The “forced notch” mechanism is an evolution of the traditional slipjoint system, and often found on French knives such as Laguioles, Saint-Martin or Thiers for instance.
It’s somewhere between a classic flat slipjoint and a lockback.
The blade has a little notch where a part of the backspring comes to lock. Unlike a lockback, it’s rounded and will slip when pushing on the blade to fold the knife. It’s an added safety to prevent the knife from closing involuntarily.
The lock must be “broken” before the blade can be folded slowly in the handle.
Even if some makers are still making straight laguioles, the norm is now more for the modern form with the yatagan blade, as invented by Pierre-Jean Calmels.
Modern straight laguiole with damascus steel blade
Of course, stainless blades are now also the norm. They tend to all have a kick on the tang, that rests on the backspring when the knife is folded, letting the edge away from the spring. Original laguioles had the tip of the blade resting on the spring. This is still true on some modern Alpin or Barrel knives for example. When it often leaves a part of the blade not so sharp (blade rap), due to the contact with the spring, it makes it more convenient in the long run. Back in the days, when the knives were used everyday to eat, to do all kind of work, the blade was sharpened over and over and over until sometimes being half the original width.
With a kick, and after heavy sharpening, the tip can overhang form the handle (proud tip), making it dangerous. No risk of that with the tip resting on the spring. That lack of kick is the reason why you should not snap close those knives but slowly follow the operation until the tip rests on the spring.
Nowadays the bee at the end of the spring is the norm but some other styles can be found, like flowers, musical instruments or other symbols.
The bee can be welded or forged. Forged is the historical way of doing it, the end of the spring is hammered then shaped with a file. The welded bee is a simpler (and therefore cheaper) way of doing it. A bee, often stamped, is welded at the end of the spring. Same goes with the filework of the backspring, it is hand made for the higher end knives, it is stamped for the cheaper ones.
Around 1880 appeared an awl on Laguiole knives. This was a request from shepherds. It is used to treat bloat on livestock, after eating hay all winter, sheep, cows etc. were feasting on fresh green grass, but this can create an accumulation of gas in the stomach and be dangerous for the animal, the awl was used to punch a small hole and bleed that gas, reason why that awl is rather thin.
A corkscrew was added a bit later, asked by those leaving their Aubrac region to go work in cafes in Paris.
The knives can have top or bottom bolsters, either in steel or brass, or be full handles, originally in cattle horn, ivory arrived later on more luxurious models and they can now be found in various types of wood.
Myths and legends
The brand:
Laguiole is not a brand, rather a style like can be an alpin, Yssingeaux or even a balisong or a stockman.
A Laguiole brand was registered in the nineties, selling all kind of products, mainly of Asian origin, but after a long battle from the city and manufacturers, it became again a common name. The fact that it is not registered also explains the countless cheap versions from Asia. Basically, anybody can make a laguiole. Of course, if you are looking for French authenticity and heritage, get one made in Laguiole or Thiers.
The bee:
There is often a confusion between the bee and the fly, it is basically a translation mistake. The “mouche” is the end of the spring, towards the blade. It can be found on various types of knives like the Issoire, Yssingeaux or Saint Martin.
Vintage issoire with its characteristic “mouche”Vintage laguiole from the 1950’s with a smooth mouche
The word mouche translates by fly, the insect. But it’s originally the last name of the cutler who invented the system. The same kind of story goes for the boats on the river Seine in Paris, the bateaux Mouches are not fly boats, Mouches being the name of the owner of the first company operating that kind of boats, the name became generic after that…
The mouche was originally not decorated, like on the Yssingeaux.
The first decoration appeared at the end of the Nineteenth century, with the request for more elegant, sophisticated knives. The first decor were flowers, the first bee appearing at the beginning of the Twentieth century, symbol of the industrious insect. The legend of the bee given by Napoleon to the city of Laguiole is, at best, inaccurate.
Horological themed mouche by David DauvillaireClassic bee by David Dauvillaire
The shepherd’s cross:
Shepperd’s cross on a vintage LacazeLaguiole by Forge de Laguiole with shepperd’s cross
A lot of laguiole knives have a characteristic cross, made of pins, on the handle. The legend says that the shepherds were sticking their knives on a loaf of bread, presenting the cross in front of them, to pray before their meal. That cross appeared late in the Twentieth century so, even if the symbol is nice, the legend is a little bit fabricated.
The Spanish origin:
What inspired Pierre-Jean Calmels to modify the traditional laguiole into the modern version is unknown, but the idea that navajas bring from Spain are at the origin of the modern laguiole is far fetch.
The laguiole is probably the most famous French knife and its history and origin are full of legends and inaccuracies.
I will try here to be as accurate and factual as possible.
As almost every French regional knife, the laguiole gets its name from the eponym city, in the Aubrac region.
The first cutlers registered in Laguiole arrived in the first part of the Nineteenth century.
At the time, it was small workshops where all the steps were made by a single cutler.
Straight Laguiole
The very first laguiole, called straight laguiole, was fairly similar to the other knives of the area like the Yssingeaux, Issoire or even Saint Martin, with a straight handle ending in a crow beak and a drop point blade, called Bourbon blade.
YssingeauxVintage Saint MartinVintage straight laguiole
It is somewhere between 1850 and 1860 that the laguiole in its modern form was invented by Pierre-Jean Calmels.
He replaced the Bourbon blade by a Yatagan blade (see my history of the Yatagan knife) and made a handle with the curve we know today.
Yatagan knife
Both straight and modern laguioles co-existed until early in the Twentieth century.
Modern interpretation of a straight laguiole by Arto
Towards the end of the Nineteenth century, part of the production was transferred to Thiers, the industrial hub, like a lot of other regional knives.
Vintage laguile by Poyet Sivet circa 1900
The very first decorated laguioles appear at the same time with a decorated mouche (top end of the spring) and file work on the spring.
At the 1900 Paris Exposition, Pagès and Calmels, both great names in the laguiole knives, received a gold medal for their knives.
Vintage laguiole by Pages
At the beginning of the Twentieth century, and the trend for gentlemen to carry a pocketknife, the decor of the knives get more refined with ivory handles in the shape of a pigeon wing, butterfly, rattlesnake tail or even mythical or historical figures like Napoleon.
Laguiole “pigeon wing”
The mouche sees also various shapes, including the famous bee.
With a lot or workers mobilized and large orders from the Army to Thiers, the first world war is the beginning of the decline of knife making in Laguiole, most of the production being made in Thiers.
Vintage Laguiole by Genes David in Thiers
The last Laguiole forge closed around 1950
Mid 1980’s was restarted a knifemaking activity in the city of Laguiole.
The city of Thiers finds its origin in the medieval age and can claim six centuries of cutlery tradition.
The legend says that the Crusaders bring back the secret of steel but the history of knife making can be dated back to the fifteenth century as tax registers mention thirty knife makers in the city that will turn to be 200 in the sixteenth century.
Oddly enough, the city didn’t have real assets to become the capital of knife making, there is no iron ore for the blades or sandstone to make grinding wheels, but there is the Durolle, the torrent that will provide enough energy for the cutlery machines, and the obstinacy and hard work of people living on a rocky, steep and hard territory, working in the fields in summer and making blades in winter.
Long before Henry Ford, it is in the fifteenth Century that the division of labor started in Thiers with people specialized in the various steps of knife making, to the final assembly. It was not anymore a single cutler that was making the entire knife.
The working conditions were really hard. The cutlers shaping the blades on the grinding wheels were called the “yellow bellies”, because, in the unique Thiers style, they were grinding the blades laying over the wheel, with a dog on their legs to keep them warm.
They were working down in the valley, next to the water that was used to provide the power.
On top of the cold and humidity, the noise of the machines is loud and, if the grinding wheel explodes, the cutler is projected to the ceiling, with a little chance of survival.
That part of the valley is called “Hell” (L’enfer in French), one of the buildings was even called like that.
L’enfer (Hell)
For the other specialties it is not more comfortable, the presses and hammering machines are dangerous and the temperature in the forge can reach 120F.
But that specialization and efficiency made that knife makers and merchants in various French regions were ordering knives to Thiers.
For instance, the cutlers from the village of Laguiole, in Aveyron, had to order knives in Thiers, as they were not able to keep up with the demand. Those knives were originally called “Laguiole style” before being definitively called Laguiole when all the production was finally done in Thiers.
Laguiole knife
The same story happened to different regions and cities, this is why most of the French knives have the name of a city or a region like Yssingeaux, Issoire, Alpin, Montpellier, Rouennais etc.
Yssingeaux
Rouennais
Yatagan
Saint-Martin
Thiers even produced some “Spanish” navajas.
When the city was, and is still today, making the knives of all the different French regions, it never had its own style of knife. It was corrected rather late, in 1994, when “Le Thiers” was created. It will be the object of a later article.
Le Thiers
Today electricity definitely replaced all the water powered machines and Thiers and its surroundings is still making between 70% and 80% of the French bladed tools, earning its status of French knife making capital, with its museum and “Coutellia”, the annual international blade show.
The history of French knife making is primarily the history of the people living in the different regions of France.
Workers shaping blades on grinding wheels and blades catalog
The very first knives were made of flint, the first metallic knives appeared around 3000BC and the first steel knives, along with the first folding knives, were made by the Romans.
During the medieval-age, knife making is developing mainly in some specialized cities like Thiers, Nogent or Nontron, where the ferrule, or ring lock (virole), to lock the knife’s blade, is invented towards the end of the 16th century. Each region has its own craftsmanship and traditions, leading to a wide variety of styles, still made today.
Raw materials to make the knives evolved over time, when a Capucin was only a carbon steel blade, a stag and 2 pins; wood, bone, brass and aluminum or even more noble materials are now common. The very first stainless steel knife appeared in 1921 in the United States and stainless is now widely used but carbon steel is still appreciated by real connoisseurs for being easier to sharpen, more traditional and developing a nice patina.
French knife making have been renowned since the 17th century, when the first knives were exported, through the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes, to Spain, Italy and even Asia.
The industry was at its height in the 19th Century when, for example, Thiers and its area was employing around 25,000 people in knife making. It went down to around 1,700 today.
The 19th Century was also the time of a wider market for pocket knives, that were not anymore only for farmers and workers, as every gentleman had his own knife, to use when going to eat outside. That is when knives became more detailed and luxurious and when more noble material appeared.
After a rough patch in the 1980’s, mainly due to the cheap knives coming from Asia, French knife making has now reborn and is more oriented towards high quality pieces.
Each region has its own style of knife and numerous independent knife makers are creating a wide variety of forms and styles. French knife making is now recognized across the world for its quality, diversity and strong tradition. Some knife makers even export up to 70% of their production.
Today Thiers, in the middle of the old volcanoes of Auvergne, is leading the French production with 80% of the production done by 60% of the knife makers. Then comes Aveyron, Dordogne, with the Nontron and of course Savoie with its famous Opinel.
If you like slipjoints, tradition and fine craftmanship, there is a French knife for you!
