Laguiole Collectable Knives: Signature & Marquetry
Each of these Laguiole collectable knives comes from Laguiole en Aubrac, made by hand in France and finished with decoration you won’t find on an everyday Laguiole. Picture one laid out on the desk in the study, or passed round the table after dinner: a chequerboard of contrasting squares, a fleur-de-lis set into ebony, or a butterfly sculpted at the head of the handle. They’re collector knives made to be admired at close quarters, yet each is a proper pocket knife with a blade that works.
These collectors’ knives come in several styles. Marquetry handles combine woods of contrasting colour, inlaid pieces carry a motif set into the wood, and the Signature models show a butterfly, a bunch of grapes or a fleur-de-lis, sculpted in relief. Others pair ebony with polished stone, and some have a rounder handle or a spiral twist. Pick marquetry if colour and pattern draw you in, or one of these collectible knives with an inlay or emblem if you prefer a single motif.
•Made by hand in France•A single blade on every knife•Handles made to be admired•
Marquetry knives: chequerboards, stripes and mosaics
Every marquetry knife here begins as a handful of separate pieces of wood or other materials, cut and fitted until the handle reads as one design. The chequerboards set two contrasting materials in alternating squares, the bicolour handles have strips of wood dyed right through and set on the slant, in shades from pink to green with violet glints, and the mosaics go further still. On the Orgue, coloured segments call to mind a row of organ pipes. On the Étincelle, small coloured squares cross long pale and dark strips, and the Woodstock forms a patchwork from woods of many shades. Run a fingertip along any of them and the surface is smooth from end to end.
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Watch the Orgue marquetry knife
See the coloured wood segments of the Orgue marquetry handle up close.
View this marquetry knife
Inlaid fleurs-de-lis and sculpted emblems
Some designs carry their motif in the handle itself. An inlaid knife such as the fleur-de-lis model has the emblem set in pewter against black ebony, flush with the wood. Others have their decoration at the head of the handle instead: a butterfly chiselled in relief, a fleur-de-lis, a bunch of grapes, or the Freemasons' square and compasses on ebony, with chiselled plates on the Prestige models. The Butterfly knives add colour too, in green, coral red, yellow or blue, and on the Cosmos knives the emblem changes with each model, the rings of Saturn being one.
Ebony and stone, and other pieces for a knife collection
The Nox Pretiosa knives bring together dark ebony and polished stone within one handle, with finely chiselled plates, and your fingers pass from the warmth of the wood to the coolness of the stone. Other models play with shape: Crocus and Dodu have a rounder, fuller handle, while the twisted handles are shaped from one solid piece into a tight spiral. For a knife collection, these collectable pocket knives let you set marquetry, inlay, emblems and stone side by side. If you'd rather own a true one-off, see One-of-a-Kind Laguiole Knives.
Collectable knife questions
What knives are worth collecting?
Collectors tend to look for knives made by hand, carrying the maker's mark on the blade, with decoration that sets each design apart. These knives tick all three boxes: each one was made by hand in France, bears the Laguiole en Aubrac mark and has a handle designed to be looked at as much as used. Above all, collect what you love looking at, because these are knives you'll take out and admire again and again.
What does marquetry mean?
Marquetry comes from the French word marqueterie and describes decoration made by fitting small pieces of wood, or other materials, together into a pattern. In Britain it's most often seen on antique furniture, from card tables to tea caddies. On these knives the pattern runs along the whole handle, as a chequerboard, as diagonal stripes or as a mosaic of coloured woods.
What is an inlay?
An inlay is a piece of one material set into a recess cut in another, so that the two sit flush. On these Laguiole knives, a fleur-de-lis is inlaid into the handle, for example in pewter against black ebony. Marquetry covers the entire handle with fitted pieces, whereas an inlay sets a single motif into solid wood, and both take a steady hand.
Look after your knife as the care notes sent with every order explain: hand-wash it, dry it without delay and treat the dishwasher as out of bounds.
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