The renaissance of the manufacture of the Laguiole knife in its historic area, goes back to the 1980s. This traditional activity had gone through a decline from the 1920s, faced with the industrialisation of cutlery in the basin of the city of Thiers.
At that time, anxious to be able to manufacture respecting local artisan tradition, LAGUIOLE EN AUBRAC created a forge in the small village of Montézic, located a few kilometres from Laguiole. Three other cutlery artisans came along from the beginning of this initiative.
The work done at the forge of LAGUIOLE AUBRAC produces all the metal elements that make up the knife before arriving in the hands of the cutlers who will undertake polishing and the finishing stage, such as the engraving and decoration of blades and springs, etc.
The work of stainless steel and brass, from raw state to the cutting of bolsters and side-plates.
Massive bolsters and plates are cut in dies manufactured locally. Bolsters are cut in dies from brass bars. Having the property of reinforcing the handle, bolsters are fixed manually on the plate (mitrage). Bolsters are then drilled, which will allow the assembly of the knife with nails also made of brass. This principle also applies to new materials, such as brushed or polished stainless steel.
The work of steel: the blade, the spring plate, the bee, the awl.
Different types of steel blades: