Founded in 1999 and housed in the fourteenth-century Palazzo dei Vicari, the Museum documents the culture and production of knives, typical of the town of Scarperia. The life and work of the families of knife makers are presented by exhibiting objects, images and reconstructions of interiors. Inside the Museum, a knife maker’s workshop has been reconstructed where demonstrations and educational activities are conducted.

The collection comprises knives and other cutting instruments made in Italy (Scarperia in particular) and tools for their production. The exhibits can be dated from antiquity to the present day, and illustrate the evolution of techniques, particularly as concerns the Scarperia production.

Part of the Mugello - Upper Mugello - Val di Sieve Diffused Museum, the Museum is managed from the scientific viewpoint by the Research and Documentation Centre on Handmade Cutting Implements, formed in 1987 by initiative of the Town Administration of Scarperia.

In addition to housing the Museum of Cutting Implements, the Palazzo dei Vicari of Scarperia also presents a rare and fascinating technical-scientific object: a little room on the upper floor exhibits the clockwork of the building’s tower clock which seems to have been made by Filippo Brunelleschi.