Yssingeaux

L’YSSINGEAUX. Embedded in the volcanic landscape of the Massif-Central, the city that gives the pocketknife its name is surrounded by numerous, sugar-hat-shaped volcanic cones. Its name, which looks like a tongue twister, is easy to pronounce, "Esengshoh" or in phonetic spelling [i.sɛ̃.ʒo]. Historians attribute it to a Germanic occupant "Isingaud" in the 5th century. In the regional dialect they say «Los Cinc Jalhs», which means «the five roosters», because the city's coat of arms shows five roosters ... which we like very much because PassionFrance® itself has the rooster as a heraldic animal.

The roots of the knife YSSINGEAUX lie in the 18th or early 19th century. It has a straight handle with an end called "bec de corbin" (raven's beak), a Bourbonnaise blade and a spring that is sometimes made with, mostly without, mouche. The knife is the progenitor of a large family of pocketknives, which includes SAINT-MARTIN, ROQUEFORT, MARCHAND-DE-VIN, ISSOIRE and BRIOUDE. And above all, it developed into, what is perhaps the most famous French knife, the LAGUIOLE. At first the LAGUIOLE-DROIT, which got the straight handle from it, later the LAGUIOLE curved its handle.

The YSSINGEAUX is extremely handy, versatile, robust and will be used as a pocket knife for entire generations of farmers, citizens and the nobility. With the "routiers", the traveling traders from the Auvergne, who traveled with horse-drawn carts through France and as far as Spain, trading in Auvergne specialties, this knife spread far beyond the borders of the Auvergne to the big cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille . It was only the LAGUIOLE that challenged him for this primacy. But this is another story. The YSSINGEAUX remained dominant and is currently experiencing a real renaissance.

Up until now, blacksmiths friends like ARTO and AU SABOT have made the YSSINGEAUX for PassionFrance®.

We are currently producing a new edition of the large model with 11cm handle length and a newimproved fourniture in our atelier in Thiers. The blades made of 12C27 have a long back bevel à l'entablure and do no longer touch the spring. The handles of fine buffalo bone have rivets whose heads diligentla are formed with mushroom heads. A CUSTOM model with a front bolster made of hand-forged mosaic Damascus steel by Philippe Ricard is already available. If you are interested, please request pictures of which mosaic pattern is available.

Model variants:
- different sizes 9cm and 11cm
- different handle materials
- different designs with and without decorations 

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