All Farol knives have been manufactured in La Rochelle since 1996. This brand was imagined by a sailor, Sylvain Berthommé during one of his stopovers in the Azores. Marked by the history of the whalers, he had the idea to shape the handle of his knife in the shape of a sperm whale. From this first prototype was born a range under the brand name Farol, a flagship in Portuguese.
Before the sailor's knife was made with a plastic handle and a stainless steel blade. Sylvain who loves beautiful objects transforms it to be both beautiful and efficient. For a sailor the knife is an indispensable object, which must remain close to the hand and always efficient to be able to cut a rope in case of security.
Farol knives are all made entirely in La Rochelle. The handles are made in many wood species, either local woods chosen for their quality (boxwood, yew, olive tree...) or precious exotic woods. Farol's job is to highlight these woods, combined with a metal part (steel) also made in La Rochelle.
20 years after the beginning of the adventure, Farol knives are known all over the world by the people who sail them, but also by the luxury shops that distribute them. Since the first Cachalot model, other models have been developed as table knives. In all cases the object must be beautiful, practical and robust with pleasant to touch materials for the handle and high quality stainless steel for the blade. To achieve this result, the knives are manufactured by enthusiasts who have become specialists over the years.
The manufacture of these knives is entirely artisanal, no stage is automated. The manufacture of a folding knife requires several dozen successive manual operations. The blades of the knives are, for almost all the proposed models, manufactured in La Rochelle either under treatment or directly in the Farol workshop.
The blades are made of stainless steel. Farol has chosen to use mainly Swedish 12c27 steel, a steel with a very fine carbide grain, which allows a good hand sharpening on a stone.
The blades of the folding knives are cut with a press, the woods are cut, shaped and polished by hand, each Farol knife is a unique piece, manufactured and assembled piece by piece in the workshops of the Auction and La Pallice.
This traditional manufacture, its ergonomic shapes, the best steels and beautiful wood species make Farol knives as pleasant to use as they are to look at.
