Old Bear

There's a certain reassurance in carrying a knife that's been assembled, finished and sharpened by hand, without shortcuts. Old Bear knives come from Maniago in northeast Italy – a town that's been turning out blades since medieval times. When manufacturer Antonini created the Old Bear line in 2015 to mark their 90th anniversary, they deliberately stepped away from mass production and went back to hand-shaping, hand-sharpening, and the sort of individual attention that makes each knife genuinely unique.

What sets these apart is the patented Lupo collar lock, a brass ring mechanism that secures the blade in both open and closed positions without it snapping shut on your fingers, whilst being far more sophisticated than rough and ready French rivals. The wooden handles and nitrogen steel blades are built with lifetime durability in mind, so they can handle everything from prepping lunch on a trail to pruning back overgrown brambles.

However, despite their handsome looks, these knives aren't showpieces. They're the kind of knives that end up living in jackets and rucksacks, ready for whatever needs cutting, slicing, or sorting. Each one comes with a Torx key so you can adjust the collar tension to your liking, which is the sort of thoughtful detail that matters when you're actually using something day in, day out.