Before using it for the first time, take pleasure in discovering your new knife and admiring the work of our knife makers. You have just acquired or received a Forge de Laguiole folding knife, we invite you to read our maintenance guide before using it. Your knife needs a minimum of care to stay in good condition and guarantee its longevity.
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A Laguiole knife should not be washed, it must be wiped.
The natural materials of the handle, such as precious woods or horn, are sensitive to humidity; it is therefore preferable to keep your knife in a dry place.
To maintain the mechanism of your folding knife it is necessary to add a drop of oil from time to time (3 in 1 multipurpose oil or a vegetable oil).
With the knife in the closed position, put the oil at the joint between the blade and the spring, open it again so that the oil is applied to the whole mechanism, and finally wipe off the excess oil. For two and three piece knives, you can do the same operation on the corkscrew mechanism and the awl.
To remove food residue, we recommend that you wipe the blade with a soft cloth or sponge that is slightly damp and then wipe it immediately with a dry cloth. To preserve the longevity of the blade you can apply a little oil to create a protective film (food oil).
Our folding knives have a stop, which prevents the blade from pressing into the spring when the knife is closed. When assembling the knife, the knife maker looks for balance in the tension of the blade and the spring. When the knife is closed, the blade can be pressed down and there is a slight springiness. However, the stop does not serve to hold the blade.
It is important not to let the blade snap shut when closing it to avoid blunting the edge with a sudden closure.
For a regular sharpening in order to preserve the optimal quality of the edge of your blade we advise you to sharpen on a natural stone, (moisten the stone for about ten minutes before sharpening) by keeping a sharpening angle of 20°. You will find below a demonstration video.
Be sure to sharpen your knife regularly to keep its edge. If the edge of the blade needs to be revised, we advise you to contact our Forge de Laguiole after-sales service.
Of course, we recommend a normal use of our knife, the blade should not be used as a lever or a screwdriver, which could cause damages not covered by the warranty.
Be careful, however, metal parts can be scratched when in contact with other metal objects (keys, coins…)
We provide repair and after-sales service on all the knives produced in our Forge de Laguiole workshops (subject to the availability of certain raw materials and spare parts).
All our Forge de Laguiole knives are guaranteed against manufacturing defects, under normal use.
Each Forge de Laguiole knife can be maintained (polished, sharpened, repaired) and repaired with care by our knife smiths.
If you would like to call on our after-sales service, you can contact us at contact@forge-de-laguiole.com. Please include a photo of your knife with your request so that we can identify it. Once this initial contact has been made, our team will then tell you the steps to follow for the proper handling of your knife. Be sure to keep all the parts of the knife for as complete an assessment as possible.
For any repair, our after-sales service team will take care to carry out a complete appraisal to send you a detailed estimate, no paying repair will be undertaken without your prior agreement. Please note that no estimate of the cost of repair can be confirmed on the basis of a simple photo.
By following these maintenance tips you will be able to keep your Forge de Laguiole folding knife for many years, and pass it on to future generations!