Photo by the forge
Inside the workshop of Laguiole Le Fidèle
A look inside the workshop of Laguiole Le Fidèle: where the knives are made, on which machines and by which hands.
Inside the workshop
7These pictures were provided by the forge itself.
Two generations at one bench, in front of the sample boards of handle materials. These pieces decide what goes onto a knife.
Photo by the forge
A pale handle at the grinding wheel. The mask belongs to it: grinding bone and horn produces fine dust.
Photo by the forge
The workshop in daylight. At the pillar drills the holes for axle and rivets are made, accurate to a tenth of a millimetre.
Photo by the forge
The hole for the axle is drilled. Half a millimetre off and the knife no longer closes cleanly.
Photo by the forge
Reworking is done with a file in the vice. What a machine cannot reach, the hand can.
Photo by the forge
The same work from the other side. On the right lie the blanks still to come.
Photo by the forge
Polishing on the buffing wheel. The handle is moved constantly, otherwise a flat spot burns in.
Photo by the forgeWhere the knives are made
Laguiole Le Fidèle
Everything about this forge, its history and its signature is on our page about the forge.
Have your Laguiole Le Fidèle 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 Le Fidèle? 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 Le Fidèle
Every forge has its signature. With Laguiole Le Fidèle it is the hand worked spring and the guillochage, together with the natural handle materials this forge is known for. 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)