887a5834Thiers’ destiny as a knife-making capital was not predetermined. It was the presence of the Durolle River and its steep gradient that enabled certain industries to flourish in the Middle Ages. It powered flour mills, tanners’ fulling machines, papermakers’ mallets and… the tools needed for cutlery.
By the 15th century, a quarter of Thiers workers were cutlers, and Thiers products were exported to many countries. However, it wasn’t until the end of the 16th century, with the creation of the jurande, a statute regulating the profession, that Thiers established itself as a renowned cutlery town.
Cutlery workshops, initially located below the old town in what is now the valley of the factories, gradually spread along the river to the wild gorges above Thiers, known as the valley of the spinning wheels. With the advent of electricity and the mechanization of certain tasks, the traditional production system was modernized. These workshops contributed to the rise of Thiers, the knife capital, and to its worldwide reputation.
At the time, there were other cutlery production areas in France, but Thiers stood out thanks to the parcellisation of work: each step in the knife-making process was “subcontracted” to a specialized worker, saving time and increasing productivity compared to other competitors.In the Middle Ages, Thiers cutlers used materials from the best French quarries: the wood used for handles came from Bois Noirs in the Thiers mountains. Iron and steel were imported from the Nivernais, Burgundy and Dauphiné regions, while grinding wheels came from the Langeac quarries in the Haute-Loire region.
