So...here I am back from the little tour to Pattada (not a thousand miles from home actually) and its new expo/museum.
Before I try to post some pics (maybe some of u gold members could help me, otherwise I will have to post them in some website and post the link), a little intro.
Pattada is a small town of 3000/3500 people in the central part of northern Sardinia. As most part of the innerland, life has always been based on shepherding and agriculture (there must be more sheeps than people around here I guess), the land is kinda rocky and filled with hills and trees (no plains at all), so u can get an idea of the kind of life people lived (and still live) in places like Pattada. Su for our ancestors, having a knife was always a priority, cause shepherds used to wander out of home for days with their flock, and they needed a tool.
Even tho the first knives were, obviously, fixed blades, knife crafting here in Sardinia turned to folders a long time ago. For some reasons, and due probably to the ability of some knifemakers, Pattada slowly became a reknowned center for its knives.
There are basically 2 traditional blade shape, one a bit wider and shorter (which tended to the skinnin shape, was older, and less common), and another which was thinner and longer, shaped as a "flame" or a "leaf of mirto" (a small plant very common here). That became, and still is, the traditional Pattada knife pattern and is the most common and recognized pattern all over the island (maybe I should say in the whole country).
So one thing lead to another, and the art of knifemaking in Pattada evolved, passing mainly from father to son, uncle to nephew, materials evolved and so did techniques, but for some reason, unlike other "knife towns" in Europe (like Maniago in Italy, Solingen in Germany, etc) factory production never took over. I was talking about this topic this morning with a known knifemaker from Pattada, who prided himself (and its town) for never giving up making their knives by hand. No idea why factory didn't take over, maybe we are a bit closed to such things, maybe the knifemakers wanted to go on making their "own" knives by hand, maybe they were scared that factories will eventually "steal" their art and leave them with nothing...I don't know.
The fact is, there are lots of knifemakers in Pattada, from older and reknowned makers to very young ones, most belong to a few families (like the Fogarizzu's, the Careddu's, and so on), and all make handmade products, and even if a few have moved away from the traditional pattern and experimented new designs, the majority of production seems to be oriented to keeping the traditional style and pattern as pristine as possible.
The town has set this little museum/expo, with a few "invited" knifemakers from outside the island, and featuring an awesome private collection owned by a Sardinian physician...and I went to visit it today (it will be open till september tho).
Apart from that, one knifemaker in Pattada (Salvatore Giagu) has set his own little private knife museum, so I visited both places, learned lots of things about Pattada knives, and stared at some of the most beautifulobjects I have ever seen.
Too bad pics do no justice to the knives, but I may get there again with a better camera (and maybe more time), anyway I hope u enjoy what I got so far.
I'm not an expert in the field, just another knifenut, but if there are questions that I am able to answer, I'll be happy to do that. Also, soon I will be visiting another couple of workshops (thanks to the fact that my boss if from Pattada, which opens any door - that's how Sardinians are), so I might expand the report, in case it raises interest...
