Maniago

A Legacy of Italian Steel

“Maniago” is not just a brand; it is a promise of quality forged in steel. Located in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, the town of Maniago has been the capital of cutlery and blade manufacturing since the 15th century. In the diving world, this heritage is carried primarily by Mac Coltellerie, a company founded in the 1960s that set the global standard for what a diving knife should be.

In the UK, a knife is not a weapon; it is an essential safety tool. Our waters are plagued by “ghost gear”—abandoned trawler nets and monofilament fishing line that can entrap a diver in seconds. When you are entangled in a net at 30 metres, you do not want a cheap, blunt piece of chinese metal. You want Italian steel. Mac Coltellerie knives are renowned for their use of high-grade W 1.4116 stainless steel, offering the perfect balance between hardness (holding a razor edge) and corrosion resistance.

From the classic Stiletto shapes favoured by spearfishermen to the compact, blunt-nosed line cutters mandated by technical divers, Maniago steel is the industry benchmark. These tools are finished to a mirror polish to resist the aggressive salt of the North Sea. When you buy a knife stamped with “Made in Italy” or “Maniago,” you are buying 600 years of metallurgical history. You are buying a blade that you can trust to cut you free when it matters most.