Lets see your Laguioles!!

Laguiole corkscrews turned me on to the Laguiole knives which then lead to my current knife craze! Here's some that have passed through my hands:

Forge de Laguiole T12 and Oak


La Maison du Laguiole in 440 and Olivewood


Le couteau du Laguiole in 12c27 i beleive and horn scales


This was a special one that went back to the collector I purchased it from, full horn handle with carbon blade and forged bee in backspring - custom order Couteau de Laguiole:



 
kwackster said:
The steel on my Forge de Laguiole is T12, it's in my original post also, :D

'Just like Sabatier, Laguiole isn't a brand name but a style of knife.
Its also the name of a little village in France where these knives were made for the first time.
When Laguiole knives became popular, many manufacturers started making these knives, some better, and ofcourse some worse.
Today they are even made in Pakistan and Taiwan.
The knives of the brand ' Forge de Laguiole " however are still being made in Laguiole itself.
Each knife is made by hand by skilled craftsmen.
If you buy a Laguiole knife, you also buy a piece of tradition.
We at ***** have found the ' Forge de Laguiole' brand to be the best representative of these kind of knives, because of their refinement, attention to detail and consistency in production.

In 2002 a new steel was devised in conjunction with steel-supplier Bonpertuis.
Codename is T12 and it seems to have better properties than it's predecessor 440A, also a stainless steel.
At 57-58 HRC, T12 has a higher hardness than 440A, but without losing flexibility, and it stays sharp longer, but is still easy to resharpen.
This steel will be used exclusively by Forge de Laguiole in the years to come, and so the exact formula will remain a secret until licenses expire.'
Click to expand...

Reason I wasasking I have one marked exactly like yours only with single blade and one brass bolster.
 
Here is my Olivewood trio.

Jeff

picture.php
 
Damn, you all have some nice ones! Here's a few pics of the Forge de Laguiole store in Paris, I thought might be of interest here. As well as the knife I bought while I was there last week. It is a Nontron ebony violin. The lady behind the counter said that Forge de laguiole is part of the older company Nontron. I guess that would account for Nontron being the only other brand being sold there. Thanks for all the great pics and keep them coming! I think I feel another craze starting, well at least for me. :D lol

DSC_0456.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0447.jpg
DSC_0442.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0443.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0444.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0445.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0446.jpg
[/IMG]
DSC_0004-2.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Now that was a treat! Great pics of the store and thanks for sharing. I really like the checkered full ivory handle. I'm sure I could waste a few hours in that store!
 
Here are my 5 laguiole style knives, and a few comments below the pic:

2v0ixw3.jpg


As written above, there is no origin certificate on the Laguiole name, so it now refers more to a style of knife that could be made anywhere in the world. But most knife nuts think that the top authentic French brands (usually made in or near Thiers) are the best ones.
From top to bottom:
- a French handmade Laguiole from one of the better brands ("Laguiole en Aubrac"). It was my first Laguiole and at 93 euro, it's one of my more expensive knives. But, as I said it's hand-made (you can decipher by exactly which artisan by examining the notches at the top of the blade, close to the bee, and looking up the pattern), it has really nice Sandvik 12C27 steel - which is most often used for good quality Laguioles. And the handle is made of horn tip, between two metal bolsters.
It is one of my all-time favorite, universal EDCs, probably the one knife I would keep should I be forced to part from my collection.

- The next one is also hand-made French, with the same good 12C27 steel and a wooden handle and one brass bolster. I could buy it really cheap and it works well.

Then we have 2 "made in Pakistan" Laguioles, probably in the city of Wazirabad which can be considered as the Solingen/Thiers/Seki cutlery city of Pakistan.

- The Laguiole Bougna is sometimes sold on ebay as a genuine french knife by unscrupulous dealers, including a worthless certificate. I once read (no claim for correctness) that they have a small office in France, and that's how they pretend to deliver a french knife! Well, my take is rather, let's accept this knife for what it is: a quite ok "value for money" alternative at around 12 euro. The handle is made of horn, the finish is a bit rougher than the real french ones, and the blade is ok for basic use, a bit like 420. So, nothing wrong at the price. I bought it because I was simply curious about the quality of these Pakistani Laguioles.

- Then another Pakistani Laguiole, this time with a pretty and ok carbon steel damascus blade, and camel bone handles. The pins are nicely done, and the general quality is surprisingly acceptable. I think that, if you shop carefully, this is a convincing product for those on budget but who still crave for a real damascus blade. It being carbon steel, I never cut food with it as I am afraid to stain the nice pattern. I paid roughly 40 euros for it. For your first Laguiole I would however recommend to save a bit towards a good French one with universal 12C27 steel, starting at roughly double the price. But as I said, it is in my opinion quite nice.

- The last one is a more beefy variant that sometimes shows up. The top french brand Fontenille-Pataud makes similar (but a bit more refined and definitely more expensive) ones which are branded as "sports" or "gentlemen" knives. Mine is a lot cheaper at 50 euro, but even so it's made to a good standard in Spain for the German Puma brand, in their value-for-money IP (International Production) series. The blade in 440C steel is decent. It is quite nice in the hand (though a bit heavy), with a stronger blade than the standard Laguiole knives, and it features a lockback. In all I think that this knife is best summarised as a Laguiole variant of the classic Buck 110.

Reactions, comments eagerly awaited!
 
Last edited:
muddy672 said:
Now that was a treat! Great pics of the store and thanks for sharing. I really like the checkered full ivory handle. I'm sure I could waste a few hours in that store!
Click to expand...



Your welcome! yea I was in there for quite awhile, my wife was doing this alot :rolleyes: it was pretty cool seeing all the styles though.
 
Man, I need to get a laguiole. I'd been looking at them for a while, I like the style of knife a lot.
 
These two are made by Actiforge, both with bone handles. If you google the name you'll find the website and you can order direct from them. They are pretty decent quality, not top notch, but I think they're well worth what they cost.

The pic makes the smaller one look like it has marks on the blade, that's a reflection of the material it's sitting on.

DSC01453.jpg
 
I have a small, simple Forge de Laguiole folder that I inherited from a friend who didn't want it. While I will admit that modern lock backs are more practical, there is just something about Laguiole style knives that I find interesting. I've been eyeing a larger model with a nicer handle and some nice file work on the back spring recently and I think I may just pick it up as my next knife purchase.
 
Here's a new one I got recently, an R David........pretty nice, though not as high quality as the Forge de Laguiole's I seen while in Paris. It wasn't as expensive either!

3013308436_61f549e274_b.jpg
 
This one's a Fontenille-Pataud (gilles) from their regular line of "picnic knives" with the carbon steel blade option, ash burl scales and satin-finished bolsters. I removed the logo etching from the other side of the blade blade with a fine sandpaper wheel to clean up the look a bit (tang stamp remains). The knife is beautifully made and the blade (although spoon-dull upon arrival) takes a fantastic edge.

I'd highly recommend this make to anyone interested in this style of knife, there are a plethora of handle options and several other traditional models available with and without the corkscrews. They also make a similar knife with a back-lock and have a range of one-handed opening blades with thumb holes which I believe a previous post referenced.
 
Last edited:
This isn't a folder, but I usually pull this set out at Thanksgiving for carving duties. Got these as a gift a few years ago and really like 'em. The 440 takes a nice edge. It may not last forever, but who cares, I enjoy touching it up anyway;)

BTW, very nice knives everybody.

DSC01544.jpg

DSC01547.jpg

DSC01545.jpg

DSC01548.jpg
 
And I was just looking at Laguioles the other day :(

This will be something to save my pennies for :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top