The Makers | Carving a place in history
The knife industry is a tradition in Solsona, Spain, that dates back to the 16th Century. In its heyday, the town had 24 workshops, together creating the Guild of Saint Eligius, named after the patron saint of knife makers.
By the beginning of the 19th Century the number had halved and it was during this period of uncertainty in 1917 that brothers, Lluís and Carles Pallarès Canal founded Pallarès. The company soon earned a reputation for manufacturing great quality, sharp knives which they sold throughout the Solsonés region and in the provinces of Barcelona and Girona.
Lluís’s children, Jesús and Juli Pallarès Moncunill took over the company during the 1960s, growing the market to the rest of Catalonia and throughout Spain.
By the mid Eighties, only two knife-making workshops remained in Solsana and just five years later there was just one. Pallarès is still in business.
The third generation took over the running of the company at the beginning of the century, introducing new technology to the manufacturing process and expanding sales further to the rest of the world.
The enduring success of the company could be down to the fact that they use only the finest materials but it is more likely to be the quality of the cutting edge of their knives. Despite modern manufacturing technology, the family insists that each knife is still sharpened by hand.