Laguiole, France is synonomous with cutlery.
Located in the Aubrac region of Southern France, the tiny town has an outside reputation for its slender table and folding pocket knives characterized by a stylized bee fixed at the top of the spine at the blade’s base. Once the essential tool of the region’s shepherds and farmers (each region had its own unique style of utility knife), the iconic design can now be found everywhere, including Michelin restaurants. Goyon Chazeau, a small family run company in nearby Thiers (the epicenter of France’s knife production) started off as polishers for other knife producers in but later saw an opening in stainless steel designs and began manufacturing their own lines.