Lyon Hand Forged Steel Laguiole Steak Knife Handmade Pocket Knives French Knife Steak Knife USA Made | BMK-625

Description

A Laguiole is a folder first and a table knife second, and the Lyon keeps that order. It closes into a slim black horn handle that slips into a jacket pocket, and it opens into a long slender blade meant for a plate.

Where it belongs: the table, and the pocket that takes you to it. This is the French pattern that a farmer carried to lunch and used for bread, sausage and cheese before it was ever marketed as a steak knife. It has no lock, in keeping with the traditional pattern, and it rides on a spring that holds it open under normal cutting pressure.

The spine work is the signature

Run your thumb along the top of the closed knife and you will feel the filed decoration cut into the spring. On the Laguiole pattern this filework is done by hand along the exposed back of the spring, and it is the fastest way to separate a made knife from a molded one. There is a brass medallion set into the horn, and polished bolsters cap both ends.

Buffalo horn behaves like a natural material

Because it is one. Horn is warm to the touch, takes a deep gloss, and varies from panel to panel — yours may run solid black or carry lighter streaks through it. It is also mildly hygroscopic, which matters for care and is covered below.

The blade is plain forged steel, on purpose

There is no pattern welding here and no attempt to imitate one. It is hand-forged high-carbon steel, brought to a bright finish, with a nail nick for opening. High carbon is the traditional choice for a table knife because it takes a keener edge than stainless at the same hardness, and because it sharpens back quickly on a stone with no fuss.

Care: the horn is the reason this knife should never go in a dishwasher. Heat and detergent will dry horn out, dull it and eventually crack it, and the same cycle will spot the carbon blade. Wash it by hand in warm water, dry it immediately including the pivot, and let it sit open until the pivot is genuinely dry. If the horn ever looks chalky, a fingertip of neutral wax or beeswax brings the gloss straight back. Acidic food left on the blade overnight will grey it.

Questions about the Lyon

Does the blade lock open? No. Traditional Laguioles are slip joints held by spring tension. Close it deliberately with your fingers clear of the path of the blade.

Can I buy these as a matched set? They are sold individually, and because handle materials vary they are best bought as a deliberately mismatched set. Our guide to Laguiole knives covers the pattern’s history and what separates the good ones.

Will the blade discolor? A high-carbon blade in regular use develops a grey patina, which is protective and normal. If you would rather it did not, carbon versus stainless for kitchen knives lays out the trade. For the same pattern with a forged Damascus blade instead of plain steel, see the Caramel Damascus Laguiole.

Model: BMK-625