Good european knife brands?

effenoam said:
Any tips on avoiding the tourist trap knife shops?
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Just the usual. Anything selling mainly souvenirs or having a few Victorinox will not have any premium, unusual knives.
Most proper knife shops will be out of the tourist streets and Google may help in locating them. They will generally be small shops, unless you are shopping for kitchen knives which can be found in bigger shops.
You would expect to find a third of their knives to be of European origin, with US, Asia etc. making up the rest.
This guide on worldwide shops may also help https://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=55965
 
If you’re in Italy and can find them Due Buoi is a smaller brand I know. When my great grandfather came to America from Italy (~1910) he was gifted a folding grafting knife made by them from his cousin. They make mostly agricultural cutlery but they have a few traditional style pocket knives still.

Bought my brother one of their single blade slip joints with amber horn scales for Christmas a few years back. Nice fit and finish. Glad they’re still around after all this time. Especially good if you can buy one while you’re there… shipping took almost 2 months
 
I would try to score an A.G.A Campolin Zero if stopping in Moletta. But I'd definitely check out Maniago Italy.... Lionsteel, Fox, Viper are part of M.K.M which I believe are all made in the same facility.
 
Wild Steer... I'd say to wild steer away (ho ho) from this brand. Them and TB outdoor are an embarassment for french knives lovers.

I mean come on... I call this one the hot spot royale
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And this one is the official knife of the french soldiers, with a freaking corkscrew...

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You don't hear much about them because they're smaller, but Saturn knives are Italian based, make some sleek fixed blades, (not sure about folders), and they work collaborating with Lionsteel (for manufacturing) and Molletta (design and development), so it's like a 3-for-1 of Italian quality knife making.

Maserin is also Italian and has some interesting designs.

Definitely share with us what ya got when you get back home.
 
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ShitsInaBush said:
I would try to score an A.G.A Campolin Zero if stopping in Moletta. But I'd definitely check out Maniago Italy.... Lionsteel, Fox, Viper are part of M.K.M which I believe are all made in the same facility.
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Mercury is another Italian brand tied in with the MKM group....

My guess is you can definitely find a knife (or 3) somewhere in Maniago.
 
You also can do an internet search for any local knifemakers in the area's you will be visiting.
You might wind up with a real diamond of a blade for your collection!!!
 
Edit, I just read you won't visit Germany...
Have a wonderful trip, get yourself French, Swiss and Italian knives and enjoy your stay!

Nonetheless, the below info could be useful for people that travel to Europe and visit Germany :)

If you If you visit Germany - Solingen is the city to go for knife enthusiasts:
Böker,
Puma,
Eickhorn (maker of the official knife of the German Bundeswehr),
Otter,
Güde
Zwilling
etc...

There are also quite good custom makers like:
Schanz Messer
Reinhard Müller Messer
Steffen Bender
etc... There is a knifemakers guild and their over 100 members are located all over Germany, so depending on which corner you visit, there will be at least 5-10 makers in a 1-2hr driving distance.
 
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Mister_Punchy said:
Wild Steer... I'd say to wild steer away (ho ho) from this brand. Them and TB outdoor are an embarassment for french knives lovers.

I mean come on... I call this one the hot spot royale
View attachment 2171499
And this one is the official knife of the french soldiers, with a freaking corkscrew...

View attachment 2171515
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Wildsteer has a few folders (the latest being a nice, simple, pocket friendly model "K-NIF"), some models are very specific.

But most of their offer consists of fixed blades. And this is quite an exception on the french market (if we exclude kitchen knives). I own a few of their blades and am very happy with them.

As a french guy myself, I'm glad they exist so we can buy 100% french-made fixed blades for a reasonable price (yes, not dirt cheap, labour has a cost)

But everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course :p
 
Victorinox. Family owned, over 100 years old, make great tools that work well. Plus, it's a multi-tool that you will carry due to weight.

If you want to be more fancy, they do make more expensive versions with wood or damascus, and have limited editions and what not.
 
Greggy said:
I could swear those come stock with a deployable white flag. Am I wrong on this?
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iu
 
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