Nontron – knives of France

January 16, 2021

Nontron knife

The classic Nontron knife is the oldest folding knife in France.

Nontron is the name of a village from the Dordogne region of France.

The region is naturally rich in iron ore and boxwood.

In the Roman age already, the people living there was renown for their craftmanship in iron products.

In the Fourteenth century, Nontron’s knifemaking was famous and the city was a mandatory stop for cutlers learning the art.

In the Seventeenth century, Guillaume Legrand, master cutler from Paris, settled in Nontron and started making the famous Nontron’s folding knife. He is the one who invented the ferrule, or ring lock, a few years later. As a reminder, the ring lock appeared on the Opinel knife in 1955!

In the Eighteenth century, two families, Bernard and Petit, took over the Nontron’s cutleries.

During the first World War, Nontron’s cutleries were requisitioned by the War Ministry to produce palm knives (see the article about the palm knife history). A knife remnant of that era is still produced today.

A few years after the end of the war, only the Petit cutlery was still in operation.

In 1931 Alphonse Chaperon purchased the cutlery, starting the Nontron Chaperon era, until 1986.

Today the cutlery is the property of Forges de Laguiole.

The knife is simple.

the wooden handle, traditionally in boxwood, can now be found in various woods like ebony, violet wood or some tastefully done mixes. The boxwood is really hard and sturdy and will develop a nice patina over time and turn into a nice honey yellow color.

The boxwood handles are traditionally decorated with the characteristic Nontron symbol, the “fly”, that looks like an arch, surrounded by 3 dots, and some dotted lines or stipplings.

A traditional Nontron pocket knife has 4 lines of stippling and 5 flies.

The meaning of that symbol has been lost in time and still today nourishes lots of legends: religious symbol, emblem of a guild?

The handles have, traditionally, 4 different shapes: ball, clog, fish tail and double ferrule.

Even if throughout the history various blade shapes have been seen, the “sage leaf” is the more traditional. It is now in T12 stainless (a proprietary stainless of Forges de Laguiole), but some carbon steel XC75 and Damascus steel blades are made.

The ferrule, or ring lock, is in brass on the boxwood models and nickel silver for the other types of handle.

Each step of the knife assembly is made, from beginning to end, by a single cutler: assembling the blade, pin, ferrule, handle finish, sharpening…

A real piece of history, timeless and elegant.

December 19, 2020October 4, 2021

Savoyard’s tap

All the wood handled friction folders, like Opinel, Capucin or even Nontron might have the blade stuck in the handle.

Wood is a living material and change in humidity or temperature might make it swell, or even dirt can be stuck in the mechanism.

Clog handle Nontron — Nontron No25 with clog handle

The “coup du savoyard” or Savoyard’s hit or tap is a simple technic to get it free, it is mainly used for Opinels (hence the Savoyard name) and it is even part of the quality checks at the end of manufacturing.

It is a technic known since the first Opinel (maybe before?) and the best way to get the blade free without damaging the knife like by trying to pry on the nail nick.

-For a recent Opinel, make sure that the lock ring is open (!!!)

-Hold the knife by the axis side

-Tap the other end on a hard surface. The best would be a wooden table, avoid any uneven or hard surface that would damage the handle, like concrete for example. Avoid also fragile surface like a glass table of course.

The blade should move a little, enough to be able to open it.

If it is still stuck, you can apply a bit of oil on the axis.

Now, the best way to avoid using that Savoyard’s tap is to take good care of the knife, always wipe the blade after use and store it in a dry place.

Find Opinel and Montpellier knives on http://knives-of-france.com

June 5, 2020

Palm knife

The “palm” ratchet-lock folding knife gets its name from the locking system on the back of the handle that has the shape of a palm leave (palme in French).

The system is actually inspired from the Spanish Navaja that gained, in the late 18th century, a locking style blade with a back spring and a metal pull ring to release the lock. These knives were called Navaja de Muelles (Spring Knifes). The ring was eventually discarded in favor of a lever, still present in today’s navajas.

This made that, until early in the 20^th Century, the palm knives were sometimes called navaja in France. Those Spanish navajas were considered fighting knives, sometimes even prohibited, it is important to recall that for the rest of our story.

The knife is in fact quite different from a navaja. It is a plain handle, in wood or horn, almost like a Capucin, with an external spring covering the back of the handle, including the ratchet-lock.

It is a simple, easy to produce, yet efficient locking system. The blade is often in a yatagan style.

At the beginning of the 20^th Century, this type of knife was popular, considered as a hunting knife, but in the pocket of many workers and farmers.

Extract from the Manufrance catalog showing the hunters knives

When WW1 broke out in Europe, it completely changed the classic warfare and the trench battle style called for different tactics and equipment. Storming the enemy trench with a long rifle fitted with a long bayonet was not always convenient and feedback from the front line requested a knife for hand-to-hand combat.

The soldier equipment did not include a knife and the war ministry sent delegates to manufactures, mainly in Thiers, to find a suitable equipment.

The palm knife was selected, all the stocks were requisitioned and large orders placed. So much that even the cutleries from Nontron, specialized in ferrule (ring lock) knives, started to produce palm knives.

In September 1915, more than 46,000 of those locking knives have been delivered.

However, and despite its fierce reputation in the navaja form as fighting knife, it was not adapted to the trench combat. The blade was a bit thin and the single pin to fix it made the ensemble too weak. Moreover, the handle was sleek and the knife did not have a cross-guard, making the thrust hits dangerous, especially with a handle covered in mud or blood.

Eventually, the Army ordered simple butcher knives…

Trench butcher knife with improvised sheath

Before developing specific designs.

Trench nail — Trench dagger or “trench nail”

The type was still popular until the mid 20^th Century, before being replaced by lockbacks, liner-locks etc.

However, among others, the Nontron cutlery is still producing a knife remnant of those made by its ancestors, quite different from its traditional product line.

Mongin, with its fabulous knives, is faithful to that system, in the Nogent tradition, even removing the ratchet lock to make it like a classic slip joint.

Despite the poor capabilities as a fighting knife, they remain nice and great utility knives with a genuine long history

April 16, 2020March 7, 2022

French knifemaking history

History

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 16^th 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 17^th 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 19^th 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!

Find some French cutlery on http://knives-of-france.com