The Coutellerie Goyon-Chazeau
The city of Thiers, the capital of French knife making
Thiers, a small town in Auvergne, idyllically situated on the small but wild river located in Durolle. This is exactly where the center of French cutlery art developed centuries ago. All of France’s high quality and beautifully designed kitchen knives are made here. We wanted to see it all with our own eyes, get to know the knife manufacturers and the people behind them. On our trip to Thiers we learned a lot about steel and handle materials, manufacture, hardness and cut. But the special thing was to feel the spirit that drives the knife makers.
Three generations of Goyon-Chazeau
The starting point of the success story of the knife manufacturer Goyon-Chazeau can be pinpointed. In October 1953, Solange Chazeau and Gabriel Goyon tied the knot in front of the assembled congregation. From then on, the young couple operated under the name Goyon-Chazeau. Her main business was to offer her services as a cutlery polisher. Polishing cutlery is an underrated art. A good polisher grinds the flaws of her predecessor out of the hilt and blade. It gives the knives, forks and spoons the necessary shine. Only then is the cutlery ready for sale. The two soon made a name for themselves as polishers in the high-end sector.
Welding stainless steel
As a second mainstay, the company specialized in the welding of stainless steel. The welding technology enables the companies in Thiers to seamlessly connect blades made of the hardest steel with formed stainless steel parts and handles. The most important knife manufacturers in Thiers used this highly specialized range of craftsmanship from the Goyon-Chazeau company.
The young couple did not remain alone for long. In 1953 their son Denis was born. He practically grew up in his parents’ cutlery and knife workshop. He soon helps out between blades and handles, machines and cutlery boxes. The spirit of Thiers, the passion for making knives also infected him. In 1973 he officially joined his parents’ cutlery workshop. The old workshop no longer offered enough space for three employees and other machines, especially since the order situation kept increasing.
A small manufacture
The family decided to expand. A small factory building was built at the foot of the family home. On December 30, 1975, the new production site was moved under the company name SARL Ets Goyon-Chazeau.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the cutlery industry experienced a real boom. The demand for high-quality cutlery, stainless steel and silver cutlery was high.
Goyon Chazeau benefited from the boom in the industry as a subcontractor for the big such as Martial Soucille, Etablissements Rimbert, Besset Laroche, Frionnet-François and Couzon.
The second generation
Deni’s wife, Christine, begins an apprenticeship in the family business in 1978 and then joins the company. The young couple develops ideas to give the company a new direction. After a long cooperation, the parents handed over the baton to the children in October 1988. The second generation distracts from the fortunes. Not an easy time for the European knife and cutlery industry, as cheap products from Asia are entering the market. Denis and Christine boldly put their faith in a new product line. Decades of experience in welding cutlery enables them to produce the first knives made entirely of stainless steel. The series was launched in 1992 under the name Laguiole GOYON-CHAZEAU.
All steel knife
The success of the first all-steel knife in the Laguiole style confirmed Denis and Christine in their plans. Until 1994 the company a fully forged line of Laguiole table knives. The Le THIERS® knives are presented with a small catalog at the “Maison et Objet” fair in Paris. In the 2000s, Denis presented another new creation. The Styl’ver® series. The Styl’ver knives are shaped according to ergonomic principles. The form fit between hand and handle is adjusted so that you hold the kitchen knife in your hand permanently and securely without tiring. The range of cutlery is not only expanding in the field of pocket knives, but also increasingly in the kitchen and chef’s knives.
The third generation
Christine and Denis daughter Magali is getting married. Her husband Vincent Soucille, who has many years of experience in the sale of cutlery joins the company in 2011. He is a strong motor of further commercial development of the company. Magali who participated in the Buisiness School, then worked for twelve years as a marketing and communications manager in her parents’ business, taking over the management of the company in 2017. It strengthens the reputation of Goyon Chazeau as a producer of the best quality knives beyond the borders and makes the brand internationally known.
The kitchen knives
TYPEMYKNIFE® offers two fantastic knife series from Goyon-Chazeau in its shop. The Le Thiers series and the unique F1 carbon kitchen knives . All knives can be designed in the 3D configurator and can be inscribed in deep black using laser engraving technology become.
Goyon Chazeau Le Thiers Santoku 17 cm
Goyon-Chazeau F1 Carbon Santoku 17 cm
