The blacksmith’s workshop
Our family business employs more than half a dozen blacksmiths.
The profession of blacksmith (or the journey of the steel and brass)
A blacksmith’s job requires two sets of skills:
- mechanical: cold working
- forging: hot working. The stainless steel or brass workpiece is heated in order to form it.
It is a profession that requires a variety of materials (each with their particular tools):
- presses (for trimming, forging, stamping, etc.)
- abrading machines (for the beveled edge of the blade or for honing at an angle)
- jig boring machine (welding of bolsters, etc.)
- machines for buffing, honing, engraving, etc.
The profession of blacksmith (or the journey of the steel and brass)
A blacksmith’s job requires two sets of skills:
- mechanical: cold working
- forging: hot working. The stainless steel or brass workpiece is heated in order to form it.
It is a profession that requires a variety of materials (each with their particular tools):
- presses (for trimming, forging, stamping, etc.)
- abrading machines (for the beveled edge of the blade or for honing at an angle)
- jig boring machine (welding of bolsters, etc.)
- machines for buffing, honing, engraving, etc.
Videos of our equipments in action:
Crafting the spring with a forged bee
1 - Solid bee before and after trimming, with the steel offcuts |
2 - Batch of crimp springs before shaping into a bee |
3 - Heating of the bee workpiece using induction |
4 - Heated bee prior to flattening in order to obtain the bee motif |
5 - Once flattened, the bee is now a bee |
6 - Heating of the bee using induction in order to trim the bee |
7 - Bee is now a bee, end of process |
8 - Batch of springs with bee prior to trimming |
9 - Trimming of solid bees on blanking press |
Fashioning the blade
1 - Stamp used to mark the blades |
2 - Stamp for marking the logo, showing knife in background |
3 - Cutting the blade with blanking press |
4 - Steel offcuts after blades have been cut |
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5 - Blade positioned on tool holder for the abrading machine |
6 - Blade positioned on tool holder for the abrading machine, with running water |
7 - Blades after honing, close-up view |
8 - Blades in a vibrating machine for initial buffing |
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9 - Blade undergoing final buffing by hand |
Fashioning the bolsters
1 - Cutting the brass blanks that will be flattened to produce bolsters |
2 - Cutting the brass blanks that will be flattened to produce bolsters (end of operation) |
3 - Stainless steel bolsters after cutting |
4 - Stainless steel bolsters after cutting, close-up view |
Fashioning the liners
1 - Batch of finished stainless steel liners |
2 - Different tool holders for tack welding the bolsters to the liners |
3 - Tack welding of bolsters on the stainless steel liners |
4 - Tack welding of the bolsters on the stainless steel liners, close-up view |
5 - Manual drilling of stainless steel liners and bolsters |
6 - Fitting chamfers on the stainless steel liners |
7 - Manual drilling of stainless steel liners and bolsters |
Crafting the springs
1 - View of springs after cutting |
2 - Two batches of springs with crimps and bees |
3 - Hand chiseling of solid bee springs |
4 - Batch of completed springs in close-up view |
The parts that go to make a Laguiole knife
1 - Right side |
2 - Cap bolster |
3 - Pivot pin in nickel silver |
Knifemaking course:
Find out what it’s like to work as a knifemaker for a day and take home a Laguiole that you’ve made yourself!