Your guide to Forge de Laguiole Sommelier Corkscrews
Discover the elegance and precision of Forge de Laguiole sommelier corkscrews, the iconic French waiter’s corkscrew handcrafted for those who appreciate exceptional design and professional performance. Developed in collaboration with expert sommeliers, these beautifully made corkscrews combine refined ergonomics, effortless functionality and timeless French style. At Lincoln House, our collection of Forge de Laguiole sommelier corkscrews offers an elevated approach to wine service, whether for personal enjoyment, entertaining or gifting.
Opening a bottle becomes a more considered and sophisticated ritual with a Laguiole sommelier corkscrew in hand. Designed to deliver smooth, reliable performance and a comfortable grip, each piece reflects the balance of practicality and elegance for which Forge de Laguiole is renowned. Available in a selection of exquisite handle materials including precious woods, bone, horn and antler, these luxury corkscrews are as visually striking as they are effective to use.
Handmade in Laguiole, France with Authentic Heritage
Every original Forge de Laguiole corkscrew is handmade in the village of Laguiole, France, where the history of these celebrated knives and tools began in 1828. The name Laguiole refers not only to a style, but also to a place of true provenance — a rugged and distinctive landscape whose heritage continues to shape the character of every piece produced there. Each corkscrew is stamped with the Forge de Laguiole® logo, confirming its authenticity, and every masterpiece carries the mark of the master knifemaker who crafted it.
This deep connection to place, tradition and artisan skill gives Forge de Laguiole sommelier corkscrews their unique status. More than simply a wine accessory, they have become a true design icon, admired around the world as a symbol of French gastronomy, craftsmanship and art de vivre. Their quality is evident in every detail, from the precision of the mechanism to the beauty of the hand-finished handle materials.
A Luxury Corkscrew for Wine Lovers, Entertaining and Gifting
A Forge de Laguiole sommelier corkscrew is the ideal choice for wine enthusiasts, collectors, hosts and anyone seeking a luxury gift with genuine character. Combining professional-level efficiency with artisan finishing, these corkscrews are perfectly suited to elegant home entertaining, restaurant-style wine service and memorable gifting occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and housewarmings.
At Lincoln House, we offer authentic Forge de Laguiole sommelier corkscrews for customers seeking premium French wine accessories in the UK. Explore the collection to find a corkscrew that reflects your taste, whether you prefer classic natural materials, a polished contemporary look or a truly distinctive gift. With their heritage, craftsmanship and enduring appeal, Forge de Laguiole corkscrews are a timeless investment for anyone who values the finer details of wine and table culture.
Hospitality Customers
Visit our hosplitality page for more informtation or call for a quote.
Disappointingly small. The ‘rattail’ turned out to be an incised pattern not a proper rattail.
My search continues.
Dear Marcus Barbor
Thank you for taking the time to review your cutlery. We are sorry for your disappointment, however, no one makes the raised rattail – or ‘proper rattail’ that you are looking for.
The traditional English “rattail” (or “rat-tail”) fork and spoon pattern is one of the oldest surviving flatware forms in Britain, dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The “tail” itself was originally not decorative at all — it was structural.
For early spoons especially, the bowl and handle were often forged separately and then joined together. The raised rib on the reverse — the rat-tail — reinforced that junction and concealed or strengthened the soldered join.
Forks evolved slightly differently, but the same principle applied in many early examples:
• The tines/head were forged separately from the stem.
• The handle/stem was then fire-welded or brazed onto the fork head.
• The raised “tail” on the reverse strengthened the weak point where the neck met the fork head.
• On hand-forged examples, the rat-tail was often hand-drawn with hammer work after joining.
Early English Hanoverian forks from roughly 1700–1750 commonly show a very pronounced rat-tail because the construction genuinely needed reinforcement.
By the Georgian period, metallurgy and forging improved enough that the structural need largely disappeared. The rat-tail gradually became shallower and then decorative only. Around the later 18th century, many Hanoverian forks lost the rat-tail entirely.
Most modern “rattail” cutlery is made completely differently.
Modern stainless rattail forks are usually:
• stamped from a single blank,
• rolled and pressed in dies,
• with the “tail” formed by coining/pressing rather than forging.
The tail today is usually just a shallow pressed ridge because:
1. there is no structural joint to reinforce,
2. deep forging is expensive,
3. modern stainless alloys are much stronger than early wrought silver or iron.
Traditional hand-forged silver rattail patterns still exist today from specialist makers, but they are niche luxury production rather than mainstream manufacture.
If you are searching for traditional Rattail teaspoons (you bought 6 from us) with the raised ridge-you will need to search in the antique market.
There isn’t a single cut-off date when manufacturing techniques changed over, because methods overlapped for decades and varied by maker. But broadly:
• Fully hand-forged two-piece silver rattail forks remained common through the 18th century.
• High-end Sheffield and London silversmiths still used forged-and-joined construction into the mid-19th century.
• Industrial drop-stamping and die-forging increasingly replaced them from roughly the 1840s–1880s.
• By the early 20th century, almost all commercial EPNS and stainless rattail cutlery was one-piece stamped construction with decorative tails only.
So the “last” true structural rat-tail forks were probably being made by traditional silversmith workshops into the late Victorian or Edwardian era, but mainstream production had effectively moved to one-piece manufacture by about 1900–1920.
One useful clue when examining antique pieces:
• On genuinely old hand-forged forks, the rat-tail is usually asymmetrical, deeply raised, and organically blended into the neck.
• On modern stamped versions, it tends to be perfectly centred, shallow, and mechanically uniform.
The very pronounced rat-tail seen on early English silver is essentially evidence of the transition from forged multi-part flatware to industrial one-piece manufacture.
I hope this helps inform your search for a ‘proper Rattail’.
We do have a 30-day no-questions-asked returns policy. Your order was placed 30th March 2026, so slightly longer than this time period; however, we are happy to take the spoons back if you no longer want them. Please contact us directly to return them and we will issue a refund provided they are unused, in a new condition, and re-packaged accordingly.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Lincoln House Cutlery.
Highest standard and so comfortable to hold and use.
Hi Maureen,
Thank you so much for leaving us a 5 star review - we’re over the moon!
Thank you for shopping with us and we hope to see you again soon :-)
Lincoln House Cutlery
This was a gift for a chef friend but I opened it to admire it before I gave it to him. It was truely a thing of beauty! When he received it his message simply said ‘Best Pressie Ever!’
Hi, Thank you so much for leaving us a 5 star review - we’re over the moon!
Delighted that your chef friend was delighted with the Forge de Laguiole Butter Knife - and they are right; it is a thing of beauty. I have one at home as well and love it - use it daily and it's always a joy!
Thank you for shopping with us and we hope to see you again soon :-)
Lincoln House Cutlery
Fantastic quality and service!
