Refurbished Au Nain 10″ Tranchelard Slicer Carbon Beech Rosette 1950s

Re-tipped (shortened to 10″ from 14.25″) slicer made by Au Nain in St Remy adjoining Thiers in the heart of French knifemaking. These were hand forged to draw out the blade and tang after being drop forged and then hand ground, with brass and steel rosette riveted dyed beechwood handles. They have been re-tipped to be a more managable size and thinned along the tip to bring them back to correct geometry. 

In the later part of the 19th century the industrial drop forge was introduced into Thiers and the Canadian pattern was developed with a full tang and short bolster. A smaller rope and pulley hand operated drop forge had been in use for folding knife blades but with the growing popularity of eating with table knives over the previous personal folding knives in the mid 19th century the drop forge both sped production and encouraged new designs on larger knives.

These knives were made in Theirs, France most likely in the 1950s given the rosette rivets, possibly made earlier. They are thin and light being hand forged on an old style ‘Martinet’ mechanical hammer after being drop forged and then ground by hand, very similarly to how these knives were made originally in the 19th century, sadly, these techniques and equipment are now long gone.

They are lighter and springier than their modern contemporaries with great cutting feel and are super easy to sharpen, don’t over-polish them with fine Japanese stones, these do better with a coarser edge (equivalent to 1000 Japanese grit stone) and kept up with a fine honing steel. The advice to use a steel before you use your knife is the result of these kind of knives in a busy professional kitchen; steel them once you feel the edge starting to lean to one side.

Being handmade there are slight differences between knives and they may have slight imperfections that would be consistent with handmade knives of their day such as a slight waviness in edge and small bends, there can also be imperfections and small gaps in handle etc. They are not ‘perfect’ by strict standards but are still great knives.

If you can deal with these small issues you are rewarded with a knife that has a great cutting feel and is truly a piece of history!

Keep dry when not in use to avoid rust, carbon steel will naturally develop a patina with use.