Italian Traditional Knives!!

A variation of the Romano pattern, this one is called Zoomorfo, with an animal head carved into the solid buffalo horn handle

Although the blade on this particular knife is 4 1/8" long, it feels much smaller due to how slim and svelte it is.... a true gentleman's knife!

The lock is secure, but not so tight that a release ring is necessary.

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This one is from M Fraraccio in Frosolone. 8.25 overall, 3 7/8" blade, handle material is called "ancient horn".
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Chui said:
- gifted by an old friend whose Mum was from Italy, on a trip back to inhale the country and her spirit




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Zuava? :cool:
btb01 said:
Certainly an unusual pattern, but I like the looks of it.
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Me too :) :thumbsup:

I don't have many Italian knives, but here's a tiny Maserin Filiscjna. I'm afraid I know absolutely nothing about the pattern, or even what 'Filiscjna' means :( :thumbsup:

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draggat said:
The Fontani Prussiano. Fontani has some great designs but I wish they would clean the polishing compound out.... 45 minutes removing crud, but it is worth it.

This one's a splinter picker!
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A Senese by Consigli

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Polishing Compound? Maybe this is what looks like silver inlay on the photos of my pescatore knive? In real it looks grey and I always thought it was some dirt left over from polishing. Is this common on italian knives?
Great looking knives!
 
Jack Black said:
Zuava? :cool:

Me too :) :thumbsup:

I don't have many Italian knives, but here's a tiny Maserin Filiscjna. I'm afraid I know absolutely nothing about the pattern, or even what 'Filiscjna' means :( :thumbsup:

UudJsgX.jpg


23YeuAp.jpg
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According to armasblancas.es,

"El misterio del nombre ha sido revelado a la mayoría por el fallecido Luciano Salvatici , quien logró ponerse en contacto con un descendiente del fabricante.
El nombre "Filisjn" deriva del apodo de la rama de la familia del bisabuelo Giovanni Del Tin, quien construyó los primeros alrededor de 1927 hasta unos años antes de la guerra.
Desafortunadamente, el único hijo varón no volvió sobre los pasos de su padre, decretando así el final de la tradición del cuchillo "Del Tin" (aunque he visto por la red que existe una casa de armas blancas con ese nombre)."

So the most prominent pre-WWII maker of this pattern, Giovanni Del Tin, had the nickname "Flilisjn" (which to my eyes and ears may be a Slovenian spelling of "Philistine", or as we would say in English, "Palestinian"). Thus the pattern carries Del Tin's nickname. Apocryphal, but plausible.

Zieg
 
Jack Black said:
Zuava? :cool:

Me too :) :thumbsup:

I don't have many Italian knives, but here's a tiny Maserin Filiscjna. I'm afraid I know absolutely nothing about the pattern, or even what 'Filiscjna' means :( :thumbsup:

UudJsgX.jpg


23YeuAp.jpg
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A fantastic looking small knife! I haven't tried Maserin yet, how is their build quality?


The Zieg said:
According to armasblancas.es,

"El misterio del nombre ha sido revelado a la mayoría por el fallecido Luciano Salvatici , quien logró ponerse en contacto con un descendiente del fabricante.
El nombre "Filisjn" deriva del apodo de la rama de la familia del bisabuelo Giovanni Del Tin, quien construyó los primeros alrededor de 1927 hasta unos años antes de la guerra.
Desafortunadamente, el único hijo varón no volvió sobre los pasos de su padre, decretando así el final de la tradición del cuchillo "Del Tin" (aunque he visto por la red que existe una casa de armas blancas con ese nombre)."

So the most prominent pre-WWII maker of this pattern, Giovanni Del Tin, had the nickname "Flilisjn" (which to my eyes and ears may be a Slovenian spelling of "Philistine", or as we would say in English, "Palestinian"). Thus the pattern carries Del Tin's nickname. Apocryphal, but plausible.

Zieg
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I did a brief search because I was interested in knowing the history of the name as well. Your research was much better than mine..... all I found was that it was a term for a small pocket knife. Thanks!!

Steven_69 said:
Polishing Compound? Maybe this is what looks like silver inlay on the photos of my pescatore knive? In real it looks grey and I always thought it was some dirt left over from polishing. Is this common on italian knives?
Great looking knives!
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I had forgotten about your knife. Honestly, it probably isn't polishing compound, but rather it is likely some type of dye. I came to that assumption from looking into scrimshaw, which the grooves on our knives may have some similarity to. I would have left it, but it was uneven and missing in some areas, which didn't look so great. A toothbrush and mineral oil, followed by a flitz polish worked great!
 
The Tre Pianelle. I think this knife is a true test of the cutler's skill, seeing that the blade is hand ground. Maybe not the most efficient at cutting, but a unique pattern. I forgot to take a photo of the butt end of the handle, but like the other regional knives I've posted here, it is in fact one piece of horn.

The decorative button also sports their engraving of the flower of Florence, same as the one on their Fiorentino, a nice small detail.
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draggat said:
The Tre Pianelle. I think this knife is a true test of the cutler's skill, seeing that the blade is hand ground. Maybe not the most efficient at cutting, but a unique pattern. I forgot to take a photo of the butt end of the handle, but like the other regional knives I've posted here, it is in fact one piece of horn.

The decorative button also sports their engraving of the flower of Florence, same as the one on their Fiorentino, a nice small detail.
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I could think of many descriptors for that knife but in a succinct one word way I’d say simply - Superb.
 
waynorth said:
I am going to try to gather up a sampling of Traditional Italian knives, with your help!!
These three are called Sfilatos (Italian plural, Sfilati). The first two come from major cutlery centers in Italy, and the third is a Canadian-made replica.
First, a Dark Horn example from Frosolone, The middle one is a very worn, light or undyed bone knife from Maniago, and the third is a Canadian made replica of the second knife!!
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I feel very Sicilian carrying Rhidian's great reprise of the old, Italian sfilato in the middle, above!!
And a few days before my birthday, 'lo and behold This came in the mail with Birthday Wishes!!!Saraga 1.jpgSaraga 2.jpg
Made in Sicily, and named after a fish, it has a distinct flavor of the region!!! ;) I grew up on some mean streets, before moving to this kinder, gentler country called Canada😁, and this knife flashes me back to earlier days in my life!! I love it!!
Thanks J-M!!!
Âchillepattada Âchillepattada
 
waynorth said:
I am going to try to gather up a sampling of Traditional Italian knives, with your help!!
These three are called Sfilatos (Italian plural, Sfilati). The first two come from major cutlery centers in Italy, and the third is a Canadian-made replica.
First, a Dark Horn example from Frosolone, The middle one is a very worn, light or undyed bone knife from Maniago, and the third is a Canadian made replica of the second knife!!
View attachment 1580949
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How long are they
 
waynorth said:
Immigrants to America, Felix and Michael Mirando, with Domenic Fazzano founded Imperial Cutlery in 1917, after working for Empire Knife Co for several years. Their father, Cosimo Mirando came over from Frosolone, Italy to work with them in ensuing years. They had all practiced knifemaking throughout their lives in both countries!!
This Sfilato was made by Cosimo Mirando in Frosolone!!!
But it was in the Imperial Schrade collection, when it was sold, when Imperial Schrade closed in 2007. I feel fortunate to have found this speck of history of a great lineage of Cutlery!!View attachment 1581512View attachment 1581513View attachment 1581514
In the last pic you can see that the handles are Dark Horn!!
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What are the dimensions
 
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