Lagouile making............. in Pakistan

I'mSoSharp said:
I found this fascinating on so many levels.


I wonder how much they are bought for, & how much they sell for?........

.
Click to expand...
That guy should compete for Forged in Fire; but I doubt Mr Marcaida would quote the blades as "will cut" (see the tomato test 🤣).

They are offered on markets in the country for a few € and on various sites (hi Mr Bezos ! ) under names like Bougna (a nickname for Auvergnese), Baladeo, Bois & Mots, and many nameless. Those buying them just want a knife stamped Laguiole (order of letter at random 🤷‍♂️) same as those buying false Rolex or Korean Chevys and would never have paid for the real McCoy... so def not worth hiring a Caterpillar and dump them.
I wonder if Frosts/ Steel Warriers / etc... are made in the same workshops (some DO eat with those blades ! 🙀)
 
Last edited:
Very cool video. Shame that they decide to copy something instead of making something original. Either way very skilled bunch.
 
Butter knife? ;)

ybZTOkR.jpg
 
Jolipapa said:
If they stamp the blades Lagouile, I'd suggest they rather use Magouille (scam)...


I would not trust a blade with such soldering, even for a butter knife...
Click to expand...
Well, I didn’t say that they are worth much but they seem effective to me.
I wouldn’t buy real Laguiole either with the experience I’ve been handling them.
 
Come on folks, let's not do the "broken record" usual Blade Forums comments.

I didn't say I condoned copies (there are videos of original knives being made if you prefer), & it's really not about whether the blade holds an edge or not..... and also, these guys don't wake up one morning & think "I'll make a copies of xxxx knife & sell them in xxxx country", no it often takes someone in that country to place an order & pay for this stuff with $$$ profit in their eyes, and often specify the price/quality as well...... so don't take it out on these workers, do they look like their getting rich to you? Rant over. 😄

I posted it because there is some food for thought in there, I suspect some of those workers could turn out some stunning work given the right materials, working conditions & proper time constraints, just look at the guy at the beginning on the power hammer, now I know its mainly practice but those bars are made to look easy to produce.....

Also the conditions, at the beginning it looks like there's somebody's bed to the right, the night Watchman I wonder? And the often guardless machinery, some of it must be ancient but built to last, look at the flywheel on the rolling mill, some of it from the days of line shafts I suspect... Health & Safety would have a field day with the safety sandals, protective eye lids & invisible hearing protection etc, etc.

Anyway, the idea wasn't to get into the copies or quality debate/argument, there are plenty of those threads already. 😉
Comments about the skill of the workers & the crap conditions are a bit more constructive. 👍
 
Jolipapa said:
I wonder if Frosts/ Steel Warriers / etc... are made in the same workshops (some DO eat with those blades ! 🙀)
Click to expand...
The steel warrior knives are Chinese and I suspect the same factory as Rough Rider, but the Frost family or " 1400 series " or whatever they're calling them now are Pakistani and could come from the same people pumping out these " knives ".

I have always wondered what it would be like to work in a factory where you know you're making garbage.
For example the people who worked at the Oxwall tool factory, or for example the people working at a party favor factory.

How must it feel to know you're making something of such low quality/ value that is respected by nobody.
Just imagine if your job is to make those plastic rings they stick in cupcakes or those disposable wrenches you get with IKEA furniture...etc.
 
I find these Videos fascinating, just look at the hardship these people survive in, sure - they don't finish their work as good as a custom Knife maker - but I really take my hat off to them with their skill sets that they make from the most basic tools.

Often you will see this - usually older guy squatting down for hours, and to be honest not a lot of the western men could do one squat that deep which is a fact let alone work for hours like that.

They repair a major percentage of what we throw away because time is money, another lot of videos I enjoy watch are these guys, they may be Indian repairing huge Tractor Tires that have massive chunks taken right out of them, the talent with how they fix these tires is outstanding to watch, they recut bu hand treads and bot when they finish, you would swear you were looking at a very nice tire that looks as though it has done hardly any work!

We can take a lot back of what we have lost from such hard working people who don't have the privilege to throw something away.

If these guys made you a fixed blade that you wanted to use for a general camp tool / Hunting etc, I think it would be a knife that would do the job for years to come.

Great Video.
 
They are for sale at ~$30 in a local store that sells French goods. I pointed out to the owner they were not French made. He didn’t realize it, but the box had country of origin. If you see one in hand and know Laguille knives, you’d know it wasn’t French made.
 
I'm sure that there are many authentic local patterns in Pakistan/Indian sub-continent and many of us would welcome the opportunity to know more about these knives and maybe buy them. But I dislike the idea of knives being made stamped Laguiole that might masquerade as French made knives to the unwary. It's exploitation of the Tradition, the French cutlers and especially of those who have to make them in 3rd world workshops.

A video is put up for our general consideration, we do not all have to sing from the same hymn sheet about this one way or another. Local skills are not in doubt, conditions are harsh in the Third World for the many governed by the very few, but they are by no means wonderful these days for people in the First World either. Try working for Amazon or other monopolist corporations and see what's that's like for a year, if they keep you that long...

Obviously, some of the knives coming from Pakistani workshops will be of decent quality but many are not, made of dubious materials under oppressive conditions both economic and environmental.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top