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Perched on a rocky spur above the Durolle valley, Thiers has been making knives since the Middle Ages. The river made it all possible: rushing down the gorges, it turned the wheels that drove the grindstones and machines of the workshops, lined up along what is still called the vallée des Usines (the valley of factories). The town's most famous trade is that of the grinder. In the early 20th century, these men sharpened knives lying flat on their stomachs above the grindstone, often with their dog lying on their legs to keep them warm. A knife passed from hand to hand, from the forge to the polishing, each step entrusted to a specialist. Today Thiers is considered the French capital of knife-making, and its Musée de la Coutellerie (Cutlery Museum) tells this story. It is here that we have our knives, our board and our bread basket made, from design to finishing, and our saber with a partner cutler.

Photo: Lethiernois, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.