Photo by the forge
Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau: the forge and its knives
The forge introduces itself: its workshop, its signature and its knives
A portrait of the forge
In 1953 Gabriel Goyon and Solange Chazeau founded their firm in Thiers. From the outset the quality of the individual knife came before everything else, and that stance has carried the business through the decades. Today Magali and Vincent Goyon run it in the third generation; she is responsible for design, communication and marketing, he for production and technical development. The principle is simple: to innovate not in spite of tradition but through it.
The forge commands two of the best known French knife traditions. In 1992 its own Laguiole collection appeared, and three years later came Le Thiers, the mark of the town of Thiers, which Goyon-Chazeau created together with other cutlers of the region. The first Le Thiers in history came out of these workshops. For the skill behind it the firm carries the state label Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, which few French cutlers are allowed to display.
Three separate brands live under one roof. Laguiole G-C for the classic Laguiole knives, Le Thiers for the regional Thiers tradition, and Styl'ver for contemporary, restrained table cutlery. Each has its own handwriting and its own following; together they show the range of a forge that has been working in Thiers for more than seventy years.
Inside the workshop
10These pictures were provided by the forge itself.
Magali and Vincent in the showroom, in front of the cases of finished cutlery.
Photo by the forge
Drilling is done in a stack: several blades on top of each other, so the holes sit in the same place on all of them.
Photo by the forge
A liner is checked. In the crate beside it the next ones wait, each with its spring.
Photo by the forgeNew and remarkable
13What the forge shows us: new models, special editions, arrangements from their own workshop.
Where the knives are made
Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau
Everything about this forge, its history and its signature is on our page about the forge.
Have your Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau knife examined
You already own a knife from this forge? We can examine it and issue an A.I.P.C.L. certificate of authenticity - no matter where you bought it.
You own a knife by Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau? Then you can have it entered into the A.I.P.C.L. We check that it is genuine, and your knife receives its own number, its own page and its certificate - a proof that stays with it, even when it changes hands.
What we look at on a knife by Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau
Every forge has its signature. With Laguiole Goyon-Chazeau it is the clean mechanics and solid making that make this forge a good way into fine Laguiole work. That is exactly what allows a knife to be identified, and it is what we examine in your photographs. If a question remains, we go to the forge itself.
How it works
You register your knife. Right here on aipcl.com, with no sign-up beforehand: name the forge and upload the photographs - open and closed, the bee, the spine, the blade with the forge mark, and if available the receipt or packaging. Then you pay the examination fee; we create your customer account along the way.
We examine it. We compare your knife with what we know from 30 years of trading with French forges, and when in doubt we ask the forge itself.
You get the result. If your knife is genuine it receives its own number, its page on aipcl.com and the certificate as a PDF. If it is not, we tell you that too.
What it costs
10.00 eurosor 15 CARMOS points from original-laguiole.de - what those are is explained there.
Examining and registering one knife costs 10.00 euros.
If the examination shows that your knife does not come from a French forge, we refund the amount, of course. You pay only for a certificate you actually receive.
You order and pay here on aipcl.com, by PayPal or by bank transfer in advance. With the payment you buy the examination, not the certificate; whether we issue it depends on the result of examining your photographs.
Order the examination (10.00 euros)