Laguiole knives named for a town in the south of France of the same name have been in existence for nearly three hundred years; since the early 1800’s.   Jean-Pierre Calmels designed the first designed the knife with its prominent forged bee in 1829. It was not until 1840 that the first a puncturing element called a trocar or awl was added to the knife. The awl was designed to help herders relieve animals that had eaten too much grass and as a result were suffering from bloat.

Traditionally, the knives are about ten centimeters long; nine and eleven centimeter models are available. Handles were originally made from cattle horn; however, recent history has seen these intricate artistic handles made from a variety of specialty woods including rosewood and beech wood.  The handles have also been made fossilized mammoth ivory from Alaska and Siberia.  Stainless steel is the standard metal used for the blade; but more aesthetically designed blades can be made from Damascus steel known for its use in ancient sword-making have both an incredibly sharp and resilient blade.  Although Laguiole knives typically have one blade; however, corkscrews and other implements were sometimes added beginning in 1880 causing the cutaway handle known as the “lady leg” to be very thin.