NONTRON Series NAVETTE Pocket Knife 3-piece Article No. Nontron N38
Overall length 10.0 cm
Blade length 7.5 cm
Blade material 12C27 polished stainless steel
Blade shape medium-pointed
Handle length 10.0 cm
Weight 74 grams
Handle material boxwood with pyro engraving, multiple brass rivets
Jaws polished nickel silver
Blade plate Brass
Opening aid nail nick
Weight 73 grams
Manufacturer NONTRON, France
Search words pocket knife, oldest knife in France, pocket knife, folding, Feitl
Functions
1) Blade large
2) Corkscrew
3) Can opener/cap lifter
4) Lanyard hole
The knifemaker has already fitted a metal lanyard hole so that you can keep the ‘oldest knife in France’ with you for a lifetime if possible. You can attach a cord or chain to this to secure the knife against loss.
NAVETTE means shuttle. Because the cutting tool is small and fits easily into any trouser pocket, it reminded the wealthy bourgeoisie of a gliding weaver's shuttle. Which is also called NAVETTE in French. With this classic, you get a tool for crafts, but also for travelling and hiking, where something needs to be cut, a capsule lifted, a can opened and a wine cork pulled. The NAVETTE is nice. It is one of the ‘Modèles anciens’. Patterns created by former NONTRON knifemakers, which are still produced today as a tribute to the ‘maîtres couteliers’, or master knifemakers. Who say ‘mitre’ instead of ‘cheek’ on a French knife and ‘ressort’ instead of ‘platine’. As soon as they speak of a ‘couteau pliant’. Sounds more elegant than ‘Feitl’. Which is derived from fold, because the pocket knife is foldable. That was a programme with the pointed mouse for adults.
Questions?
Susann Frécôt
kontakt@scharferladen.de
Nontron - the oldest knife in France
rough french handcraft - handle boxwood
N38 -pocket knife Navette Nontron 3-piece
handle length 10 cm , blade T12 stainless steel
Pocket knife multi-part : blade bottle opener corkscrew
In the Middle Ages, the ‘knives from Pierregord’ can be found in records in Paris. As part of their travelling trade, a stay in NONTRON became compulsory for Parisian journeymen in order to perfect their skills. This established a tradition that has lasted for centuries. In 1788, the Bordeaux business register lists 39 cutlers in the Périgord, five of them in NONTRON (then 2800 inhabitants), which stood out for the exceptional quality of their work and employed eight workers. There are reports of remarkable knives, characterised by their small size and exceptional manufacturing quality. They are also exported as curiosities: Miniature knives in walnut or hazelnut shells, which were originally created as a gift from journeymen knifemakers to impress their loved ones. At the beginning of the 20th century, a female NONTRON worker set a bizarre record by placing 154 microscopically small NONTRON knives in a cherry stone. The Bernard company, which was founded in 1780, currently had pocket knives, butcher's knives, table knives, scissors, razors and surgical instruments in its range. The water of the Bandiat guaranteed the special hardening of the steel blades and the boxwood from the surrounding area, the Charante and the Causses du Quércy provided the material from which the handles were turned. It is the densest and hardest of the local woods, often so dense that it no longer floats. It takes 40 to 80 years of growth and maturing, as well as years of drying, to achieve the special stability and fineness of the grain. These qualities are known throughout France. And in his historical novels set in Normandy, La Varende often put these knives in the hands of his protagonists in the 18th century. NONTRON knives were not only very popular in the Parisian underworld, but were also particularly appreciated by the bourgeoisie and aristocrats...
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