Info on Laguiole

F

FrannaM

Joined
Jan 29, 2020
Messages
369
I recently rediscovered this Laguiole knife in my collection. I got this knife about 25 years ago as a gift. I know nothing about this model. I have seen quite a few people posting pics of Laguiole knives on the forum. I put a nice edge on it and thinking of making it a dedicated personal steak knife.

Does anyone have more info on this model? Blade steel, handle material... It looks hand made and quite rough around the edges. Also has G. David engraved. I love the blade shape and will make an excellent slicer. The back spring is very stiff, unlike any other slipjoints I own.

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The handle looks like Buffalo horn to me. The blade steel is likely 440C, tempered to around 55 Rc. A very nice Laguiole!
 
Onies said:
The handle looks like Buffalo horn to me. The blade steel is likely 440C, tempered to around 55 Rc. A very nice Laguiole!
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Buffalo horn is also what I thought. I was surprised to see what they are listed for on the official website. I have a much older model so have no clue what it might be worth. My guess, not much as it's not high end materials and fit and finish a bit rough. Maybe I'm just used to consistent quality and f&f from production knives.
 
Laguiole is a small village in France and your knife is a style of knife born in that region. Laguiole is not a brand.
G.David is one of many makers in France producing Laquiole style knives. They still produce knives and have a factory in France.

Yes, they are hand made and some makers produce knives better than others.

You usually get what you pay for, the more expensive knives are made better, while the more budget priced knives are rough around the edges.
I have a few from several different makers and they do vary in quality.

If you do some research you can find which makers are more highly regarded and which are budget orientated.
Here's one of my knives, it's also considered more of a budget knife and a slight variation from the traditional Laquiole pattern.
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Thank you for the info. I managed to find my knife on G. David website @ 63 euro. It's obviously a cheaper variant but at least its made in France and not somewhere else like Asia. The steel is also 12c27.

This will become my personal steak knife to use instead of those useless cheap restaurant knives.
 
Most of the knives I have are 12c27. Yes you have to be careful when buying these, many are from Asia and Pakistan.
That's why I mentioned Laguiole not being a brand, because they stamp "Laguiole" on anything that looks like one.

Robert David ( different David than yours) has a shop in France and the factory is attached , you can go to their website and see a virtual tour.
 
JPD1998 said:
Laguiole is a small village in France and your knife is a style of knife born in that region. Laguiole is not a brand.
G.David is one of many makers in France producing Laquiole style knives. They still produce knives and have a factory in France.

Yes, they are hand made and some makers produce knives better than others.

You usually get what you pay for, the more expensive knives are made better, while the more budget priced knives are rough around the edges.
I have a few from several different makers and they do vary in quality.

If you do some research you can find which makers are more highly regarded and which are budget orientated.
Here's one of my knives, it's also considered more of a budget knife and a slight variation from the traditional Laquiole pattern.
View attachment 1356739
Click to expand...

I think of Laguiole like a smaller version of Solingen, Maniago and Seki City - a city/town known for cutlery manufacture. The Laguiole pattern is also produced by larger French manufacturers in Thiers, which is the largest concentration of cutlery manufacturing in France.
 
The problem with this damn hobby is that you discover a knife that never piqued your interest and before you know it you are into the history and culture of the knife. I love the Laguiole style blade shape and already looking at different traditional manufacturers for a higher end Laguiole. Will it ever stop?? :eek:
 
FrannaM said:
The problem with this damn hobby is that you discover a knife that never piqued your interest and before you know it you are into the history and culture of the knife. I love the Laguiole style blade shape and already looking at different traditional manufacturers for a higher end Laguiole. Will it ever stop?? :eek:
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I love my Laguiole from Honoré Durand:
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Fontenille Pataud also makes high end knives.
 
JPD1998 said:
Most of the knives I have are 12c27. Yes you have to be careful when buying these, many are from Asia and Pakistan.
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I have looked around and can only find "Laguioiles" made in France or China.
Do you have a link for Laguioles made in Pakistan or other parts of Asia?
 
KenHash said:
I have looked around and can only find "Laguioiles" made in France or China.
Do you have a link for Laguioles made in Pakistan or other parts of Asia?
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OH MY :confused: Why would you be looking to purchase a substandard knock off or are you just getting a feel for the range of options? There are some very good French Laguiole dealers and makers selling fine knives for relatively modest $$s.
 
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KenHash said:
I have looked around and can only find "Laguioiles" made in France or China.
Do you have a link for Laguioles made in Pakistan or other parts of Asia?
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A real Laguiole is made in France only. You should not settle for one made anywhere else.
 
So a chinese knife in the laguiole style is imaginary :) I've seen a few chinese and paki ones and they appeared to be real, just low quality. But there are some damn fine chinese knives these days, one could get lucky.

I've also seen more than a few poor quality French ones, so many that I'd say buyer beware. I've seen more French poor quality laguiole style knives than ones worth the price. Beware many of them hit the backspring on closing, leaving a dull spot.
 
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brownshoe said:
So a chinese knife in the laguiole style is imaginary :) I've seen a few chinese and paki ones and they appeared to be real, just low quality. But there are some damn fine chinese knives these days, one could get lucky.

I've also seen more than a few poor quality French ones, so many that I'd say buyer beware. I've seen more French poor quality laguiole style knives than ones worth the price. Beware many of them hit the backspring on closing, leaving a dull spot.
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Buy what you want. I wouldn't want a Laguiole from anywhere but France. The better makers are not hard to find with a little research. And many of them now have blade stops so the blade does not hit the backspring.
 
Prester John said:
Buy what you want. I wouldn't want a Laguiole from anywhere but France. The better makers are not hard to find with a little research. And many of them now have blade stops so the blade does not hit the backspring.
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Oh I agree, just people should beware, there's a lot of variety in quality behind the name laguiole. Buying french is no guarantee. As the above video points out there is a lot of "myths" surrounding the pattern.
 
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