From our examinations · by Justin Jernoiu · 09.07.2026 not certified
Bought in Thiers, made elsewhere
Why the place of purchase in France says nothing about the origin
What was submitted to us
A customer had bought his Laguiole in France, in a shop in the region of Thiers, the town that has stood for French knives for centuries. In the shop it had been presented as coming from there. He wanted to have it registered with us.
What many people do not know
The biggest importers of Laguiole knives from China and Pakistan are based in France. This merchandise even has its own names by now, and the way it is described in the shop leads the buyer to believe it was made right where he is standing.
There is one number, however, that gives everything away: the price. A Laguiole pocket knife takes up to 200 production steps, and wages in France are roughly at German levels. A knife handmade in France can therefore never cost 15 euros. But nobody thinks of that while standing in a shop in Thiers reading Laguiole on the blade. The place does the persuading that the price should actually undo.
And it is not just importers. There are French companies that forge a small quantity themselves and import up to ninety percent of the other knives they sell from China. At the Ambiente fair in Frankfurt, years ago, we spoke with such a company and pointed out several features on their knives that rule out production in France. The gentleman insisted he had made the knives, yet did not refute a single argument. We were simply supposed to take his word for it.
How it ended
We could not issue an A.I.P.C.L. certificate to this customer. The ten euros he had already paid were refunded.
We say it plainly: by no means every Laguiole sold in France was actually made there.
What we take from it
If we have even the slightest doubt about the origin, we do not issue a certificate. We do not debate it, and we do not give detailed reasons. Such conversations can go on forever without leading anywhere; they cost time, money and nerves, and we will not be worn down. Please understand. The register is only worth as much as the care with which it is kept.
More cases
IG marking or A.I.P.C.L. certificate: what does each one tell you? Since the IG engraving appeared on the first blades, this question has reached us almost daily. The short answer: one speaks about a place, the other about a single knife - and nobody has to choose between them. My collections: every knife has a story Why you can now write down where your knives came from, what they mean to you and which ones belong together. And why this reaches far beyond Laguiole. Suspect a fake? What you can do now Your rights as a buyer, sensible first steps and how our examination works when you want certainty. Thiers and Laguiole: the two capitals of the French knife Why the A.I.P.C.L. certificate of authenticity covers both origins, and why the Laguiole knife would no longer exist today without Thiers. Why do so many workshops take part in the A.I.P.C.L. concept? Makers who normally compete for the same customers pull together here. The reason lies in a name that belongs to no one. The GI "Couteau de Laguiole": protected origin from the Aubrac What the Indication Géographique really regulates, which forges may carry it today and why it and the A.I.P.C.L. certificate complement each other. What does Laguiole Made in France mean? The name alone says nothing about the origin. What we base it on anyway, and why in the end it is not us alone who decide. The strongest proof a Laguiole made in France can have Why your knife's number is worth more than any sheet of paper A cutlery nobody knows On the disappearance of small workshops, and who has to provide the proof A logo that did not fit the picture Bought on eBay, checked with the cutlery, registered in the endDoes your Laguiole not have an A.I.P.C.L. certificate of authenticity yet?
You can have it registered afterwards, no matter where you bought the knife. We check from your photographs whether it really comes from a French forge, assign it to that forge and register it under its own number. Your knife then has the same page and the same document as any knife bought from us.
The examination costs 10.00 euros. If the result is negative, we refund it.
or 15 CARMOS points from original-laguiole.de - what those are is explained there.