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.
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 start 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”
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