A certain Giuseppe Verdi once said: “Copiare il vero può essere una buona cosa, ma inventare il vero è meglio, molto meglio. (Engl: To copy the truth may be good, but to invent the truth is better, much better). With these words the famous composer of the operas La Traviata and Rigoletto wisely summed up the creation of Italian achievements – and they still hold true today. The country on the Adriatic Sea is world famous for good food, timeless fashion, racy sports cars and classical music – not to mention its picturesque landscapes and dolce vita.
However, there is hardly a manufacturer in Italy who masters the claviature of blades better than Fox Knives from the traditional knife town of Maniago. Founded in 1977 by Orestro Frati, the company continues to provide a sonorous crescendo for knife lovers with each new model. Fox Kives has always stood for innovation, design and quality, as a result of which numerous models have already won coveted prizes and awards and earned the manufacturer a reputation as a forward-looking pioneer on the international stage. Interesting shapes and material combinations are used again and again, which give Fox knives their unmistakable character. Not infrequently, the manufacturer succeeds in winning renowned designers such as Jesper Voxnaes or Denis Simonutti as tone-setting virtuosos for joint projects. The most recent example: the intergalactic Fox Saturn, Knife of the Year at the BLADE Show 2021. The composition of weightless design and an opening mechanism from another star sent the expert jury into a delightful allegro.
Fox Knives – One of the most important knife manufacturers in the world
Currently, the Fox Group is one of the most important knife manufacturers in the world and serves a variety of customer groups with its different brands; from private end users to NATO. The main brand Fox Knives sells high-quality knives for everyday use and for collectors, while FKMD (Fox Knives Military Division) and Defcon 5 mainly provide tactical knives and equipment for emergency forces such as military, police or firefighters. BlackFox’s attractive knives are aimed at the price-conscious customer, whereas Due Cigni’s chef’s knives are highly popular with amateur cooks.
The company is now run by Gabriele Frati and his prima donna Claudia in the second generation. Always present is his mother Valnea, who then as now is the good soul in the company. Above all, the high quality standard is always true to the Italian wisdom: “Presto e bene non vanno insieme.” – Fast and good simply don’t go together. In this context, it is all the more remarkable that Fox Knives always manages the balancing act between quality and the growing demands of customers at the right pace. Gabriele Frati reveals his secret recipe: “The ability to survive and grow in the market is closely linked to the place where talented knifemakers who are able to work at the highest level always thrive.” Fox Knives finds these ideal conditions in Maniago and brings them to each of its knives. But most importantly, there’s a whole lot of amore in every step of the process.
The success story of Fox Knives so far can be seen as an overture. Let’s look forward to the next act of the opera “Cotelli fatto in Italia”.
