Nontron

The Nontronaise cutlery

The Nontronnaise cutlery was created in 1928 and is located in the village of Nontron, in Périgord. Today, the artisanal company has about twenty cutlers and is labeled Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant. It is committed to preserving cutlery know-how in its territory.

The Nontron knife

The Nontron knife is ancestral and is considered the oldest knife in France. This is explained in particular by the fact that this region has all the raw materials necessary for the realization of this tool: iron ore (nontronite), massive boxwood, and even the very cold pure waters of the Bandiat, below the village, for tempering the blades.

The switchblade Nontron was developed in particular during the First World War, at the request of the Ministry of War.

The pyrography patterns, a legend:

The traditional Nontron knife has a woodburned boxwood handle. The patterns consist of "flies": sorts of inverted Vs framed by 3 dots and rows of small dots. The origin is still unknown: it could be religious symbols, a reference to the compasses of the Compagnons du Devoir or something else. It is also this persistent questioning that makes this knife so legendary.

The shape of the knife handle, called the "hoof" shape, as well as the decorations are still present on all the Nontron models in boxwood, pocket as well as office and table.