Tonneau

The TONNEAU [tɔ.no] got its name from the bulbous shape of its handle, reminiscent of a barrel. Originally and mainly this pocketknife was sold along the Rhône, in the mountains of Beaujolais and around Lyon, a region that celebrates good food, good wines and already southern savoir-vivre. The coutelier Micheron in Chalon-sur-Sâone is considered the inventor of the pocketknife in the 19th century, which explains why it is an integral part of Burgundian culture. Its English blade and its second name CANOT (boat) indicate that, like DONJON and SEURRE, it is one of the special knives that are fascinatingly at home in two worlds, on land and on water ... here TONNEAU, there CANOT.

The fact that it fits in every pocket with a handle length of only 9.5 cm may have contributed to its popularity and distribution. Moreover, the fact that a corkscrew becomes a “couteau à survie”, a “survival knife”, cannot be a mistake in Beaujolais and Burgundy.

Today a TONNEAU is made with stainless bolsters and blades of SANDVIK 12C27. One-piece and two-pieces (blade and corkscrew) were produced for PassionFrance® in the atelier ARTO and at PARAPLUIE. Their handles reflect the regional specialties horn, bone, plum wood and the famous barrel oak from nearby Tronçais. As a sign of their authenticity, they have the PassionFrance® logo, the Coq, and the logo of the respective blacksmith.

Another incidental episode that reveals the deep roots of the knife in culture: until the middle of the last century, employment contracts were not common in rural areas. The word and a handshake counted. Whenever a servant was looking for a new job, he went to a market. If an agreement was reached, there was no signature on a paper, but the new patron handed a new TONNEAU to his new servant. And that sealed the contract.

Model variants:
- Models with and without a corkscrew
- different handle materials
- different designs with and without back decorations 

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