Last week at my wine group lunch at Oyster (35 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 300 Vic +61 3 9650 0988) I couldn’t help but notice the steak knives.
They have the classic shape and even the trademark bee.
But sorry, these are not Laguiole but a blatant copy by Maxwell & Williams.
I am very surprised that they have got away with it, or do they have a licensing deal with Laguiole?
This is what the Laguiole website says:
“Laguiole is worldwide known with the cutlery.
Laguiole knives and Laguiole brand were created over the last century. The brand is easily recognizable by the bee inlayed on each knife.”
This is what the Maxwell & Williams website says:
“All MAXWELL & WILLIAMS products are made from the finest quality materials available. We source manufacturers of the highest repute to work closely with our team of Australian based designers and we proudly stand by the quality of the products we deliver, providing you with as much information about your purchase as possible.”
I couldn’t find the knives on the Maxwell & Williams website. Anyway I’ve asked them via email. Will they respond?
UPDATE: A reply from Maxwell & Williams. Obviously, copyright reared its ugly head:
“Thank you for your enquiry on our Maxwell & Williams range of homewares.
To answer your questions, the Maxwell & Williams range of ‘Laguiole’ steak knives were made in our factories in China. They are a ‘Laguiole’ style knife. And unfortunately they are now part of a deleted line. This range was discontinued approximately 6 months ago, and any remaining stock was sold via participating stores.”
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Bonjour !
Laguiole is NOT a trademark. There is NO “Laguiole website” although there are dozens of merchants and several real makers in France …or China. More infos about that “swindle” on our website FAQ’s : http://www.fontenille-pataud.com/faquk.php
best greetings – Gilles
To know more about how the Laguiole cutlery is handcrafted, there are a lot of handcrafting pictures here : Laguiole.com
Can you recommend a Melbourne retailer that would sell authentic Laguiole cutlery?
Kind regards
I don’t know in Melbourne but you can buy directly onto http://www.laguiole.com and be delivered to Melbourne by FedEx.
We can discuss if you want a specific Laguiole knife, I can send you close picture of the knives…etc…
we can also engrave your name on the blade etc…
Don’t hesitate to contact me, we will handcraft your knife especially for you.
thanks.
Richard
I think you’ll find you can buy them from The Esential Ingredient at Prahran Market and I’ve seen them for sale in the foyer of Vue de Monde.
I don’t know about these 2 shops…but just take care about one thing… a lot of famous stores buy their cutlery in France for a cheap price from French companies which import their Laguiole knives from china.
So, it is very difficult to know, for these great companies, that they buy made in china products (because they bought the cutlery in France).
For the customer, it is easy to recognize a made in china laguiole because they are very light (when you say that a made in France laguiole is more heavy). However, it is more difficult to recognize a made in pakistan laguiole because weight is similar but only details could help you to recognize it : difference on rivets, quality of steel different…
One easy thing that help you to recongnize a made in china / pakistan Laguiole is the cheap price. When price is low, you are sure to buy one of these knives.
richard
Richard they sell proper ones . One is the top restaurant here where ferran adria ate last Saturday. The other a top equipment supplier.
ed, who cares where Ferran Adria eats.
And real Laguiole knives can only be bought from the small manufacturers in France.
Cobber,
Even if you aren’rinterested nearly 5,000 came out to see FA when he was here. it is those Laguiole from small manufacturers in France that are available through several shops here. I’m lucky enough to have one of the corkscrews.
hello everybody,
if you are interested to see how genuine Laguiole knives (made in Laguiole knives) are handcrafted, I just published a video here :
Laguiole Handcrafting Video
I made myself the video !
richard