The Monza is Sandrin's second one-hand knife and, like all Sandrin knives, has a blade made of tungsten carbide, which with its unusually high hardness of 71 HRC far surpasses any steel in terms of abrasion resistance and edge retention.
For a long time, the use of tungsten carbide for utility knife blades was considered impossible. Due to the extremely high degree of hardness and the associated increased sensitivity to breakage, the wonder material in its previous form was unattractive for the knife industry.
However, Alessandro Colombatto, owner of Turmond SpA based in Turin, Italy, managed to find an ideal composition for precisely this purpose. With an incredible hardness of "only" 71 HRC, knife blades from Sandrin Knives are quite flexible and significantly less susceptible to breakage than ceramic blades.
This achieves an edge retention that is far superior to any known classic or modern steel. The manufacturer states that the cutting edge stays sharp 20x longer than the best premium steels made from powder steel (see also comparison list). And although the blades do not contain any chrome, Sandrin Knives are just as rust-resistant as stainless steel knives.
The Monza comes standard with a silver DLC coated titanium handle. The limited edition of the Monza has a black zirconium handle. Zirconium is a chemical element in the 4th group of the periodic table with very similar mechanical and chemical properties to titanium. However, it is denser and therefore heavier than titanium. Zirconium is far less available commercially and therefore much more expensive. The black anodizing of the Monza Zirconium consists of a thin layer of ZrO2, which is harder and more corrosion-resistant than DLC. Zirconium has so far only been used in high-end custom knives. The combination of tungsten carbide and zirconium make the Monza Limited Edition an absolutely exceptional knife thanks to its unique materials. The manufacturer will only produce around 100 of this limited edition.
Note from April 8, 2022: The Monza Zirconium was announced as a limited edition with an edition of "approx. 100 pieces". Due to the great success and existing materials, another edition in a similar quantity is expected to be made starting in summer, so this statement is no longer correct. The item does not have a serial number, but is only produced in very small quantities.
Blade material: Tungsten carbide (71 HRC)
Blade thickness: 1.3 mm
Blade finish: Raw Carbide (Meteorite Pattern)
Blade shape: Drop Point blade
Total length: 19.5 cm
Blade length: 8.6 cm
Cutting angle: 18 degrees/ 36 degrees
Weight: 122 grams
Handle: Zirconium
Lock: Recoil Lock
Special features: Titanium clip
