Senese, a traditional italian knife

You are welcome. People on this forum have been so helpful to me, so if I can give some help, I'm more than happy to do so.
If you are interested in that very model, I assume you can get it somehow :rolleyes:
Meanwhile, to see if your vibes about this knife keep going on, try visiting www.viper.it and you may find some more infos about it.
I have never handled this knife myself personally, but I will find some feedback about it, and email you.

Fausto
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Thank you for the link, Fausto. Nice review of the Senese. Makes me want a Bergamasco even more. I must get one!

I contacted the U.S. dealer that I mentioned earlier to see if he can order one for me. Anxiously awaiting his reply.
 
Thank you for the link, martineden! And thank you for starting this thread.

I don't own any Italian knives but hopefully I will have one of these coming in a few weeks. Nice knives with an interesting heritage.

You can count on me posting some pics when I get it.
 
Fausto,

Thanks for the info. The 'Bergamasco' looks interesting as does the 'Gobbo' knife. I like the OP's 'Senese' as it's a bit smaller than the Viper versions. I certainly admire the way horn is used to great effect on both Italian and French Traditional knives. Is Ram's Horn used by Italian makers as well?

Regards,
W
 
Rick, hope you can find a way to get your (first, I guess) Italian traditional. If you need help to get it, just let me know; anyway, I hope your American dealer can get one for you.
By the way, here is another company that makes nice knives with regional patterns:

http://www.coltellerieberti.it/eng_default.asp

Will, funny that you ask. I can't really tell about other regions in Italy; I suppose that the horn used for handles is (mostly) bovine.
But, here in Sardinia (being one of the most sheep-populated areas of the world) ram's horn is the rule. Any Sardinian knifemaker uses ram's horn for their resolzas ; years ago, they also used horn from another animal (named "muflone" in Italian, no idea of what it's called in English, it's basically a "relative" of rams and male goats, almost extinct nowadays), now it's 99% ram's horn (even tho not all horns used are Sardinians, since it's easier - and I guess cheaper - to import them from northern African countries).

Fausto
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That's very interesting, Ram's Horn can make beautiful handles, and it has interesting variations. I think the Anglo word for it would be Mouflon, showing its latin origins. This has made me wonder if Spanish knives use the horns from Ibex perhaps, another impressive goat-type.

Italy's regions display a rich variety of knife patterns, something new and exciting for me.
 
quattromori said:
Rick, hope you can find a way to get your (first, I guess) Italian traditional. If you need help to get it, just let me know; anyway, I hope your American dealer can get one for you.

Fausto
:cool:
Click to expand...

My dealer got back to me earlier today and he can order one for me with a 3-4 week turnaround time. I really had no idea how much these cost but I did have a figure in my head. Unfortunately, the actual cost is substantially more than I can pay at this time so I had to decline. I am considering going for one of the lower cost models that are in stock but it is the Bergamasco that I really want so I might as well just wait until I can afford one.

Thanks again for your help, Fausto. I think I have already visited the website in your link but I will check it out.
 
Rick, I understand you. The prices of knives here are way different (much higher) than what an American would expect. The knife you wish for, here in Italy, can be bought for around 100/110 euros (around 150 usd) which, I know, is a pretty high price for a production knife if compared to US standards. Anyway, I'm glad you like "our" knives, and hopefully you can get one sooner or later.
Will, I admit it might be a very biased taste, but I love ram's horn too. Maybe it's because, for me, it's the "standard" handle, and I tend to compare any other handle material to it...but I think it can be really beautiful too. Also, ram's horn in traditionals is also the reason why I prefer smooth handles.
Italy does have many knife patterns; personally I'm not crazy for all of them...still variety is always a good thing to me.
Apart from Sardinian patterns, I've always been attracted by the Maremmano leaf pattern. Honestly, I'm not that sure about the functionality of its blade shape, but I find it aesthetically beautiful and with a strong personality for sure. Here are a few interpretation of the pattern by varous makers:

Viper:
maremmanoviper.jpg


Berti:
maremmanoberti.jpg


Consigli:
maremmanoconsigli.jpg


Saladini:
maremmanosaladini.jpg



Fausto
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This model is called Calabrese. (I apologize for my lack of camera (iPhone) skills). It was made by the Berti family business in Scarperia. The handle on this one is ox horn. I was fortunate enough to visit Italy about five years ago and found this in a small kitchen shop. I could not go home without a knife! Mike

Calabrese 1.jpgBerti Calabrese.jpg
 
The Calabrese in your pic is one of the variants of the "Gobbo" pattern, which is pretty common in Italian knife culture, and interpreted in various ways depending on the maker, and the region (you may find another version of the same pattern named "Abruzzese" in Berti's catalog, for example).
Some people love the shape of the handle, and find its curve very comfortable to hold (just like, I guess, some Americans are fond of the saddlehorn handle shape, or some French love the slender Laguiole handle).
Congrats for your pick, I never handled this very knife but Berti does make quality knives.

Fausto
:cool:
 
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