Manufacturing of a French clasp knife

The manufacturing techniques and terms used for these knives was recorded by Bondaroy in 1763, when he closely observed the cutlery works at St. Etienne-.en-Forez and nearby Charnbon, France:  (*Permission given by Timothy J. Kent's to publish excerpt from "Ft Pontchartrain at Detroit, Volumes I & II - A Guide to the Daily Lives of Fur Trade and Military Personnel, Settlers, and Missionaries at French Posts")

Here is Timothy J. Kent's translation of Bondaroy's works:

 " Folding knives are called jambettes in the country, but are better known in Paris as Eustache Dubois knives, since they were formerly made by a St. Etienne craftsman of that name, who manufactured large quantities of them which were very good, bringing him some fame. Some of his descendants still work in St. Etienne, and their knives bear the same mark. Although knives are produced elsewhere in the Forez region, workshops in St. Etienne and in nearby Chambon manufacture annually 500 to 600,000 livres worth of jambettes, Eustache Dubois knives, dauphine knives, and a la capucine [folding] knives. They also produce table knives and butcher knives amounting to 100,000 livres annually. Everyone is always astonished at the low prices at which the St. Etienne knives sell. They are of extremely simple manufacture, but the blade is of good quality. A craftsman could not subsist if he worked alone; however; the master cutlers .of St. Etienne have organized factories employing 30 or 40 artisans, each one working at only one operation, so that the manufacturing process is performed more quickly, and also more exactly.

The jambettes, Eustache Dubois knives, and dauphine knives are folding knives; that is to say, the blade folds partially into the handle. These knives have only one pin, on which the blade pivots for folding action; when the blade is open, it is held in place by the tang of the blade, which rests against the handle. Others have two pins, one that serves as the pivot and the other as a stop, on which the tang of the blade rests when it is open. These knives are called a la capucine knives, or a deux clous ( 'with two pins' ). They are better fashioned, thus costing a little more than the others. Despite the simplicity of manufacture, all of these knives require a considerable amount of labour; as was mentioned earlier; each knife passes through the hands of many workers, each one doing one specific operation, before they reach the commercial market.

The blades from the Forez region are made entirely of steel which comes from Rives in Dauphine province. The steel is stored in the warehouses at Lyon. It comes in small bars which measure 4 inchs by 1 J h inches by J /2 inch. The bars come in bundles that each weigh 125 pounds. Steel from Rives is generally considered as good by the St. Etienne workers, who say it heats and forges easily. If it is not overheated, it has body, and is easily straightened even when tempered; it takes a good cutting edge when worked properly, and the workers at St. Etienne are good at it. Some of the workers with more experience are more skilled than others; they can even make use of steel bars of inferior quality, and still achieve good results. The steel bars are first flattened to a workable thickness by the tilt- hammers in Chambon. It is ordinarily women or young boys who work the bellows.

The blade is forged on an anvil. Guide marks on the anvil assist the workers in cutting the blade to its correct size and shape. The worker who forges the blade is called the blacksmith. This same man also stamps the name of the maker onto the blade, toward the butt and closer to the back edge, where the blade is thicker: He does this with a steel stamp or die, impressing the name deeply enough so that it will not be erased when the blade goes through the finishing process on the grinding wheel. The tip of the blade on most folding knives is rounded and slightly turned up toward the back edge of the blade; however; those that sell for a lower price have a pointed tip. [These represent the two versions of Siamese knives, as well as other blades which lack a dorsal ridge.] To allow the blade to remain in a straight open position, the butt is cut slantwise, and a small knob resembling a nail head is forged onto the side that forms an angle with the back edge of the blade. This knob rests on the handle, and prevents the blade from leaning backward. A hole is made through the blade with a punch; it is more quickly done with a punch than with a drill, but it does not do as neat a job. The butt of the blade is joined to the handle by means of an iron pin, which passes through both the handle and the blade.

The two-pin knife, which is also termed an a la capucine knife, is somewhat different from the one- pin sort. The blade is a little longer; and usually terminates. in a point. Otherwise, it is manufactured in the same manner; except for the butt of the blade. As was explained earlier; the blade of the one-pin knife is held in a straight open position by a small knob or button on the butt of the tang, which rests against the handle. However; when this knife is folded, the knob protrudes, and sometimes hurts one's hand or tears one's pockets. Therefore, another model was designed, in order to eliminate the knob. The top edge of the butt of the blade of the two-pin knife is notched, to form a type of tooth or extension [corner], which rests against the second pin to hold the blade open. This second pin is located slightly to the rear and a little higher than the one on which the blade pivots. The centre portion of the butt is rounded, so that it will not touch the second rivet while pivoting. The only difference between the two sorts of knives lies in the shape of the butt of the blade. In the case of a spring knife, the notch or extension stops against the head of the spring.

In mounting a folding knife, the head of the handle, where the blade will be mounted, is sawed crosswise from edge to edge, to allow the blade to pivot freely; then the handle is sawed lengthwise on one edge, as deep as the centre of the handle. Another worker punches a hole through the blade for the pin axis. A piece of slender iron rod is passed through the handle and the blade, and cut off beyond the sides of the handle [on a knife that will receive pin washers]. Both of the projecting ends of the rod are then bent in various directions with pliers; a brass eye or rosette [washer] is placed over each folded end of the rod, which is then flattened. The rosettes which are used in St. Etienne are made of brass. The cutlers there do not make these items themselves. They are made from strips of brass which come from Germany. A notch is carved into the back edge of the handle, aligned with the position of the knob on the butt of the blade when it is in its open position. So much for the one- pin knife. The two-pin knife is mounted in the same manner; except that, instead of a notch in the handle, a second hole is drilled through the handle, to accommodate the pin that serves as a stop when the blade is open.

Wholesale prices of knives made at St. Etienne-en- Forez, as they were quoted in 1763 by Sieur Laforge, cutler of that place:

With wooden handles: The smallest and most common knives, with a moulded handle, called jambettes or dauphine knives, 1.5 to 2 to 2.25 livres per gross

Knives of the one-pin sort, with a spotted Beachwood handle, 3 to 3.5 livres per gross .

Knives of the one-pin sort, with a boxwood handle, 4.5 livres per gross

 Knives with a pointed blade, with a yellow boxwood handle, 5 to 6livres per gross

Penknives, with a straight boxwood handle, 5 to 6 livres per gross

Knives with a dauphine, Montpelliel; or France-style blade, with one or two pins, with a moulded beechwood handle, 3 to 12 livres per gross

Knives with a square or sickle-shaped curved blade, with a molded beechwood handle, 4 to 12 livres per gross, depending upon size and quality

Knives with a long, sturdy, sickle-shaped curved blade, proper for cutting vines [pruning knives], with a boxwood handle, 12 livres per gross

Knives with a boxwood handle and a fork [combination tool], 15 to 18 livres per gross

With horn handles:

Knives with a Montpellier or dauphine-style blade, with a moulded handle of bull horn, 6 to 15 livres per

gross

Knives with a Montpellier or dauphine-style blade, with a moulded handle of white sheep horn, 7 to 20 livres per gross

Knives from Chambon of the two-pin sort with a pointed blade, with a handle of bull horn that is neither moulded or polished, 7 to 20 livres per gross

Knives of the two-pin sort with a pointed blade, with a handle of polished black sheep horn, 15 to 36livres per gross " ¹

Here are illustrations from Fougeroux de Bondaroy, L'Art du coutelier en ouvrages communs, showing the different steps in manufacturing a Capucin, Serpette, Jambette or kitchen knife knife.

(Above )The "Forge" or "blacksmith shop".	(Above )The "Forge" or "blacksmith shop" (Part II).
(Above )The sharpening process.	(Above )Manufacturing of the knife handles.
(Above )Molding knife handles using hot metal molds.	(Above )Working of the horn for the handles of the knives.
(Above ) Assembly of the handles with the blades.

1. Blades

David Ledoyen (reenactor) from Montreal wrote an interesting theory regarding the creation of these clasp knives from the design and crafting perspective.

First, I noticed that all the "couteaux à lentille" blades (lentille = lens: the stopper in the shape of a nail’s head) are cut and ground from the same basic strip of steel (excepted the strongly curved blade of horticultural purpose). Have a look to the fig.1 in L’Art du Coutelier. You will see a long and narrow trapezium of steel. If the long sides would be elongated to make a triangle, the sharpest angle will be 5°.

From this strip, the blade maker will first cut and grind the tip. It is easier to do when you can still handle firmly a long piece of metal. After, the craftsman will cut the heel of the blade, always with the SAME ANGLES. He will also forge the "lentille". Fig. 2 to 6 in L’Art du Coutelier.

The first blade is “hawk bill” blade. A common knife, the easies to make among the couteaux a lentille.

The second is the “long clip point”. This shape is parent style of the Opinel and Laguiole knives and today it is called “Yatagan blade” in France. To be only descriptive, one could call it a couteau à dos busqué.

The third blade is the “long leaf style” that is now called en feuille de saule (in the shape of willow leaf).

Fourth is only a little more rounded. This blade is on fig. 6 in L’Art du Coutelier.

The fifth blade is pointed like a table knife. It is quite unusual but it showed up at the Kaskaskia site.

The couteau à lentille may also be called the couteau à un clou (”one nail knife”, but clou (nail) refers in fact to the pin) because it has only one pin that will maintain the blade and act as its axis.  But there was also couteaux a deux clous (two pins knives). One will be the axis and have brass rosettes (washers); the second will be the stopper for the blade heel. The couteau à  deux clous would not need a lentille on its back.  The couteau a deux clous is pictured in l’Art du Coutelier on fig. 10, 18 and 19.

Specimens were found at Fort Chambly, Louisbourg, Carillon & Ticonderoga.

2. Handles
 

A. Horn handles

Some French clasp knife handles shipped to New-France or the colonies in the 17th and 18th century were made from a one-piece horn with no lining. 

Take note of the horns lying on the ground in this 18th century Dutch cutler's workshop.

Here below Henri C. Landrin explains the use of the different types of horns used for knifemaking (1835).¹⁰

 

The knifemakers would ordinarily use four types of horns.

1. Sheep horns would be used for "Capucine" knives and folding knives (canif) and for those called Eustache.

2. Ram horns for razors.

3. Cow horns for pocket spring type knives (couteau à resort) , kitchen knives and lard-cutting knives (tranche-lards).

4. Deer or antler horns for "serpette" handles, "voituriers" knives and various other knives.

Sheep horns would generally be the color of the animal it was taken from: it is black if the sheep is black, white if the sheep is white, spotted if the sheep's fur was spotted which is also called "perches".  These horns have inside of them a core that the peasants call "cornichon" or pickle, which acts like a sponge and keeps the humidity within the horn.   It is best to remove it once the horn is completely dry. 

Sheep horns are sometimes twisted in a spiral shape and like that of a snail.  They are naturally soft and tend to buckle.  We can try and heat and work them with great care although they always preserve their softness.   This is why sheep horns are not used in the manufacture of "switch blade" knives (couteaux à ressort); but only in the Eustache Dubois and in the two pin folding knives, as well as with the "capucine" knives. 

The French blades found on Red River sites apparently came up the Mississipi from New Orleans to Fort St. Louis de Kadohadacho which was established by La Hape in 1719,and were dispensed from there:

"One gross of clasp knives with horn handles" is among the goods requested in 1702 for the Illinois Missions.⁷

B. Beechwood

Wood would of also been used for the handle as it was cheaper and easier to come by than horn.  Most French clasp knife were sold at a very low price and it would be very likely that the handle might of been made out of woods indigenous to the region around St.Etienne, hence beechwood.

C.Pagé states on the knifemaking traditions from St.-Étienne regarding "jambette" knives:

"The handles made out of beechwood, are made in the mountains at a distance of 2 or 3 "lieues" of Saint-Etienne and are sent to the shops at a price of 30 "centimes" for each grosse (144) for the smaller ones and 75 "centimes" the larger ones; we blacken them by placing them in hot iron molds..."

C. Boxwood or "Buis" handles

Some clasp knife handles however could of been made from boxwood which is a stable wood that is dense and lovely, creating the perfect handle material. This type of wood is still being used in France with Nontron type folding knives. 

The woods known as "boxwood" contain many different species, from several families. These woods are generally characterized as being hard, heavy and tough, with a fine, smooth texture. They are utilized for a variety of tasks where they show little wear over time, such as printing blocks, rulers, mallets, tool handles, etc.

Where these knives shipped to New-France with handles or without handles?

Back in the 1961, an underwater search conducted at Double Rapids on the French River out of Lake Nipissing and the artifacts that were found are all dated late 1600's to mid 1700's. The finds are now in the Royal Ontario Museum.  (Underwater finds in the French River, Doris K.Megill, Ontario Department of lands and forests, Ottawa, August, 1964).  Among the artifacts were French clasp knives.   I decided to email Mr. Macfie who was a very important participant in the underwater search conducted at Double Rapids in 1961 and asked him a few questions.  Here is the transcript of that email (April, 2004)

Q (K.Gladysz): In the article "Underwater finds in the French River, Doris K.Megill, Ontario Department of lands and forests, Ottawa, August, 1964", it is said that you had found many kettles, axes, knives and the likes. Were the axes or knives equipped with any of the original handles?

A (J.Macfie): The knives were equipped with handles, which were well preserves. I have the two halves of one handle, and darned if I know if they are wood or bone. Most likely wood that was preserved by their proximity to the iron in their blades. I don't have one of the blades, but I remember that Walter Kenyon said makers' marks were visible on some when they were derusted at the ROM.

 

Q (K.Gladysz): Is there any other information you would like to share about your experience in finding these relics as far as certain details that could help us better understand a) packing methods or b) types of items that were more prominent in the canoes driven by the French tradesman? (I understand that flints were found pre-bundled up with strike-a-lights or steel strikers ready to be traded with the natives)

A (J.Macfie):The knives were tightly bundled into compact square blocks with half the blades at one end and half the other to save space. From the pictures it appears there were nine to 12 in a bundle. If they were clasp knives as opposed to fixed-blade knives, they certainly weren't folded for shipping.

3. Rivet construction

I have in my collection a dug up authentic 18th French clasp knife blade with brass washers and an iron pin still intact and on the blade.  This confirms that the rivet construction was in fact brass for the washer and iron for the pin on some specimens.

The specimen found at Louisbourg did not have any brass washers but had very simple iron rivets securing the blade to the handle.

Bondaroy goes on to say :  "a brass eye or rosette [washer] is placed over each folded end of the rod, which is then flattened. The rosettes which are used in St. Etienne are made of brass. The cutlers there do not make these items themselves. They are made from strips of brass which come from Germany" ¹

¹Timothy J. Kent, "Ft Pontchartrain at Detroit, Volumes I & II", Silver Fox Enterprises, 2001.