All About Pocket Knives

What are the better brands of French knives? Not just Laguioles but regionals, as well? There is a lot of junk out there. I am trying to figure out which companies

I have found these brands to be pretty good.
- Fontenille-Pataud (the best but extremely expensive)
- En Aubrac
- Forge de Laguiole
- Arbalete (G. David)

Has anyone had experience with these brands?
- R. David
- Au Sabot
- Chambriard
- Pradel
- Actiforge
- Sabatier
- Homme de Bois
- PARAPLUIE À L'EPREUVE

My wife is in France right now and I am trying to give her a list of trustable brands. That's what gave me this idea.

Note: I ordered an Actiforge Laguiole from a guy named Richard Anselmo at www.laguiole.com. What arrived was defective, the blade was bent and hit the side when closing the knife. I sent it back and Richard Anselmo refused to refund or even return my knife, claiming that he was (somehow) offended. I am not sure how or why.

I suggest never, ever doing business with www.laguiole.com or Richard Anselmo.

ErikB wrote:
I sent it back and Richard Anselmo refused to refund or even return my knife, claiming that he was (somehow) offended. I am not sure how or why.

He's French, that's why.

I'll chime in on this, even though I am certainly not much of an information source on French cutlery. I did, however, purchase several R. David French knives at the 1989 SHOT Show in Dallas. Most of the knives were horn handled knives with external backsprings including the pull ring release mechanism. The knives were very well constructed with polished stainless steel blades. I have one other R. David knife which is a large folding knife knife with horn scales, including a spear blade,a large set of scissors and a bail. The scales were set with stainless steel screws. Again, very well crafted and an unusual pattern. My takeaway was that R. David is a quality maker. Just my two cents.


Joe D.

From those Laguioles, I have seen:

1. Forge de Laguiole - the best
2. Laguiole En Aubrac
3. Laguiole La fidele

Keep in mind that currently the market in France is flooded with Chinese fakes.Tell your wife to buy only from reputable shops.

Other than a snarky attitude, I have two Laguoles. A Laguole Rossignol and a Laguole Veritable Brossard. Both very well made knives.

Two companies I am familiar with that make high end(expensive)knives are J. Mongin and Eloi Pernet. Here are examples of both.

Here is a nice knife.

I bought this knife around a month ago. Any info on it would be appreciated. It has a ratchet opening and to close it you pull the ring. Horn handles and an umbrella on the blade.

Erik! I believe Thiers are quality knives, and I have 2 Le Sabot(possibly a sub company of Au Sabot)folders that are beyond reproach, and VERY reasonably priced.

The only laguiole I own is by En Aubrac. Good quality but the end of the handle was ground a little unevenly, you'd have to look closely to notice it. Still, my favorite steak knife. This German laguiole store has some good information on a bunch of different french manufacturers: http://www.original-laguiole.com/index.php.

I have a fair collection of other french pocket knives and I'll limit my comments to what I have personal experience with. The nontron, on the far left, is an interesting regional knife. The larger models have a rotating ferrule, like an opinel. My model with the traditional boxwood with burned decorations, but they have a variety of shapes and materials. 3rd from left is a Coursolle. They make knives with flat brass scales with a variety of figures and scenes stamped into them. Mine is a three-piece knife with a Breton fisherman and a dockside scene on the reverse. 4th from left is a Corsican shepherd's knife by an independent knife maker named Alexandre Musso. After the Opinel are two Pradel knives, one their standard pattern jackknife and the other a 4 piece sailor's knife. I believe Pradel went out of business in 1960, but they were popular enough that I often see Pradel knives for sale on ebay. Also, Au Sabot makes a knife called "Pradel" in that same classic jackknife style. Second to last a douk douk; big, solid slipjoint with a nice thin edge. And lastly, a Capucin style regional knife marked "222 Garanti", which I believe is made by Thiers-Issard. That is the only one I wouldn't recommend. Its a kinda small friction folder with doesn't retain the blade very well in either position. Also, the fully open position doesn't really extend the blade far enough to be comfortable.

I think the Opinel steel is quality, the lock seems solid. The handles are utility in nature, nothing exciting there.

I can talk (a little) about Au Sabot.
I purchased one on https://knives-of-france.com/
An "Armor", a sailor type sheepsfoot with a black horn handle and an interesting shield.
That's the black horn that attracted me, never seen a sailor knife with horn sides.
As far as quality it's not really fancy (the website actually has much fancier models) but it's sturdy and you can feel it was hand made and finished by hand.
The blade is good, easy to get it sharp, and the handle is really comfortable

We stayed at a French themed bed & breakfast recently and these Laguiole steak knives were their knife of choice.

Fontenille Pataud is by far the best brand/cutler...and Laguiole is NOT a brand but a town near Thiers...R.David is sort of the middle field...Forge de Laguiole is a fairly new company but good quality knifes...Dorzome is a interesting candidate...well priced and interesting designs!
All brands you mentioned are good French cutlery...as said, watch for fakes and Paki/ China junk...if you buy in France...buy at a cuttlery store only!!

Fontenille Pataud is by far the best brand/cutler...and Laguiole is NOT a brand but a town near Thiers...R.David is sort of the middle field...Forge de Laguiole is a fairly new company but good quality knifes...Dorzome is a interesting candidate...well priced and interesting designs!
All brands you mentioned are good French cutlery...as said, watch for fakes and Paki/ China junk...if you buy in France...buy at a cuttlery store only!!

This thread has been quiet for awhile and I just received this knife from France so I'm gonna post it! It's a Roger Orfevre 6 3/4" oal slip-joint with a 12c27 sheepsfoot blade with n/n, fluted NS bolsters, NS liners and pins, and jet-black paperstone covers. I'll have to Google "paperstone" cuz this is only the 2nd time I've come across it and have no idea what it is! Solid quality folder!

Just received the 11 cm aluminum Laguiole by Arbalete (G. David) that I found on eBay for a song. A little warm soapy water and some Flitz and off we go. It could use a touch up on the edge but other than that I’m very happy. The 11 cm seems to be a sweet spot for me. The extra blade length compared to the 10 cm is an improvement and the slimmer handle is a big improvement. Click on the photo for a better look.

Very nice Joe. I've admired the all-metal Laguiole for awhile now but the high price kept me away, so congrats on finding one at a reasonable price, which was "a song" in this case. LOL!

Madmarco wrote: ↑Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:49 pm Very nice Joe. I've admired the all-metal Laguiole for awhile now but the high price kept me away, so congrats on finding one at a reasonable price, which was "a song" in this case. LOL!

Thank you. There is still one available for a reasonable price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325202905264?h ... Sw5yZijWi7

joeradza wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:12 pm

Madmarco wrote: ↑Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:49 pm Very nice Joe. I've admired the all-metal Laguiole for awhile now but the high price kept me away, so congrats on finding one at a reasonable price, which was "a song" in this case. LOL!

Thank you. There is still one available for a reasonable price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325202905264?h ... Sw5yZijWi7

If you’re interested I’d contact the seller to make sure there is no blade play, etc. The reason I’m pointing this out is the pivot pins don’t look as smooth/clean as the one I bought.

Some nice cutlery is on show here! The only French-made knives I have at present time are Opinels, which are great quality at a price that's more than reasonable. I have to wonder if an Opinel No. 13, at 19.75 inches overall, might even be too big for Mark!

joeradza wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:17 pm

joeradza wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:12 pm

Madmarco wrote: ↑Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:49 pm Very nice Joe. I've admired the all-metal Laguiole for awhile now but the high price kept me away, so congrats on finding one at a reasonable price, which was "a song" in this case. LOL!

Thank you. There is still one available for a reasonable price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325202905264?h ... Sw5yZijWi7

If you’re interested I’d contact the seller to make sure there is no blade play, etc. The reason I’m pointing this out is the pivot pins don’t look as smooth/clean as the one I bought.

I really like it when members willingly share where they got their knives when someone shows interest, so thanks very much for the link Joe. Now that really is a reasonable price for the available one, I just wonder how communicating with the seller will go cuz his description is all in French, but it's worth a try. The usual prices I've seen for these all chrome knives is over US$100. plus, so to get that one for what they're asking would be a heck of a bargain. Thx again!

Dan In MI wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 6:50 pm Some nice cutlery is on show here! The only French-made knives I have at present time are Opinels, which are great quality at a price that's more than reasonable. I have to wonder if an Opinel No. 13, at 19.75 inches overall, might even be too big for Mark!

You are absolutely correct Dan, as nice as that knife is 20" oal is just too big for me. I want an Opinel for my collection and was naturally leaning toward the 13 but I thought they were only about 12-13" oal, so after reading in your link they are that big it seems I'll need to change my tune. I have a Gil Hibben 18" Old West Toothpick and two Timber Wolf 17" folders hanging on my wall and those are about as big as I want. The description from your link claims the 13 was originally produced as a novelty knife, but since folks showed interest they kept producing them, but I'm sure those are people who will actually put the knife to use and not just display them like I do. It sure is nice when someone thinks of you when they see something they think you'll like!

Madmarco wrote: ↑Sat Jun 25, 2022 7:34 pm It sure is nice when someone thinks of you when they see something they think you'll like!

I figured the 13 might be a little over-the-top. But the Opinel No. 10 and 12 (respectively at 9 and 11.04 inches open) would be a better fit. Not sure how easily they can be found in Canada, though.

The 12 sounds just about right Dan, 11-12" is my ideal length. I don't know either if they're available here, but if not I can always import one. I really like the models with different color handles as opposed to the usual tan color.