Cutlery history

Cutlery history

Thiers, world capital of knives

It is about 25 00 years ago that the first knives made of stones, flint, obsidian, or in the form of raw splinters made their appearance.it is the Romans who created the first steel blades and it is in the 1st century that they created the knives with folding blade.it is then in the 17th century that the knives knew their golden age in France at the level of the exploration in Europe and mainly in Spain.

Moreover, it is more precisely in the Puy-de-Dôme, facing the chain of the Puys in the fascinating city of Thiers that in the 19th century the famous Laguiole knife will know its apogee. It is then, to this effect, that the cutlery makers made the setting up of the division of tasks, in particular, the creation of the knives with a more modern working method. Even if it is necessary to keep in mind that the values of the knife are ancient, and ancestral. 

The knives have been competing with those from Asia considered as low-cost. Moreover, this has pushed France and its cutlers to move towards the high end of the art of the table, which has allowed to recover a certain dynamism in the field of cutlery and to reach a wider clientele. Even if nowadays, there are less and less stores that sell Laguiole, Thiers or other knives, because generations change and evolve.

Today, it is in Thiers, which proudly displays six centuries of cutlery history, that we will find the most cutlers with a percentage of 60% and with 80% of the production coming from all over France. It is worth noting that 70% of the production of French high-end knives is sent abroad. This shows a strong interest from citizens around the world for the art of the table in the colors of France

It should be noted that one of the specificities of the Thiers cutlery industry was the production of the Laguiole knife. However, it was in 1994 that the regional knives "Le Thiers®" were born, thanks to the Confrérie du Couteau de Thiers, which is an association of people (cutlers, designers, and knife enthusiasts), who came together to create the knife of their region. Any knife maker adhering to the Brotherhood coming from the Basin of Thiers has the right to make his version of the standard knife under rules and specifications.   

The Thiers knife is distinguished by its unique shape, which falls at the end of the handle. It is a knife with multiple functions, whether for family outings, with friends, for fishing, for skiing, or for large tables, in the kitchen or for tasting in the cellar. 

Nowadays, knives are an integral part of our daily life, nobody could do without them and it is thanks to our knifemakers that we have 100% handcrafted and Made in France products.

They make knives with wood, carbon fiber, bone, fossils, horn and mammoth molar. We are proud of our heritage and of sharing it. So let's continue to preserve our French heritage. 

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