The Coltellerie Sanelli S.p.A. knifeworks were founded in 1864 in Premana, a village set in the mountains near the lake of Como, famed for its bladed tool manufactures.

The saga began in 1860, when the founder and head of the family made his way back to Premana after spending several years in a workshop in Venice and others working as a knife-grinder on a floating barge anchored near Castel Vecchio, in Verona.

Still young and enterprising, Sanelli cleaned up a disused old mill-race flowing down below the village, which had been used to supply smelting kilns, and renovated it to power an old water mill. This done, he set to work producing knives, in a process that has been subjected to continuous improvement and specialization ever since.

The company is now known all over the world for the revolutionary results it has achieved with its new types of knives. Applying a professional approach to marketing, the Sanelli staff studied what professional knife users really need and designed the Premana collection specifically for them. Experience accumulated in more than 130 years producing knives, associated with constant research for ways of applying new materials and solving the problems of user ergonomics, hygiene and safety, now ensure that the Coltellerie Sanelli S.p.A. knife works are a spearhead for the whole industry.