Our traditional Italian knives are produced entirely by hand in Scarperia respecting the old teachings handed down by master cutlers, ancient jealously guarded secrets transmitted only for the love of this ancient Italian heritage art that otherwise would have been lost. In Scarperia this ancient craft survives with completely different characteristics from the past for everything concerning the market and working conditions but keeps the traditional manufacturing processes alive. In the construction, it is the horn that conditions the shape and size of the knife to be made because, while the blade can be shaped in any shape and size, a certain piece of horn offers possibilities that are drastically limited by its original characteristic length, thickness, curvature, waste and possible defects. So the procedure begins with a careful evaluation of the available horn and what can be obtained from it, even before starting to put a hand to the other components. Then we start the realization of the blade and spring steel parts which are modeled, forged and then tempered and finally revived. Regarding the handles, horns or woods are skilfully roughed up to reach the desired shape. Once the various pieces have been prepared, they are adjusted by mounting the blade and the spring and any other metal parts. When everything is assembled the horn is finished shaping and smoothed while the blade is finished and sharpened; the final polishing is the last step of the manufacturing process.
Extract from the book by Luciano Salviatici "I COLTELLI DI SCARPERIA".