LAGUIOLE
HISTORY
Pierre-Jean Calmels, blacksmith in Laguiole, conceived
the first Laguiole knife in 1829, building two models, the capuchadou, knife
of the ordinary peasants of the Aubrac and the Spanish Navaja, broth back
from Catalogne by seasonal workers.
The hardest steel tempered in Laguiole purest natural spring, a spring to
close the blade, a handle fashioned from the local Aubrac Oax's horn... a
exceptional knife was born.
Over the years, Pierre-Jean Calmels perfected his art by adding a
Trocar in 1840 to
meet the needs of herders and farmers.
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"During the off
season our workers left the village to find work in Catalogne. Back in
the village they proudly showed off their slick Navaja from Spain;
object of desires and inspirations |
In 1880, the Laguiole the 3
piece Laguiole is born with the addition of the corkscrew.
The need to add a corkscrew to the knife is directly linked with the
appearance of bottled wine in urban society. Requests by the Aveyronnais
that immigrated to Paris to open cafes and bistros added to the need for
such tool. Patrons and waiters remained faithful to their traditions and
toke pride in pulling the 3 piece knife from their vest.
By the late nineteenth century, this rustic knife became very popular with
the city bourgeoisie and was, as a result, adorned with precious materials
such as ivory.
The decorative detail of the handle and the spring started to diversified in
1910.
The sculpture that adorned the head spring of the first models underwent
various stylistic changes and included diamond, Fleur de Lys, four-leaf
clover, leaf tree or even the profile of a man wearing a Phrygian hat before
adopting what became the symbol of the Laguiole knife: the bee.
The “Laguiole” as it was called became a successful object beloved by people
from all background and societies. Unfortunately success was short lived,
wars, rural exudes and the increasing and unbearable competition from the
industrial cutleries of Thiers all contributed to the decline of the
village’s traditional cutleries. Today, two cutleries remain and produce
knives; they are “The Forge de Laguiole” and “La Coutellerie de Laguiole -
Honoré Durand”
LAGUIOLE
HISTORY
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