Hand-Chiselled Double-Plate Laguiole Knives
Laguiole en Aubrac makes its hand-chiselled double-plate Laguiole knives by hand in France and rates them its most elaborate work, ahead even of its Damascus blades. Instead of one plate along each side of the handle there are two, and the craftsman chisels them into a fine pattern. Set one down on a polished sideboard and the light catches every line of that metalwork.
For a decorative pocket knife you’ll enjoy bringing out after Sunday lunch, the chiselled plates are only half the story. The handle completes it: deep green malachite, ram’s horn or snakewood, each polished until it gleams. Some models add a corkscrew in the same handle for opening the claret. Any of them gives you a high quality pocket knife whose handwork is plain to see.
•Hand-chiselled double plates on every knife•Crafted by hand in France by Laguiole en Aubrac•Natural handles, each one different•
Malachite, ram's horn and snakewood
Malachite, a copper mineral, shows bands of green that curve across the stone, buffed here to a glassy shine. Ram's horn will look familiar to anyone who has admired a hand-carved shepherd's crook at a country show, and here it is polished to bring out its layered tones. Snakewood, polished in the same way, has dark flecks scattered over reddish-brown wood. Each makes a fancy pocket knife in its own way: vivid green stone, warm horn or richly marked wood.
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Watch the ram's horn double-plate knife
See the hand-chiselled plates and the polished ram's horn handle up close.
View this ram's horn knife
Why double plates matter
The doubled plates are chiselled by hand, so a band of fine metalwork runs along the handle and draws the eye each time you turn the knife over. On several of these models the chiselled plates come with a Damascus blade as well. For anyone choosing a quality pocket knife, that chiselled band is what to look at first, even before the blade is open. To compare the options in more depth, read How to Choose a Double-Plates Laguiole Pocket Knife.
Single blade or corkscrew?
Since every knife here has chiselled double plates, your first pick is the handle, then what folds into it. One blade keeps the outline clean and simple. A corkscrew model lets you open a bottle at the table without hunting for a separate opener. Then consider the finish: stone and horn are given a polish, while a good number of woods are left with a soft satin sheen. Whatever you pick, the maker's name, Laguiole en Aubrac, is marked on the blade.
Double-plate knife questions
Where is malachite found?
Malachite forms where copper deposits meet water and air, so it turns up in copper-mining regions. The main sources are the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, and in North Wales Bronze Age miners dug it from the Great Orme. On these Laguiole knives, malachite is cut and polished into a handle, framed by hand-chiselled double plates.
What is snakewood?
Snakewood is a very dense tropical hardwood from northern South America, named for the dark flecks on its reddish-brown surface, which resemble a snake's skin. Its markings mean no two pieces look the same. On these double-plate knives it takes a deep shine that sets off the chiselled metalwork beside it.
What is a folding knife?
A folding knife is one whose blade pivots into the handle, so you can close it between uses. Penknives, pocket knives and the Laguiole all belong to this family. Every double-plate Laguiole here is one: handmade in France by Laguiole en Aubrac, set apart by double plates chiselled along the handle, and offered with one blade, or with a corkscrew too.
Instructions for looking after your knife come with it. Hand-wash it, dry it immediately and keep the dishwasher strictly for crockery.
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