Fabrizio Silvestrelli: A full time maker currently living in Lecco Italy, Fabrizio Silvestrelli actually made his first knife at the age of eight and began professional knife making in 1988. Full time since 2004, Fabrizio is one of the most well known and respected custom knife makers in Italy.

With a previous background in tool-making and carpentry, Fabrizio also has training in drawing, painting and sculpture rounding out the skills he brings to the knife making process.  A true artist, Fabrizio has strong feelings about how he approaches his art.

His knife making philosophy is clear and best stated in his own words:

“I am convinced that every artistic creation requires a great passion on the part of the artisan; otherwise the actual task would become mechanical and cold. Each knife produced should be the result of painstaking care and attention to detail, a unique piece of work, which provokes emotions to the eye and to the touch. The artisan should always be thinking up new forms and designs. “

His previous profession allowed him to learn processing and thermal treatment techniques for metals; and this knowledge helped him in the art of knife-making. He makes knives in modern styles, with both fixed and closing blades, using materials such as RWL-34, 440 B and C steels, as well as home-made and industrial damascus. For the handles he prefers ivory, animal teeth, wood and mother of pearl. Fabrizio also loves to blend modern and traditional Italian styles.

Typical details that characterize Silvestrelli knives include the rounding of the liners like the bolsters and the handles. In this way contact with rough edges is avoided. The finishing touch to the blades comes with a manual glazing in a longitudinal direction, and with a fine polishing of all the components including the spacers and the screws. All this requires a lot of additional work, but this is necessary to take care of each knife in every possible detail.

Since 2005 he has worked in collaboration with the firm Tecnocut di Maniago (Italy) for whom he has designed some of their latest production knife models. Fabrizio is a member of the Italian Cutler Corporation and was elected in the executive in 2007.

Fabrizio currently exhibits at the Milan Custom Knife Show and the Solingen Custom Knife Show in Germany, and does not participate in any shows in the United States.

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