Photo by the forge
Laguiole Honoré Durand: the forge and its knives
The forge introduces itself: its workshop, its signature and its knives
A portrait of the forge
For more than thirty years Honoré Durand has been making knives in the village of Laguiole itself, the very place the knife takes its name from. The workshop motto has never changed: one man, one knife. Every cutler is responsible for his piece from the first bolster to the final polish, with no assembly line and no divided steps. A single knife passes through 105 separate operations, from cutting the blank and grinding the blade to shaping the bee and joining blade and handle.
More than 100,000 visitors come to the manufactory every year, because the workshop is open: you may watch, ask and handle. There is also a small museum with historic knives, old tools and photographs from the early years, and admission is free. The range runs from a classic Laguiole in olive wood or horn through damascus blades to one off pieces made to be handed down.
In October 2024 Honoré Durand became the first cutler to receive the official Geographical Indication certificate for a Laguiole knife. Origin is no longer merely a line on a card, it is verified by the state. That is precisely the idea behind the A.I.P.C.L., which is why this forge has been part of it from the start.
Inside the workshop
6These pictures were provided by the forge itself.
Four stages on the way to the bee: the flat end of the spring becomes a swelling, the swelling a shape, the shape the animal. It is not attached, it grows out of the spring.
Photo by the forge
The old forge with hearth and anvil. On the wall hang the tongs, one for every shape.
Photo by the forge
The large hall: in the same workshop stand the anvil next door and today's machines.
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 Honoré Durand
Everything about this forge, its history and its signature is on our page about the forge.
Have your Laguiole Honoré Durand 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 Honoré Durand? 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 Honoré Durand
Every forge has its signature. With Laguiole Honoré Durand it is the complete manufacture in the village of Laguiole, under the strict rules this forge sets itself. 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)