Antica Coltelleria Tavella is the oldest knife shop in Maniago (PN), the city of cutlery: it was founded in 1934 by Agostino Tavella, who was a prominent figure in the town. In the '20s Tavella had a small production workshop, then he opened a warehouse in Genova to distribute knives, so he returned to his country and continued this activityof representation ot the Maniago craftsmen knives at all Italian retailers. Tavella was one of the first in Maniago to participate in the Milan Trade Fair in the '30s. On the death of Agostino, the sons Luciano and Rina took care of the cutlery in via Roma. Rina, in July 2001, sold the company to Oreste Frati, another well-known figure in the world of Italian cutlery. 

The Antica Coltelleria Tavella has an area of 70 square meters, almost entirely dedicated to the display of over 3000 knives that are on sale. The role of protagonists is up to the traditional and the artisans of Maniago, then of course there are all those imported sports, those for collection and gift items. Oreste Frati has always had a "weak spot" for this shop: "Since I was a boy I always stopped in front of the shop window, and I always had a real passion for it. I also started to attend it, for professional reasons, since I deal with cutlery".
Today, the store focuses everything on an efficient sales service, to meet the needs of customers who are mainly visiting tourists and, increasingly, knife enthusiasts who have learned to appreciate Maniago products also thanks to the numerous events organized by the institutions local from the '90s onwards. The reason for the pride of the cutlery, therefore, is to help make the knives produced in Maniago known in detail. Entering the shop you can recognize many of these knives, as well as the best American, Spanish and German productions.

A significant section of the store is dedicated to replicas of katanas and swords, of United Cutlery or of the numerous Spanish specialized brands. The interest in the local product is confirmed by the kitchen and professional cutlery, oriented more than anything on Maniago products, although a selection of imported productsis also available. The logs with various selections of kitchen knives are always successful, among which are the forged pieces of the Due Cigni series, an ancient and renowned Maniago brand acquired by Fox. In the cutlery you can also find utensils and small kitchen tools, such as the WMF Germans.

The service that Antica Coltelleria Tavella can offer goes far beyond the products themselves: what doesn't exist or cannot be seen immediately, can be procured, as is the case for certain industrial or semi-artisan US knives. The shop also deals with small sharpening and product assistance. 

The cutlery is open every day, except Sunday and Tuesday (in summer it's also open on Tuesdays), from 8.30 to 12.30 and from 15.00 to 19.00.