French regional knives...

Hope you are enjoying yourself!! It's an amazing place!!:thumbsup:
It's easy to find single-blade knives there!!:D
 
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waynorth said:
Nice knives gentlemen!!! Well pictured!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Â, please tell about the blade markings!?:cool:
VERITABLE seem to be the most-used term used in French Cutlery!!
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Hello Charlie, the producers in Thiers' area are doing their marketing since the beginning . Each company was using several trademarks. And so there was a real competition to appear as the best .
Michel Fervel, a fan and specialist, recorded 13.000 trademarks registered from 1809 to 1980 only for Thiers :D:D:D
Veritable Laguiole was only one of those trademarks and it had been sold by several companies to others companies during the history .
By the way "véritable" means "real" .

The real name of the company which has made this knife is Guy Fayet, and old and famous
producer of Thiers .

Â
 
13,000 trademarks!!!:eek:
So, can I assume the letters in the "animal" are G.F. (for Guy Fayet)?
Thanks, Â!!
P.S. I have not often seen that thin secondary blade!!
 
waynorth said:
13,000 trademarks!!!:eek:
So, can I assume the letters in the "animal" are G.F. (for Guy Fayet)?
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Yes exactly :D

P.S. I have not often seen that thin secondary blade!!
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It's not a blade, it's a punch. When the cows eat too much green grass their stomach produces too much gas and they can die . So the shepherd used this punch to drill an hole and let the gas go out .

Â
 
waynorth said:
13,000 trademarks!!!:eek:
...
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The "jurande" (a corporation constituted by a yearly mutual oath of the masters -from jurer/ swear) of Thiers cutlers dates back to the Middle-Age, when few people could read, the signature/trademark was a symbol, and every symbol has to be different.
Cognet for instance use several symbols. (http://www.marques-de-thiers.fr)
Cognet-33.jpg
Fayet as well.
Fayet-33.jpg

The symbol is important also because many cutlers have the same name : Sabatier, Issard, Pradel, Douris, Barge, Fontenille, Tarerias, Gardette, etc.
There are weird symbols, like La Doucheuse (the shower lady).
La_Doucheuse.jpg

Véritable and Vrai were often used, rarely on genuine items, but sometime on the real McCoy! (Pradel at the Anchor)
Pradel.jpg
(3 x Rousselon in the same street, each different!)
 
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The Cévenol pattern (from the Cévennes mountains) had a curious destiny . Quite forgotten in France this 108 Girodias (La original !!! :eek:) fabricado en Republica Popular de China may be be considered as a tribute to what was a great brand, once exporting lots of knives, in Spain and else. Sic transit...
108Girodias-1.jpg
 
waynorth said:
Amazing!! The Chinese copy a lot of American patterns, and I suppose knives from many other places!! They look OK!:rolleyes:
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I was at a store yesterday that has been "going out of business" for several years now. I saw a lot of obvious Chinese copies of Italian stiletto knives. I said: "Those look Chinese." The owner said: "Those came out of Kentucky." Me: "They look Chinese." He: "I didn't say they were made in Kentucky." I left. I plan to add several more French knives to my collection, but I want them made in France.
 
waynorth said:
Good on ya Vince!! I meant to speak sarcastically! China is not a friend, and I wouldn't give them a nickel!! They'd try and use it to buy other country's industry!!:eek:

I'd better stick to knives!!:p
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It is a gift from friends who spent holidays in Spain. They had not noticed it was manufactured in PRoC! :)
 
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