From our examinations · by Justin Jernoiu · 18.06.2026 certified
A logo that did not fit the picture
Bought on eBay, checked with the cutlery, registered in the end
What was submitted to us
A customer sent us photos of a Laguiole he wanted to have certified. He had bought it on eBay; the seller had told him the knife came directly from the cutlery.
The first impression was good. The finish was right, the spring sat well, the bee was hand worked, the blade showed the clean grind you expect from a French workshop. One detail did not fit, though: the cutlery's logo on the blade differed from the one we know. Not crudely, not clumsily, but recognisably different.
Why this is not a reliable indicator
At this point a quick rejection would have been possible. It would also have been wrong. Cutleries change their marks. Over the decades many forges have reworked their logo, sometimes only in the stroke width, sometimes more clearly; stamps wear out and are re-cut, acid etchings differ from laser markings, and in small workshops two generations of stamps sometimes lie side by side in the same drawer. A deviating logo therefore does not automatically mean forgery. At first it means only one thing: we do not know.
How we settled it
We asked the cutlery itself and showed them the pictures. The confirmation came from there: the logo is genuine, it dates from a particular period in the workshop's history. With that, the origin of this knife was settled.
Only after this confirmation did we add it to the A.I.P.C.L. register. The customer was overjoyed, and ever since we know a little more about the history of this cutlery than before.
What we take from it
An unusual feature is a reason to investigate, not a verdict. We only register knives we are certain were made in France. But certainty does not mean rejecting whenever in doubt: it means asking, as long as there is someone who can know.
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 Bought in Thiers, made elsewhere Why the place of purchase in France says nothing about the originDoes 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.