Glossary

On a folding knife, it is the end of the spring, towards the blade. Originally flat and raw, the cutlers then carved floral decorations, animal or emblematic decorations
Laguiole knives most often present a bee decoration

The bolster is the part between the blade and the handle.
GOYON-CHAZEAU bolsters are forged bolsters ; Blade, bolster and tang are shaped in the same piece of steel
The bolster bring a notion of weight and balance to the cutlery piece.

Other types of bolsters exist on the market : molded, inserted, welded, hollow bolsters…

Decoration made ton the spring edge
GOYON-CHAZEAU proposes 2 kinds of chiselling : machine chiselling and handmade chiselling

Sharp part of the blade, intended to cut

They are the blades foe knives, prongs for forks, bowls for spoons

Cutlery pieces, complementary pieces
These are all the pieces that can be added to the dinner set (dessert knife, fork and spoon, fish set, ladle, cake server, salad serving set…)

Damascus is a material resulting from the mixing of differents steel lays. This, forms a mixture that make each piece unique
Damas steels, when they are made in the art’s rules, are stronger, harder and more edged

Nowadays, damas steel is produced in two different ways, both proposed by GOYON-CHAZEAU :
The industrial damas comes from powder metallurgy. Damascus drawings are technically mastered.
The handmade damascus is made by a blacksmith who will weld several shades of metals with each other. Hammered, turned, folded or stretched multiple times, the mixture will gradually draw shapes in the mass
The handmade damascus used by GOYON-CHAZEAU is made by several master blacksmiths.

It is the final appearance of the stainless steel
GOYON-CHAZEAU proposes :
– Brilliant (or mirror) finish: steel is polished to perfection and reflects as a mirror
– Matt or brushed finish: steel has many surface streaks to give a matt aspect
– Sandblasted finish : steel presents a granular surfaced which also give a matt aspect

Small piece of steel placed horizontally in the hollow of the handle of a folding knife. It stops the blade when it closes before it touches the spring.

Locking mechanism for closing knife blades by which the spring, which has a bulge, is wedged in a notch on the heel of the blade
Both hands are needed to disengage the system by pressing both the blade and the handle

Method of working hot or cold metal by deformation with the use of an impact tool and a support.
Forged knives and cutlery are known for their balance, robustness, efficiency and longevity.

Material pad(wood, acrylic, horn …) which is fixed on the tang or the liners and form the handle

Hardening, oftenly signify all the quenching, that is to say the heat treatment (hardening + tempering), done on the blade
Hardening consists in suddenly cooling a blade brought to high temperature by immersion in water or in a specific oil. This improves the quality of the steel and increases the hardness
It is supplemented by “tempering”, which consists of heating the tempered steel and cooling it slowly to make it more malleable and resistant to shocks and deformations

Steel hardness obtained after heat treatment and which is measured, in cutlery field, in Rockwell HRC
Below 52HRC, steel is too soft to give sharp to the knife
Above 60HRC, steel becomes more fragile and brittle and make the sharpening very difficult to maintain

Final action, performed on the cutting edge, aiming to evacuate all deposits remaining on the cutting edge to obtain a perfectly polished cutting edge and therefore the best cut

Plates, mostly in stainless steel, which sometimes serve as support for handle sides and/or welded bolsters
They are placed on the tang, provide rigidity and strength to the handle and protect the fragile materials that can not be fixed directly on the tang. They finally add weight to the knife and make it more qualitative

Ornament made by planting small nails on the handle

Demarcation line at the end of the cutting edge just before the handle. It is formed during the grinding and shows the thickness that has been removed from the blade to make the cutting edge

Knife that does not have a bolster

Action performed on the cutting edge, after grinding, to give it a suitable thickness for cutting

Said of a knife or cutlery article fully made in stainless steel and (hot or cold) forged in a single piece of steel, without any welding.

Mechanical part that allows opening and closing of blades on certain folding knives
GOYON-CHAZEAU proposes 3 kinds of the springs : Plain forged spring, forged spring with machine chiselling or forged spring with forged bee and handmade chiselling

Riveting is one assembling and fixing principle to place and maintain the handle on the tang. The rivet, a metal cylinder, is placed in force to hold the parts together

Extension of the blade in the handle to fix it
Several types of tangs exist: Narrowing tang, partial tang, half tang…, which only occupy a part of the handle, and the full tang which occupies all the handle
A full tang is a guarantee of quality, strength and balance