As seen in a previous post, Thiers has been the French knife making capital for centuries.
Cutlers from the city and its surrounding were so famous and efficient that they ended up manufacturing the so called “regional knives”, the knives from different regions and cities of France like the Aurillac, the Laguiole, the Rouennais, the Yssingeaux etc.
All those knives have specific design and style originally elaborated in those regions.
However, Thiers, filled with cutleries and making all those different knives, never had its own knife style. This was solved in 1994, when several cutleries from Thiers created a guild to define a design for a knife belonging to Thiers.
The design is registered with a distinctive double wave and opposite oblique ends on each side of the handle giving a timeless and true to French tradition design.
More than a detailed design, it is a set of rules and guidelines, giving some room for each cutler’s interpretation.
But to be validated and receive the distinctive T logo, symbol of authenticity, each cutler has to follow the guild rules.:
- Having at least 5 years of experience as a cutler
- The cutler must be accepted as part of the guild and registered
- The design proposed has to be accepted by the guild
- The knife has to be marked with the T logo and “Le Thiers par…” including the name of the manufacturer.
- The cutler will never have any part of the manufacturing done outside of Thiers and its surrounding.
- The parts and raw materials used must be of quality and approved by the guild.
This origin control is important to protect the knife from Asian copies, something that, for instance, the Laguiole knife was lacking, reason why you can find countless cheap copies of this great knife.
What started as a project from a handful of passionate knife-makers turned into a real success with almost 60 manufacturers and independents making their version of the knife.
If you are looking for French elegance and controlled quality and origin, look for the T logo!
Find some on http://knives-of-france.com
