Very early, Man invented steel blades, resistant and sharp. Throughout history, Thiers, a town in Auvergne through which the Durolle flows, has forged the title of French capital of cutlery. Table or kitchen knives… are produced here in a variety of shapes, combining tradition and modernity.
A small geographical location to begin with: to the east of Puy-de-Dôme, in the Regional natural park Livradois-Forez, the town of Thiers borders the Loire, close to Clermont-Ferrand, this sub-prefecture is a gate entry to the Auvergne region from Lyon. It is located on the border between the Limagne plain and the foothills of the Forez massif. The Durolle flows at the foot of the town before flowing into the Dore.
Thiers, capital of cutlery
Thiers is the cutlery capital with 70% of national production, despite the restructuring that has taken place. Mechanization replaces the “cutlery culture”, shrinks the workforce and changes jobs.
But the region has lived up to the challenge and different sectors have developed there:
- deformation activities of metals : 3e national center of forging, stamping, upsetting, rolling, extrusion spinning, cutting stamping, heat treatment. About forty companies occupy this sector, including more than a dozen forges.
- mechanical activities: machining, cutting tools, bar turning, sheet metal work, surface preparation, polishing, electrochemistry, weldingfor about fifty companies.
These techniques are applied to the most sophisticated metals: steel, Stainless steel, alloys specials, titanium… and new techniques: CADCAD/CAM, CAPM, EDI, automation, robotization have been integrated into it. A number of artistic knife workshops are also located in the region and one can visit workshops and forges and participate in the festival.
Two other remarkable sites to see to complete the visit:
- Châteldon: this town has many assets to seduce. The architectural heritage of the medieval town and the notoriety of its mineral water known throughout the world since Louis XIV.
- Lezoux: the small town hosts the departmental museum of ceramics opened in March 2007, rue de la République in Lezoux. Built on a band rich in clayLezoux exploited the land around the 1er century BC It was with the Romans that a ceramic manufacturing activity developed, including sigillata ceramics, with relief decoration obtained by molding. The term sigillée (seal) is explained by the potters’ stamps and 1,200 names have thus been identified! Thanks to an efficient network, the sigillata, quite luxurious, was exported throughout the empire. This is how we find it today in Great Britain, Switzerland, Romania, Poland…
Through this file, you will be able to discover Thiers, the capital of cutlery, the steels used to make knives, forging, currying, a typical Sabatier company…