How to recognize a real Laguiole knife?

The Laguiole

The Laguiole takes its name from a village in Aveyron that made knives for shepherds.
Production was reduced and to meet the demand, Thiers, Capital of Cutlery in the Puy de Dome began to manufacture Laguiole. The production at Thiers was done by rank and was therefore faster.

Laguiole is not a brand but a name.

The brand is the name affixed to the Laguiole name, such as Forge de Laguiole, Laguiole in Aubrac, Laguiole Fontenille Pataud, Laguiole G. David Arbalette, etc.
Every serious manufacturer puts its name to the Laguiole name, this is the first clue to not buy a counterfeit. A knife simply engraved Laguiole is a counterfeit.

 

The top Laguiole has no information about the manufacturer.
The bottom Laguiole was signed by its manufacturer. We have a traceability.

Price is also an important index. For a laguiole pocket 2 bolsters a piece with welded fly count from 80 €, the double for a forged fly.

Another important clue is the rivets:

1. on a laguiole of good quality they are aligned,
2. while for foreign manufacture the middle rivet is at the top because to avoid many operations, they use the lost nail that allows to put together the spring and the two plates.

 

In this picture, the top knife does not have rivets aligned.
The bottom Laguiole has rivets aligned, it is a French manufacture.
 

The Laguiole often has a cross stuck in a rib. But it is not obligatory. For the Laguiole handle in raw buffalo horn or warthog, for example, it is sometimes impossible to make this cross because the material is not smooth.

Legend has it that the shepherds used this cross to pray when the knife was planted in the earth or in bread.