Regional knives.:rolleyes:
Fat chance!!;)

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Some of the gentlemen on the WoodenBoat forum where I've mostly been for 17 years, were recently discussing their fondness for Opinel knives. That caught my interest, so I bought a No8 in green hornbeam. I wasn't impressed with it when it arrived, though. It was a bit small for my hand, the handle was light in weight so the knife felt nose heavy, and the blade didn't seem strong. But, they're inexpensive, so I bought a No10 hoping it would be more to my liking. It certainly is a larger knife - everything the No8 was not. Of course, next I bought a No9, and it's wonderful. Although... I have three pear trees, and that No10 is a perfect orchard knife, and the No8 is beginning to feel pretty good now. :)
 
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An Opinel question, maybe someone here knows.

I recently got a no. 6 from Jeff Bezos’ online store in bubinga. I also ordered another no. 6 directly from Opinel in padouk. Both came labeled with those woods on their box.

Anyway, they look exactly the same; polished blade, scale color, and wood grain...

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Does anyone know if they are using the wood names bubinga and padouk interchangeably?
 
On the warrior women site there's a few complaining that they ordered a bubinga and received a padouk. On the official site only padouk is proposed. Both are african woods, bubinga slightly smoother, padouk more reddish (lower one?).
Bubinga is now classified like ivory and not allowed anymore.
 
Not sure Charlie, it came in an attractive wooden box and the Horn has darkened and striped a bit over the years very nicely. Opinel do special runs and I think Jolipapa Jolipapa or @Âchillepattada and our other French friends and Connexions ;) will be able to say more? Thank you for your appreciation too :cool:
 
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