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French Knives

The town of Thiers in central France was, and still is, a major centre of cutlery production. Interestingly, a large number of traditional regional patterns are still being produced. This knife with juniper wood scales not only looks great but is my sweetest smelling knife as well. Please post your French knives here.

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Replies to This Discussion

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on April 25, 2013 at 16:32

That's a cool looking knife!

I've never had a French knife....for some reason. I need to get an Opinel sometime. I've always wanted one.

Permalink Reply by Pat Kennedy on April 25, 2013 at 18:39

I picked this knife up last year as a souvenir of a class trip I went on with my youngest son. The mark is "Yssingeaux", which is a village north of Nice, where the knife was purchased. The handle is horn and the stamp on the tang denotes the type of steel in the blade. The primary distinction of this knife is that I liked it and it was in my price range.

The knife shop's proprietor knew enough English that we were able to chat a little bit. He said he only sells knives that are entirely French made, therefore one of the prominent brands (Lagouille, perhaps?) had no place in his shop because parts were made in Italy and sent into France to be assembled. He also chided me a little bit as I closed the knife with a "click", he shook his head and said that is something that's only done in America when evaluating a knife. Naturally I deferred to his expertise.

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Permalink Reply by Smiling-Knife on April 28, 2013 at 6:14

Knice knife Pat. I like the horn scales. Thank for posting.

These are the French version of the camper pattern in simulated stag, horn and bone scales.

Permalink Reply by Lars Ray on October 11, 2021 at 12:53

In my life, the only thing better than having my wife support my passion for anything with a blade (insert addiction, vise, collecting problem), is when she contributes to it too! I'm one of those guys who loves to take my own steak knife and use it at a restaurant. After all, the knife is meant to be used!

Here is the set of four Fontenille Pataud from Thiers in central France, complete with Sambar stag handles.