The Knife Makers of Thiers

In the Puy-de-Dôme department of Auvergne, in the heart of France, lies Thiers—a city renowned throughout the country as the historic capital of the cutlery industry. For more than seven centuries, the skilled craftsmen of Thiers have supplied both domestic and professional kitchens in France and abroad with essential steel cutlery, especially knives. The origins of knife-making in Thiers likely date back to the Middle Ages, with the first documented mention of local cutlers appearing in the 15th century. Yet nothing inherently destined this Auvergne town for such a vocation. Thiers lacked both iron ore for blades and sandstone for grinding wheels. What it did have was the fast-flowing Durolle River, whose energy powered waterwheels and machinery, and a tenacious, hard-working population, who toiled in the fields during summer and turned to blade-making in the winter months. Long before Henry Ford pioneered the assembly line, the division of labour had already taken root in Thiers, where specialists focused on different stages of the knife-making process—from blade shaping to final assembly. Steel bars were first processed by martinaires , who thinned them using trip hammers powered by the Durolle River. Blacksmiths then forged the knife components, which were subsequently passed on to filers, drillers, grinders, and polishers, who sharpened and polished the blades on river-driven grindstones. Manufacturers tempered the blades, while handle-makers supplied the handles. Final assembly was typically carried out by workers in the suburbs of Thiers. Since the Middle Ages, working conditions in the cutlery industry have been notoriously harsh and physically demanding. To spare themselves the hunched, painful posture common in other trades, knife grinders often worked lying prone on their stomachs as they sharpened blades against rotating grindstones. While this unusual position helped prevent back injuries and improved efficiency, it came with serious risks.