Antiquary since 1967, Patrice Reboul is a passionate, always looking for rare objects, anecdote and great history ... Each week discover a new object and its history that we look after especially for you ...

OUR FAVORITE ITEM IN JULY

• The Laguiole knife

  pronounced laiole- is a high-quality traditional Occitan pocket-knife, originally produced in the town of Laguiole in the Aveyron region of southern France.
  The word "Laguiole" is a generic term, not legally restricted to any one company or place of manufacture. Such knives are produced by a number of unrelated companies in southern France, some 70% of production coming from Thiers, a long-established centre of the cutlery industry.
  The ancestors of Laguiole knives may have been inspired by the Arabo-Hispanic knife, the Navaja. Migrations of men between Spain and France in summer and winter introduced the Navaja in Aveyron. The Arabo-Hispanic design was merged with the local one, represented by the older Capouchadou knives, and became the Laguiole knife. The design dates from the early 19th century with a farmer's knife from the Laguiole village. The knife was first designed in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Calmels and became the pattern for this style, its forged bee being its distinctive mark.
  What the various designs have in common is their slim, sinuous outline. Traditionally the handle was made of cattle horn, ivory …
  Classically there is a single blade, but sometimes a corkscrew or some other implement is added. This necessitates an even slimmer cutaway handle, the shape of which is fancifully known as the "lady's leg", the bolster at the base resembling a foot.
  

• There is much mythology about the insect depicted on the catch.
  Some say it represents a fly or a horse-fly, something familiar to peasants in the rural Laguiole area, which is known for cattle breeding. The Laguiole catch is often designated "la mouche" -"the fly" -, others say the insect is a bee. One story states the use of the bee, an imperial symbol, was granted by Napoleon in recognition of the courage of local soldiers. This story is popular but there is little evidence for it. The prestigious Laguiole iconography has been taken up as a visual theme for various other implements, so that one can now buy, for example, a "Laguiole" corkscrew, spoon, or steak-knife set.