Forschner France?

[eltonmichael45]

I'm pretty familiar with the history of RH Forschner and Victorinox knives but I can't find any information on them being made in France?
Can anyone assist: dates etcetera?

 

[eltonmichael45]

I have two 8" slicers. The NSF approved one above is marked: Made in Chabreloche,France.
The one above: MADE IN FRANCE(on one line)

 

[eltonmichael45]

Ooops..should have been "the one attached:MADE IN FRANCE"

 

[McMan]

As I understand it, Forschner is a distributor not a maker. They distribute Victorinox (made in Switzerland) and also distribute other stuff (like this French-made knife).
A timeline:
https://www.katom.com/learning-center/history-victorinox-forschner.html

 

[eltonmichael45]

Yeah that's what I thought but it seems that at some point( post 1972)they were solely distributing knives made by Victorinox(whose owner was a major stockholder..IF I remember correctly).
Thanks for info and link

 

[eltonmichael45]

Yeah that's what I thought but it seems that at some point( post 1957)they were solely distributing knives made by Victorinox.
Was Victorinox making knives in France as well as Switzerland?

 

[eltonmichael45]

Well I sort of answered my own question here.
I looked up the French town identified on one of the Forschner knives and noted it was in the Thiers district. This note in a travel guide to area ties the Forschners to another famed maker(s)
"The sombre air of medieval Thiers, still best known as the home of the Sabatier knife, belies its centuries of international fame as the capital of French cutlery manufacturing."
My understanding of Sabbatier is that it was a name covering a number of small workshops producing French Cutlery.
I've probably generated way too much information but I do think it's fascinating piece of History worth passing on

 

[Bobby2shots]

My understanding is that Forschner was a North American-market distributor,,, not the "sole" global distributor of Victorinox knives. The very fact that the knives' etchings were in English ("made in, etc") tells you something. Knives manufactured in France for that market, would be labelled "Fabrique en France". Regarding Forschner-labelled knives from France,,, perhaps Forschner was also importing some other brands,, besides Victorinox? I've got a wood-handled paring knife that's at least 40-50 years old, and it's a brand called "Excellent", and labelled "made in France",,, obviously to be sold in an English speaking market. The knife also has the word "Stainless" etched on the blade, where in France it would be labelled "inoxydable."