Knives of Italy

The Zieg

The Zieg

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Joined
Jan 31, 2002
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On Monday I fly to Florence. Nearby is a town called Scarperia where a good many knifemakers and shops carry on the traditional knifemaking that goes back centuries. One knife considered traditional to Tuscany, called La Zuava, is supposed to go back to the Napoleonic era, brought to the region by the Emperor's troops from France. True or not, I like the design and intend to pick one up on my visit to Scarperia.

I'll be in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Monterrosso, and Venice. If anyone has any suggestions for traditional knife styles of central italy or specific places to visit along this route, feel free to chime in. Picturs will follow, of course.

Zieg
 
Maniago, Campobasso (and nearby Frosolone), and Scarperia were the three major knife towns/regions in Italy, and all had uniquely different styles.
Among other patterns, Scarperia was known for their beautiful clasp (curved) styled folders.
Enclosed is an example which was made in Maniago but was a classic Scarperia pattern. Have a great trip and please report back what you find there.

View attachment 989912
 
Last fall my wife and I visited Florence and a number of hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. We had a wonderful trip!
There's a cutlery shop in Siena that was closed when we were there. I hope to find it open the next time we visit. Maybe you can stop in and let me know what you think?
4qxx83h.jpg

Here's another shop, Leoncini, in San Gimignano, on Via San Giovanni. My wife wouldn't let me buy the sword so I settled for a rough horn handled knife made in Scarperia. They had quite a selection of Italian knives. Worth a visit I think.
MVFtOHg.jpg

6BMayYF.jpg

We had a great time, I'm sure you will too. The old medieval hill towns are so beautiful.
There's so many amazing places to go and things to see in Florence, I can't even begin to list them.
Buon viaggio!
 
Last edited:
Viper knives is in Maniago, and they do have a full series of old regional designs. The Bergamasco that Railsplitter Railsplitter posted is one such.. I have several of the series, my favorite being the ‘Gobbo’. Sorry I don’t have a photo of it right now.

What this thread really needs is a response from @quattromori, but he hasn’t been here for nearly a year?

Olive wood and Horn are two very traditional Italian materials so you can’t go wrong with those!

Also, if you like modern knives at all, Extrema Ratio is worth a look. They are exceptionally well made with very distinct styling.
 
Through BF, I discovered the beauty of the Sardinian "Pattada" as it is commonly called here in the USA, but locally is call a Resolza. Pattada is the town in Sardinia where they are made. It was the knife of choice for the local farmer's.
The standard resolza is
Hand made
Friction folder
Damascus steel
Mouflon horn

I recently bought this Antonini version to get an idea what they are like. There will definitely be a real hand made resolza in my collection if I ever get the chance to see and acquire one. They are beautiful.

Here is a link to a page that talks about 30+ knife styles from 30+ regions in Italy.
https://www.knifeplanet.net/traditional-italian-pocket-knives/

Antonini_Pattada.jpg
 
You need to go classic on this one. If you are in Scarperia, have a look at the "Gobbo de Scarperia". It is a more styled and slender version of the classic "Gobbo Abruzzese".
Prices range from low to very high depending on the maker, steel, quality, and finishing.

Top: Cheap 420 cow horn Gobbo Abruzzese +/- $50
Bottom: Midrange handmade carbon Muflon horn Resolza by G Massala +/- $250
gqqWkZh.jpg
 
Traditional forum, traditional knives please! Thanks!
 
Hello,
There is a topic on the forum where you can see plenty of Sardinian knives.
If you are interested I can send you a lot of contacts in the island.
Here is a part of my collection:
www.coltellosardo.tumblr.com

You can ask waynorth the knives-makers I recommend are friends of mine and very good.
It's just to help :)



Dan of Bazz Clazz said:
Mouflon horn

I recently bought this Antonini version to get an idea what they are like. There will definitely be a real hand made resolza in my collection if I ever get the chance to see and acquire one. They are beautiful.
Click to expand...
 
Âchillepattada said:
Hello,
There is a topic on the forum where you can see plenty of Sardinian knives.
If you are interested I can send you a lot of contacts in the island.
Here is a part of my collection:
www.coltellosardo.tumblr.com

You can ask waynorth the knives-makers I recommend are friends of mine and very good.
It's just to help :)
Click to expand...
I won't be in Sardinia, sadly. I will visit there next time, I'm sure!

Thanks to all for these replies! Please keep the suggestions coming, no matter the region you're suggesting. I'm looking forward to seeing these places and Knives!

Zieg
 
microbe said:
You need to go classic on this one. If you are in Scarperia, have a look at the "Gobbo de Scarperia". It is a more styled and slender version of the classic "Gobbo Abruzzese".
Prices range from low to very high depending on the maker, steel, quality, and finishing.

Top: Cheap 420 cow horn Gobbo Abruzzese +/- $50
Bottom: Midrange handmade carbon Muflon horn Resolza by G Massala +/- $250
gqqWkZh.jpg
Click to expand...
This is a great suggestion, Thanks! I really like the look of the gobbo on top. It looks like it might have inspired the French Le Thiers style.

Zieg
 
Peregrin said:
Last fall my wife and I visited Florence and a number of hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria. We had a wonderful trip!
There's a cutlery shop in Siena that was closed when we were there. I hope to find it open the next time we visit. Maybe you can stop in and let me know what you think?
4qxx83h.jpg

Here's another shop, Leoncini, in San Gimignano, on Via San Giovanni. My wife wouldn't let me buy the sword so I settled for a rough horn handled knife made in Scarperia. They had quite a selection of Italian knives. Worth a visit I think.
MVFtOHg.jpg

6BMayYF.jpg

We had a great time, I'm sure you will too. The old medieval hill towns are so beautiful.
There's so many amazing places to go and things to see in Florence, I can't even begin to list them.
Buon viaggio!
Click to expand...
You got me: I'll go there!

Zieg
 
herder said:
Maniago, Campobasso (and nearby Frosolone), and Scarperia were the three major knife towns/regions in Italy, and all had uniquely different styles.
Among other patterns, Scarperia was known for their beautiful clasp (curved) styled folders.
Enclosed is an example which was made in Maniago but was a classic Scarperia pattern. Have a great trip and please report back what you find there.

View attachment 989912
Click to expand...
I love that lock style!

Zieg
 
Âchillepattada said:
Hello,
There is a topic on the forum where you can see plenty of Sardinian knives.
If you are interested I can send you a lot of contacts in the island.
Here is a part of my collection:
www.coltellosardo.tumblr.com

You can ask waynorth the knives-makers I recommend are friends of mine and very good.
It's just to help :)
Click to expand...

Bellissimo!!! I do love the Mirto Leaf blades! Yes, it was " The Sardinian Connection" thread, and your own contributions to it that opened the door to the world of the resolza for me. You should be more gentle with the weak willed. We are so easily swayed and can become addicts in an instant. :D

You have an amazing collection. Do you focus primarily on Steri, Serra, Sechi, & Mellis? I have seen their work in the past, but you have shown me so much more! Other makers that have caught my eye include Galante, Piras, Fogarizzu, & Pusceddu. Although a couple of Pusceddu's in particular won't fit in my pocket! lol

It has been almost 30 year since I have been to Italy :( and I was not into collecting knives back then. I must get back, and this time visit Pattada Sardinia, preferably with deep pockets of Euros to satisfy my addiction to the knives of Italy! I only hope these makers and myself live long enough to eventually meet. All of us have only a limited number of decades left to do it.
 
Hi Dan, It's always a pleasure to share and as I've learnt a lot here about the traditional american knive it's natural for me to help those who are interested in the sardinian cutlery.
There are plenty of knife-makers in the island. But all have their own style and specialities.
To choose a knife-maker you have to know what you want, a pattada, a logudoresa, a dorgalesa, a broader blade, something traditional with a horn handle, more modern in micarta or G10, a damascus blade, san mai blade, carbone or inox ,etc etc...:)
Please do not hesitate to ask more questions.

A
 
The Zieg said:
On Monday I fly to Florence. Nearby is a town called Scarperia where a good many knifemakers and shops carry on the traditional knifemaking that goes back centuries. One knife considered traditional to Tuscany, called La Zuava, is supposed to go back to the Napoleonic era, brought to the region by the Emperor's troops from France. True or not, I like the design and intend to pick one up on my visit to Scarperia.

I'll be in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Monterrosso, and Venice. If anyone has any suggestions for traditional knife styles of central italy or specific places to visit along this route, feel free to chime in. Picturs will follow, of course.

Zieg
Click to expand...

Zuava is a nice pattern in my opinion :thumbsup:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/zuava.1205094/
 
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