Antonini artisans from Maniago have created an exclusive and limited series of OLD BEAR knives using the famous Japanese SANMAI steel in VG10 with 67 layers. This beautiful project combines the tradition of a successful knife, patented and built in Italy, with the history and qualitative excellence of Japanese steel, made with a production process that dates back to that used for the famous Japanese swords.

The thickness of the blade goes from 2 mm of the standard models to 2.5 mm of this exclusive series, in order to make the knife more robust and performing.

To make the knife even more exclusive, for each of the three sizes offered, 60 exclusive pieces have been created, with progressive numbering engraved on the blade

Type of production: semi artisanal
Production Lama: Italy
Blade: San Mai 67 VG10 damask stainless steel (60/61 HRC)
Handle: in walnut wood
Blade length: 80mm.
Blade thickness: 2.5mm.
Closed length: 109mm.
Thick when closed: 22mm.
Total length: 190mm.
Weight: 46g.
Closure: viro block

The handles are made of antique and oiled walnut wood. Being a model without return spring, the fixing of the blade to the handle is ensured by a solid brass safety ring equipped with a special locking device (covered by patent n.1187282 filed again in 1985 by the Todesco company of Maniago which is an active partner of this project) which can be activated both in the open position and in the closed position.

As early as 1100, expert Japanese blacksmiths combined different materials together to give Katana swords cutting, strength and flexibility previously unknown. Inspired by this tradition, Berkel has created a series of Japanese SanMai steel knives.

The blade consists of a core layer of extremely hard VG-10 steel, which keeps it sharp for a long time, and two outer plates made of 33-layer damask stainless steel per side, for greater resistance to corrosion and torsion.

Characteristics of SanMai steel: These are different types of metals bonded together to create a composite that encloses and intensifies the strengths of the metals individually taken:

- Longer life of the cutting edge
thanks to the use of very high quality steels with high carbon content (VG10, CoS, Shiro) or sintered (SPG2), in the heart of the sheet (Core Steel), the blade, once hardened, achieves decidedly hardness and cutting performance higher than those achieved with the use of traditional steels.

- Greater resilience
built with the principle of Japanese swords, multilayer steel is difficult to break thanks to the toughness of the central steel (Core Steel) and the elasticity of the steel used for the side facing (Stainless Steel).

- Better corrosion resistance
the steel used for the external layers (Stainless Steel) guarantees the blade a high resistance to corrosion. The combination of the two or more materials used by Takefu Steel generates, at the galvanic level, a structure that improves the corrosion resistance even on the wire.

- Easy processing even after heat treatment
although steel normally becomes harder after hardening, the lateral steel used in multilayer processing does not lose its softness and allows easy processing, drilling or welding even after heat treatment. For an optimal performance of the blade, cryogenic treatment is recommended.

- Improvement of the aesthetic result
The knives made with multi-state steel or with a damascus pattern at the end of the processing are aesthetically elegant, refined and highly appreciated by collectors all over the world.

For more information: Collini Steel