Resolza

A typical knife from Pattada.

A typical knife from Arbus.

Sempre lughente parias de prata
segaias chei su pensamentu
ispilende sa pedde ind'unu 'entu
comente chi aeres giutu fogu in s'ata
— Montanaru, Sa Leppa Pathadina

The resòlza, also known as resòrza, resòrja or arresòja, is the traditional Sardinian folding-blade fighting and utility knife. In Sardinia, this term is widely used to describe all foldable knives.

Like the straight razor, the resolza's blade folds into the handle when not in use. Sardinia has a long tradition of cutlery: however, even though the blade existed even in Nuragic times, since it has always served as a nearly indispensable tool in the agro-pastoral work, the word's origin dates from around the 17th century: the term in Sardinian language pays homage to the Latin rasoria, which stands for "razor used for shaving".

Back to those times, the resolza was used as a habitual item of personal wear, assisting the herdsmen with their daily activities, rather than for defensive purposes: in the 18th century, many travellers visiting the island reported that Sardinians (especially the society's most prominent members) generally carried either a dagger (daga) or a peculiar sabre on the belt (leppa de chintu) both to boost their social status and to dissuade others from any aggressive confrontation. Therefore, the 60 cm leppa sword is not to be confused with the resolza knife, even though the latter went eventually to replace the former by the 20th century, when the imposition of laws restricting the carrying of dangerous tools first entered into force: while the usage of the sword began to decline, the resolza grow so much in popularity among Sardinians of all classes and backgrounds, that the traditional knife is also improperly called leppa (just like the no longer in use sword).

There are three main traditional patterns of the knife, with the most crucial characteristic coming from the shape of the blade: the knife from Pattada (resolza pattadesa), considered the most famous Sardinian knife, has a long and narrow blade meant to reproduce a myrtle leaf (foza de murta), with the handle being made of muflon horn; the knife from Arbus (arresoja arburesa) has a more pot-bellied blade intending to resemble a laurel leaf (folla de lauru) instead, while having a monolithic handle. The most distinctive, by their typical blunt blade, are the knives from Guspini (arresoja guspinesa) and the Gallurese ones from the villages of Luras (resorza lurisìnca) and Tempio Pausania (lametta tempiesa): these were designed to cope with the Italian laws that outlawed pointed blades, but were also useful for mining jobs and removing the cork.

Nowadays, in spite of the several cheap imitations especially produced by mainland Italian industries, the local craftsmanship has reached a high artistic expression and the handmade Sardinian knife in all its varieties is well-known, sought and particularly appreciated by collectors for its resistance and aesthetic flavour.

References

Resorzas. Il coltello artigianale in Sardegna - Imago

Sardinia

Provinces	Cagliari Carbonia-Iglesias Medio Campidano Nuoro Ogliastra Olbia-Tempio Oristano Sassari

History	Mining Judicatus Kingdom Monarchs Viceroys

Politics	Elections in Sardinia List of Presidents of Sardinia Political parties Nationalism

Culture	Music Tourist attractions Archaeological and artistic sights People

Languages	Italian Sardinian (Logudorese, Campidanese) Sassarese Gallurese Algherese Tabarchino

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey, Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

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