FLIP KNIVES & FAMILY TIES: A Sardinian-Canadian's Passion for the Pattedese

Being born a first generation Sardinian-Canadian in Canada, I’ve always been drawn to my heritage and roots. Growing up in northern Ontario to Sardinian (Sardinia is an autonomous region of Italy) immigrants I always felt a little out of place. To comprehend my feeling of ‘otherness’ one needs only to google search Sardinia and go down the rabbit-hole of endless pristine beach paradise photos; coupled with a unique, rugged, mountainous landscape. In the dead of winter, vitamin D deprived and frozen, you come to question why your parents left heaven-on-earth.

 

 

You also come to wonder why you speak “Sardo” and “Italiano” separately, “not ever mixing them!” ; “Sardinian is its own language!” We had many other Italian first-generation family friends whom we would converse with in Italian and share our customs and heritage. But there were definitely visible differences between an Italo-Canadian household and a Sardo-Canadian home, adding to the feeling of being different/unique. In a Sardo-Canadian home you would see a lot of woven rugs/carpets, a whole bunch of things made with cork (lots of cork trees in Sardinia) and (you guessed it…) a lot of flip knives made with a bone handle. Just in my house alone growing up, my Dad probably had about 10 traditional Pattadese knives. It also wasn’t long before he would acquire another one either through a trip to Sardinia or a fancy gift from a visiting relative. Most Sardinians carry a version of Pattadese in their pocket - the tradition, long held from shepherds on the country-side. When we would set the table for our meals, our father would always get a Sardinian knife with his place setting!  

Fast-forward to the summer of 2017, My wife and I had just had our first child and I hadn’t seen my extended family in Sardinia for 15 years. I had spent many vacations as a child in Sardinia, been back multiple times for sick relatives and weddings and also a year of university.  After life had carried me in different directions I had found someone special and settled down. I wanted to reconnect with my family in Sardinia and introduce them to my new wife and daughter. The trip was magical. 

Reconnecting with my heritage and seeing my wife and daughter being welcomed and accepted into my extended family was something I had assumed but I was not ready for the magnitude of emotions I would feel. It was During that trip that the idea for Ezzu was born. 

 

 

We had gone to this beautifully curated artisanal store called Fancellu, named after the surname of the shops’ brilliant curator in Nuoro, a city in the mountainous interior of Sardinia.  We were looking for gifts for relatives back home and that’s where we found the beauty of Saddi’s knives. Up until then I had seen some beautifully worked Sardinian knives, but the majority of the knives' handles were pretty plain and dull-looking. What really makes the Sardinian knife special is the bone handle. The quality of the knife is in how the bone is finished to give the appearance of a stone marble or obsidian. Generally before I had seen Saddi’s work, most of the handles I had seen over the years were off-brown or black. There in Fancellu’s shop were beautifully finished green, white, yellow and blue handled knives.  They were works of art, each knife unique, with slight differences due to the variances in the striations of the bone fibres but also somehow presenting with the perfection of a factory-finish. 

In addition to the beauty of his work, was also the modern update on the traditional knife. He kept the elements of the traditional with a modern take on the finishes, ie, having fixed blades and colouring the handles. My wife instantly imagined bringing these Sardinian wonders to Toronto. She recognized the similarities in modern style married to traditional practices that reminded us of a beautiful Portuguese shop in Toronto called Saudade.  

At that moment we realised that the North American market would appreciate the modern work Sardinia has to offer. I reached out to Saddi directly and created a relationship. At first we curated pieces we found beautiful that we envisioned specifically for ourselves and friends. Over time, we slowly started introducing the knives to restaurant owners. As it stands now, in North America we are the first curator to supply Saddi’s masterpieces to restaurants. The knives are found in high-end restaurants across Europe and obviously Italy.  

Our goal is to bring Sardinian artisanal products to the North American public.  We hope that people will share our enthusiasm and love for the unique, one of a kind products.  I hope to see our knives carried in numerous fine dining restaurants across North America and for Saddi and Ezzu to become a household name in North America.

Not long ago, our artisan began making his Saddi Cuoco line. The Cuoco stands for cook or chef in Italian.  He has taken the traditional method of making Sardinian knives with the same materials and expertly designed kitchen knives. It’s been an exciting time to share in the enthusiasm of restaurant owners as they go through the samples and then receive the finished product. We hope to bring that same excitement with all of our products to each and every one of our clients.