How to buy a beautiful authentic Laguiole knife

Have you been drawn by the elegant shape and beautiful decoration of an authentic Laguiole knife? You will be glad to hear that an authentic Laguiole knife is very accessible and you can even visit the places where they are produced!

Recently this blog has been full of Japan posts, including kitchenware, and knives in particular. And then I found a half-written post from my trip to Laguiole a couple years ago. How could I neglect one of my favourite parts of France so badly? Must have been Japanmania sweeping me away.

So, I am going to finish my posts on Laguiole knives. For practical reasons, I am turning my Laguiole wisdom into two posts. This one if about Laguiole cutlery, especially the famous folding knife, and how to find and buy an authentic Laguiole knife. For tips on visiting Laguiole and the Aubrac, please read my separate Laguiole post.

It is very important to know that the name  Laguiole and the bee decoration are not protected trademarks. So you may be offered “Laguiole” knives for sale that have the name Laguiole stamped on them but are not authentic! I thought I knew about tableware, but have fallen for the mid-priced inauthentic “Laguiole” knives off the internet – not worth the money I paid for them!

Just buy the real deal and enjoy it forever. A decent genuine Laguiole folding knife  or cooking knife starts at about 40 Euro, tables knife tend to come in sets of 6 or 12 start at 300 Euro.

History of the Laguiole Knife

Laguiole knives in its present form have been produced in the Aubrac region in the Department Aveyron since the 19th Century. This being a farming area, pretty much everyone in these days carried a knife. Travelling craftspeople travelling up from Spain brought home navajas, folding knives, that werde very practical to stow in pockets, yet functional – and alas, the Laguiole knife was born, and completed with regional flourishes.

Firstly, the beautiful decoration on the handle’s spring, which could be a scallop shell, for one of the routes of the Way of St. James passes through Aubrac, a clover, a lily… and finally, a bee. The bee became a distinguishing feature of an authentic Laguiole knife. However, the bee is a fairly late addition from 1910, and is allegedly associated with Napoleon, but also stands as a tribute to courageousness, diligence and good order. The bee is also an emblem of Catholic Saints St Ambrose and the Italian Barberini family. The spring the bee sits on is also finely chiselled, another typical feature off a classic Laguiole knife.

Another authentic Laguiole knife feature is the stylized cross from tiny rivets – said to serve as a cross for prayer when shepherds spent the summer months away from home and used the knife for prayers by sticking it into a loaf of bread.

A corkscrew and a punch are sometimes added to an authentic Laguiole knife but are not obligatory. The corkscrew – well, that speaks for itself. The punch was for punching cows paunches when they ate too much wet grass – ot as an awl to perforate leather.

All genuine French Laguiole knives are produced in Central France in Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regions. The town of Thiers probably produces the most by numbers. Also, the Laguiole knifes from Thiers have an excellent reputation, and while there is an ongoing discussion where the Laguiole knife originated from, changes are they were developed in parallel and now both towns claim to have invented it. There are a number of cutleries with an excellent excellent reputation in Thiers. Fontenille Pataud is perhaps the most famous manufacturer, and they have a retail shop in Laguiole (just to make matters more confusing).

Laguiole, the smaller town, may produce fewer knives but is a tourism magnet for its many accessible knife workshops, and a very pretty oversized village.

Last not least, the small town of Espalion has a number of famous Laguiole knife manufacturers such as Laguiole en Village and Laguiole en Aubrac.

Every manufacturer stamps their blade with their mark and sometime the name of the manufacturer. Laguiole Village has a triple mountain peak, Laguiole en Aubrac has an easily recognizeable cow’s head, others have crests.

Production Process of the authentic Laguiole Knife

I visited three knife workshops, so I was able to get a peek into the Laguiole knife production process. A Laguiole knife consists of the blade, a handle, bolsters, springs plates, sometimes a cork screw, a punch, and rivets that hold it all together. In an artisan Laguiole workshop, one knife is built by a single craftsman, with blades forged and delivered by a blacksmith.

First, an authentic Laguiole knife starts with a blade – the most important part! Laguiole blades are typically forged by hand, and this is the only process that may not take place in-house. One manufacturer from Espalion, Forge de Laguiole, prides itself in forging blades for all their knives in-house. Also, Forge de Laguiole state they produce their blades in house.

Composition of the Laguiole Knife Blade

French Alloy Steel T12

Some forges use exclusively  French-made steel. The most widely used would be T12 and 14 steel.   La Forge de Laguiole uses T12 Grade steel made in France. It is a with a high carbon content used for tools and knifes. Its composition is somewhat different to stainless steel, but it has a higher carbon contents than stainless steel, marrying the pliability and sharpening ease of carbon steel with non-rusting qualities. T14 steel is similar and was developed from T12. T12 is a generic steel grade, so T12 steel is not exclusive to France.

Swedish Sandvik Stainless Steel 12C27 and 14c28

Sandvik 12C27 is the standard steel for most genuine Laguiole knives and is a high quality stainless steel imported from Sweden. It is very similar to T12, but T12 has a higher carbon content.

14C28 is a refinement of the 12C27 steel and is even harder, finer and easier to sharpen.

Damascene Steel

Damascene (or Damascus) steel refers less to the content of the steel than production of the blade. Historically, Damascus steel method was imported from the Middle East, where different types of steel would be finely layered to create a hard, tenacious and very sharp blade, resulting in a typical “wave” pattern.

Nowadays, Damascene steel can be made from stainless or carbon, both together, additions of Nickel or copper, and it’s a labour- and skill-intensive method resulting in highly decorative blades. This is why Damascus steel knives are among the most expensive.

Carbon steel

Carbon steel is much less common in Laguiole knives. It has excellent qualities – but is prone to rusting, which is why most manufacturers use a type of stainless steel. Some manufacturers use carbon steel for special editions like Laguiole en Aubrac’s “Brut de Forge” or Forge de Laguiole’s “Luxe”. Carbon steel is, in fact, the better cutting material, easier to sharpen, but its proneness to rust may take the fun out of using it for some.

Construction of the Laguiole Knife

An authentic Laguiole knife is assembled by hand by one craftsperson.

The metal parts of the knife (spring, handle blades, bolster) can be stamped. The spring plate is then hand engraved (guilloched). Some manufacturers even forge their spring and then hand-file the bee out of the forged spring. The metal parts are then tempered before handle construction and attachments begins.

Laguiole knife handles are traditionally made from horn or wood. Nowadays, I would say wood is the most common material. The wood can be French or imported. Walnut, Juniper, Olive and Boxwood make nice European and sustainable handles. Some manufacturers have been experimenting with more modern materials like resin, acrylic or recycled sea shells.

Additions and Accessories

The traditional Laguiole knife has a single tapered blade which is 9cm, 11cm, or 12cm long. 12cm is considered the “classic” blade size. One blade that folds neatly into the handle – and that’s it.

It wouldn’t be a French knife if a corkscrew weren’t added to these classic knives over time. Adding a corkscrew makes the handle slimmer, which means it may be not quite as easy to handle . And a corkscrew adds easily 50 Euro to a knife.

Last not least, the third classic accessory is the punch. Unless you are a farmer or a leatherworker, this may not be of too much use. It was added to relieve discomfort in ruminant animals but perforating their paunch with a short stab – a potentially life-threatening condition. Nowadays it is usually called an awl – used for perforating leather.

How to use a Laguiole knife

It would be a shame to buy a Laguiole knife to have it lingering about in the drawer only. While the folding knife is the classic Laguiole knife, it may not see much use. This depends on your usual activities, on knife-carrying laws, and on whether you use it with a corkscrew. I bought two Laguiole knives, and they get used very differently.

One, a folding knife with the classic 12cm simple blade, simple guilloche with a simple forged be from Laguiole Villages. It cost about 120 Euro. Unfortunately, as much as I love it, it is more like a souvenir right now, although I occasionally use it to open letters. I simply cannot fathom taking it into the garden where it might get wet and get soil all over it. But if you do a lot of DIY and whittle wood, this might be a nice option.

The second one is a utility knife with a riveted composite handle that I would, in the pre-Santoku days, use for paring, peeling and chopping smaller vegetables. It cost about 35 Euros. It get sa lot more use, also, because it is a lot less precious with its sturdy handle that doesn’t mind a little bit of moisture.

So, have a think before purchasing what you might wish to use the knife for. It’s fair to say that many see the Laguiole folding knife simply as a beautiful collectors knife.

How to care for a Laguiole knife

This really depends on the material of blade and handle. I would say, if you intent on using your knife, consider a stainless steel blade with a composite handle or a wooden handle. Only cut what you are supposed to cut with it, and use a chopping board made from softer material.

Hand wash the knife after use and dry it immediately with a soft cloth. Wood handles will benefit from a gentle polish with olive or linseed oil.

To keep your Laguiole knife sharp, maintain the edge with a sharpening steel and re-sharpen it regularly using an appropriate whetstone.

Where to buy an authentic Laguiole Knife

Buying at the source at one of the established Laguiole cutleries gives you a huge amount of choice and some expert advice.

Aubrac is a wonderful place to visit, and the village of Laguiole has about a dozen specialist cutlery shops, all selling the genuine thing, including knives made in Espalion and Thiers. I bought my authentic Laguiole knife in the Laguiole Village Shop there.

If you are shopping for an authentic Laguiole knife, you will find plenty of opportunity in Laguiole itself, at the forges, and in the surrounding towns. A lot of the shops attached to the forges and workshops carry their own brand only. It is only a few shops where you will find knives from multiple brands.

Here is just a small selection of shops I liked, in alphabetical order.

Benoit L’Artisan

A small atelier right in the centre of Laguiole town, very accessible, personally liked their workshop tour best but already had two knives at this point so did not buy. Benoit knives are sold mostly locally or through their website. They also have a shopping guide if you are undecided what kind of knife you want (in French.

Mark : “Benoit L’Artisan a Laguiole” with the outline of a building

Laguiole Village

The Laguiole Village workshop is in Espalion and could not be visited at the time of our trip. They do, however, have a very nice shop on site, and I have read reports on the internet that they do some tours, although not mentioned on their website.

Mark: “Laguiole Village” with the outline of a triple peak mountain

You can buy them at their workshop just outside Espalion, and in their brand shop in central Laguiole. Both my knives are Laguiole Village, I love them for the traditional details, selection of local wood handles, hand forged bee and value for money.

Laguiole en Aubrac

Laguiole en Aubrac is another mid-sized manufacturer based in Espalion with a reputation for high quality. The Espalion site is not accessible to the public.

Mark: Bull’s head with “Laguiole en Aubrac” lettering

The nearest brand shop is actually in Rodez. They also sell in their own brand shop throughout France. Last not least the knives are sold internationally through many stockists, too.

There are others – these three are just the ones I liked most in terms of quality and value for money. In terms of accessibility, La Forge de Laguiole and Honore Durand are two large scale manufacturers outside Laguiole with multilingual tours and large sales rooms. La Forge de Laguiole is also the only producer at present who forges their knife blades in-house.

Interested in my Japanese knife posts?

I loved Laguiole knives for a very long time – this stems back to my student days when I considered them fancy and classy. Much later, I got into Japanese cooking knives, which have been wonderful souvenirs for the last couple of years, although I have to stop buying them now!

If you’re about to visits Japan, please take a look at my posts about Sakai Knives and the master of Matsubara Knives in Kyushu.

The Small Print

I visited Laguiole on a side trip while on a family visit in August 2020, paying for all expenses myself. So what you get here is my totally unbiased opinion, no freebies, no discounts for good reviews. My only monetisation of this blog at the time of publication is affiliate links to Booking.com, which is my preferred (and only) hotel booking site when I am not booking directly. If you use one of the links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. However, this blog is my hobby, I work a regular job where I generate my income. This post was first published in November 2024.

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