Kitchen Knives to Straight Razors: the Evolution of the Thiers Issard Brand

Kitchen Knives to Straight Razors: the Evolution of the Thiers Issard Brand

Today, the French brand Thiers Issard evokes images of superbly crafted, precise and durable straight razors, made with noble materials and adorned with beautiful, elegant designs. But the cutlery manufacturer’s history started down a different path, with the entrepreneurial vision of a forger at the end of the 19th century.

Mr. Pierre Thiers, was already well known for his craft when he decided to start a razor company around 1880. Another thing he was famous for was his strength: he was able to pick up 2 sacks of 75 kilos each at once, one in each hand. But we’re certainly glad good fortune had him focus on his business instead of showing off his brute force at a circus act.

In 1905, the company bought a maker of Sabatier kitchen knives and added this product range to their line-up. After that, knives increasingly became an important part of the manufacture, with production peaking around 1970, when Thiers-Issard delivered massive quantities of knives to the United States and to their agent Rowoco. It is around this period when they added the Elephant to their 4-star logo to give shape to the now famous “Thiers-Issard **** Elephant Sabatier” logo.

Keeping its stride, the company acquires the very well-known makers of catering and butchering equipment, Pigeat, which used to supply most of France, and incorporated these articles to their line of products.

Unfortunately, bad management and economic problems with the United States caused the company to go bankrupt in the early 1980s.

Enter present owner, Gilles Reynewaeter, who used to make knives near Thiers. He bought the company in 1984 and brought new life to the different productions, vigorously exporting kitchen knives and even pocket knives (a line he added after he bought a pocket knife company) up to the year 2000.

The Reign of the Straight Razor


To that date the straight razor tradition was kept up at the factory but production was rather muted, hardly accounting for 3% of the factory turnover.  But a spark of interest had been ignited and soon men all around the world were taking interest in straight razor shaving. Sales of cutthroat razors began growing.

When Mr. Reynewaeter realized that the market in straight razors was expanding, he began to invest in better production methods. During the years 2005 to the present, many new manufacturing improvements were implemented.  Examples of a few of the actual changes in production are the following:

  • New forging dies were created using computer technology; first for 5/8″, then for 6/8″ and, finally in 2010, 7/8″ forgings were created.  In fact, Thiers-Issard currently is the only company in the world to have an actual 7/8″-size straight razor in production.
  • All the old razor grinding machines at the factory were completely reworked giving less play during grinding and thus producing a faster and better fashioning of each straight razor.
  • The new C135, Carbonsong Steel, was discovered, studied and used in all new production, giving a higher Rockwell to the finished razor, longer life to the cutting edge, and also a better polish to the finished razor.
  • Along with the new steel, new hardening processes were implemented, aided with computer calibration, thus giving better straightness to new production and an easier resharpening for the end user.
  • In 2009, a new sharpening machine using a mix of diamond and ceramic polishing mediums was designed, producing what is arguably the best commercial out-of-the-box sharpness among straight razor producers.
  • A new gold leafing process was implemented, and though still hand-crafted, the new gold marks are now made of a beautiful 24-karat deposit that is much more difficult to wear off the metal.
  • Only just recently, the factory has started improving the length of all of its wooden, horn and bone handles, making them a much better fit for each razor. Also, they have started producing razor handles in startlingly beautiful resin-impregnated woods both natural and in color and have also started cutting and finishing bookmatched desert ironwood handles, perhaps the most beautiful of razor handle woods.
  • Finally, the latest advance is a new method of actually sculpting the round backs of their different razors with wonderful patterns.  The first of this kind, boasting sculptured crowns and fleurs de lys, the limited edition Celebration Silver Wing straight razor, was released in 2010.

Thiers Issard has continued to dominate the wet-shaving specialty market by designing and producing its own special razor accessories. Their paddle strops, razor boxes, razor wallets, razor rolls, shaving bowls, shaving brushes with elegant handles in prized materials, such as horn, are in high demand. Its customers can finally find shaving accessories of the highest quality that are designed to be used and loved.

Today, straight razor production and razor accessories make up over 60% of Thiers Issard’s factory production, which is exported throughout the world to countries like Germany, Russia, Canada, United States, England, Belgium, Italy, Spain, to name only a few.

The company aims to keep a delicate balance between technology and artistry: maximizing production using modern methods, while employing the best craftsmanship to produce the finest shaving instruments.