The world’s largest knife is located in the environs of Thiers!
An unusual idea
Two years ago at the 6th annual cutlery trade fair, “Au fil des lames,” a somewhat crazy project was set into action. This trade fair took place at La Monnerie-Le-Montel (Puy-de-Dôme), which is located a few kilometers from Thiers.
At the beginning of this story, a couple of friends that were, and are to this day, passionate about cutlery and beautiful knives decided to start this project as a joke. This group of friends started taking the project seriously very quickly. They called Chantal Avot the director of a company named Dall’Anese Pascalu as well as a metal manufacturing company, Auvermaint, in the French town of Puy-Guillaume.
The idea of creating the world’s largest knife caught on quickly and the group of individuals soon set themselves the goal of being published in the famous Guinness Book of World Records! They decided to model their giant knife after the Le Thiers® pocketknife, which is the emblematic knife from the region. This decision was made at just the right moment because the Confrérie du couteau LE THIERS®, which has a patent on this knife model, was celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2014. Therefore this giant pocketknife was like a fabulous Birthday present!
Quick fact: This group of individuals beat the previous record that was held by a cutlery company in Nain (located in Saint-Rémy-sur-Durolle) who created a knife spanning 6.50 meters (approx. 21 feet)!
An incontestable technical feat was required for creating a gigantic pocketknife!
It took approximately three weeks of hard work to cut the pieces and assemble the handle and blade, creating this one of a kind pocketknife. This giant knife is 34 times larger than the original Le Thiers® pocketknife! The following lists information about this amazing pocketknife:
- Length: more than 7.75 meters (approx. 25 feet)
- Weight: 240 kilograms (approx. 529 pounds)
- A professional and multitalented team needed to work 140 hours to complete the soldering, cutting and assembling of the knife, excluding the time required for designing the pocketknife
- More than 100 meters (approx. 328 feet) of solder was needed to assemble the pocketknife
- A steel handle and solid stainless steel blade, both of which were coated in stainless steel.
This monumental pocketknife was gifted to the town of La Monnerie-Le-Montel in the presence of the town mayor, Jean-Louis Gadoux, during the inauguration, which took place during the trade fair. At the time Chantal Avot stated: “This project posed a healthy challenge for the two companies and we are very proud of the work we put into it. We wanted to make something original for the trade fair in La Monnerie, give thanks to the town and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Le Thiers® pocketknife.”
The Le Thiers® pocketknife symbolises the inseparable connection between this city in the Auvergne region and cutlery
The Confrérie du Couteau LE THIERS’ ® initiative
This giant replica of a Le Thiers® pocketknife is not just an impressive knife created to be a simple decorative object but a real pocketknife. It is the perfect symbol of the region’s expert knife manufacturing skills and also constitutes a homage to the area surrounding this region which is know world wide as the cutlery capital.
The Confrérie du couteau LE THIERS® created the Thiers pocketknife twenty years ago, which is one of the more recent additions to France’s list of regional pocketknives.
This Confrérie is composed of individuals that are passionate about cutlery. This group developed this pocketknife, which symbolises 700 years of cutlery history from the region, reflects a very high quality design. The Confrérie’s professional members must respect certain production guidelines while promoting a rigorous set of expert skills before they can start creating a knife.
Ever since 1994 the Le Thiers® pocketknife’s popularity has never waned. This pocketknife became so popular that its creators had to obtain a higher level of intellectual property protection (French laws INPI and European law OHMI) in order to prevent counterfeiting and all other types of unfair competition.
Cutlery from the Auvergne region: how to recognize a Le Thiers® pocketknife
Today, one can safely say that the Le Thiers® pocketknife has made its way onto the list of great knives. This pocketknife has been widely accepted by well-informed cutlery amateurs and individuals around the world that are passionate about cutlery.
For individuals that are less enlightened in the subject, there are several easy ways to recognize a true Le Thiers® pocketknife from its vulgar copies:
- By its general form, its curved handle and harmonious design
- By the French and the Thiers region’s logo representing a “T” engraved on the knife
- By the words “Le Thiers®” engraved on the right side of the blade
- By the presence of the manufacturer’s name (obligatory)
It should be noted that there are approximately fifty different styles of Le Thiers® pocketknives. It is up to you to choose your favorite!