The farmers’ multinational

Dronero, Piemonte

https://www.falcitools.com/

Falci è un produttore di falci di Dronero: fabbri forgiatori dal 1600. In una valle della provincia di Cuneo si è tramandata la maestria produttiva dei più perfetti strumenti di taglio ancora prodotti al mondo. Riferimento assoluto per i contadini di tutto il pianeta, Falci conserva un archivio di miriadi di modelli e forme diverse che interpretano gli stessi gesti: si tratta di oltre 300 modelli differenti di falce. Ultima manifattura esistente in Europa esperta di questa cultura produttiva sofisticata, Falci è il leader mondiale ed è presente in 54 paesi.

All images courtesy of Falci. Photo Raffaele Romano

"There exists a whole chunk of the world in which farmers see manual tools as offering many advantages compared to machinery. The advantage of the sharp cut, for example, is that the grass recovers immediately and stays clean on the ground ready for use as mulch. Since it does not transmit fungal diseases (unlike the triturated mulch produced by mechanical tools), it is excellent in periods of drought."

Carlo Pedretti, former chairman of Falci

“From the productive point of view, perhaps not everyone knows that a scythe is forged entirely by hand in 25 passages and cannot be made in any other way. Forging is a violent processing of steel.”

Carlo Pedretti, former chairman of Falci

The hammers compress the molecules and it is this treatment that gives the scythe its flexibility. And thus a sharp, thin and light but also highly resistant object is obtained. It does not bend, it is sturdy, and since it has to be gripped, it adjusts to the movement of the arm. A scythe in fact must weigh on average two or three hectograms (approx. 7 or 11 oz.).”

Carlo Pedretti, former chairman of Falci

FALCI. Forged iron manual agricultural tools. Photo Max Rommel

FALCI. Forged iron manual agricultural tools. Photo Max Rommel