MKM knives from Italy, made by MIKITA

MKM Knives is one of the most exciting announcements of 2018. A new Italian brand, but still an old acquaintance. The name MIKITA also appears, something we also hadn’t heard of before. What is up with that? What is MKM Knives and why do we look forward to it?

MKM and MIKITA

The abbreviation MKM stands for Maniago Knife Makers. Each knife enthusiast knows that Maniago is the knife capital of Italy. Perhaps even of the south of Europe. As Germany has Solingen and people in England know Sheffield, everyone knows that the best Italian knives come from Maniago. Literally at the same block at an industrial site in a suburb in this city in the north of Italy you will find all the large names from the Italian knife world. Fox Knives, LionSteel, Viper, Mercury and many others.

MIKITA is a cooperation of the last four companies. LionSteel, Viper, Fox and Mercury signed a network agreement in which they state to focus on raising the bar for knife makers in Maniago. They do so under the name of MIKITA: Maniago Innovation Knives Italy. By exchanging knowledge and ideas they are stronger together and increase the quality. 

The brands who joined forces to establish MIKITA now launched a new knife brand: MKM knives. The famous Italian quality Maniago knives are famous for, made by the four cooperating companies. Now you must understand why we are so excited!

MKM Knives: cooperation with Bob Terzuola and Lucas Burnley

To immediately leave a mark with appealing models made by famous designers MKM decided to cooperate with the two biggest names in the international knife world: Bob Terzuola and Lucas Burnley. Both designers with an impressive track record, and many successful designs on their name.

Bob Terzuola can definitely be called one of the founders and pioneers in the field of the modern pocket knife. After all, he wrote incredibly popular books about quality knives, but more importantly: his designs have been loved for dozens of years. There are very few designers who last that long.

Lucas Burnley is a lot younger than Bob Terzuola, but in just a few years he has made a massive contribution to the knife world. As a designer he is incredibly productive and dozens of his designs are produced by famous brands such as CRKT and Böker, and now also by MKM Knives.

MKM Clap: Terzuola design, LionSteel production

One of the most appealing models in this first collection of MKM Knives is the MKM Clap, a by LionSteel produced EDC gentleman’s knife with a 7.6 cm blade, designed by Bob Terzuola. You immediately recognize the spearpoint blade as one designed by him. Especially because of the stunning compound grind and the fuller in the blade. You open it with the flipper. You could, however, like with the LionSteel TRE, remove the flipper tab to end up with a knife you open with two hands.

The MKM Clap is available with four different handle materials: carbon fibre, black G10, olive wood and santos palissander. All these versions are available with or without titanium bolster, leaving you with eight versions. The blade is made from Böhler M390 steel and the Clap comes with a polyester belt sheath.

MKM Arvenis: Burnley design, fox production

The MKM Arvenis is a slightly larger EDC pocket knife, designed by Lucas Burnley. Fox Knives produced this pocket knife and enhanced the Arvensis with different handles. You can, for instance, choose between a titanium or G10 frame. Not very special, until you notice that the G10 version is available with, for instance, a red aluminium inlay.

The most remarkable version is the one with a titanium handle with Damasteel inlays and a Vinland-Damasteel blade. The normal Arvenis knives have a blade made from Böhler M390 steel and these folding knives can also be delivered with a polyester belt sheath.

MKM Raut: Burnley design, Viper production

An incredibly special knife from the MKM collection is the MKM Raut made by Viper. This knife is also one of Lucas Burnley’s designs. The MKM Raut is a utilitarian EDC knife with a sheepfoot-blade. Remarkable is the fact that Viper and Burnley came up with a different combination of opening mechanisms. There are, for instance, versions that only open with a front flipper while others have been enhanced with a regular flipper.

For the handle Viper came up with an interesting overlay-construction. A titanium framelock with normal framelock, covered by a G10 or carbon fibre handle. As such you combine the strength of a framelock with the discrete elegance of a linerlock. This knife has also been enhanced with Böhler M390 and also comes with a polyester sheath.

MKM Fara: Burnley design, Mercury production

The producer called Mercury is not that famous, but has been making knives in Maniago since 1919. Over 100 years of experience! The MKM Fara is a compact slipjoint with a blade made from Böhler M390. You open it with two hands and because it doesn’t have a real lock you can carry it wherever you like. There are two versions with two liners and handles made from olive wood or santos palissander. In addition, there is a version with a black aluminium frame and a version with a titanium handle. Fun little detail is that this knife comes with a leather sheath. With recommended prices between 110 and 160 euros it is the most affordable knife from the MKM collection. Especially for a knife with a M390 blade it is an amazing deal!

MKM Jouf: Terzuola design, Fox production

If you love the outdoors you know that you won’t get far without a fixed knife. For that reason Bob Terzuola designed the MKM Jouf, a fixed knife made by Fox Knives. A cool full-tang knife with a 13 cm blade. The handle is made from milled G10 and the blade from the somewhat tougher Böhler N690 steel. The MKM Jouf is available with a stonewashed or with a black Cerakote finish. Both come with a black cordura sheath.

When will the MKM Knives be available?

We believe this to be the best announcement of 2018. If we adhere to the current expectations, these knives will be available at the end of October 2018. But we, of course, cannot be 100% sure because we are dealing with such an ambitious new project.

MKM Knives: the first awards have been handed out!

Their cooperation couldn’t have started any better: at the 2018 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, MKM won the award for the best cooperation! In this case the cooperation between Bob Terzuola and Lucas Burnley on the one hand, and the knife makers from Maniago on the other!

Great about these five new knives is that all of them have been named after a mountain close to Maniago. So if you are visiting the area you can actually climb the Monte Jouf with the MKM Jouf in your pocket.

Want to learn more about the producers in the meantime? Check out our Viper, LionSteel and Fox Knives collection here.