Roselli | Our story

The Man

For most of us - finding the best knife can be a challenge. Growing up in rural Finland with his family around the farm – this was very much a reality for the young Heimo Roselli. And with fishing, hunting and carpentry as important aspects of daily life - Heimo came to hate bad knives.

So he started making his own, and after a few years he really got the hang of the craft. Finding the balance of hardness and flexibility, enabling him to sharpen the steel to last a lifetime.
Heimo became obsessed by the process, and spent the following decades searching, studying and experimenting – becoming a master metallurgist, an expert in producing steel of the highest possible quality. The brand Roselli grew its reputation for unusual durability, a steel that was both harder and sharper than anything else.

The Steel

And what is his secret? The answer is spelled UHC.

Heimo Roselli’s years of refining forging techniques and studying metals led to a very particular smelting process and work formula - which to this day is a secret kept between Heimo and his men at the Roselli workshop in Harmoinen. The Roselli UHC steel has taken us decades to perfect and with its long lasting sharpness and unique characteristics shown in our UHC (Ultra High Carbon) models measuring around 62-63 HRC — has been proven by knife enthusiasts all over the world.

When attempting to achieve extreme hardness in knife steel, it is very likely that the metal turns brittle which leads to shattering. Heimo Roselli figured out a perfect combination of hardening and tempering, producing a knife that is highly sharp while remaining flexible. Not by luck, but through years of hard work. He discovered the ultimate blend of raw steel and carbon, which goes through the perfect cycle of heating and cooling, reducing the metal core to a dense mass of pure power. This fine billet is then slowly given the shape of a blade, before being sharpened to its maximum capacity. All by hand.

The Legacy

When you decide to own a Roselli, you are saying goodbye to your other knives. The long-lasting sharpness of one of the leading knife brands in the world today. An extreme quality based on old-fashioned blacksmith skills and 45 years of relentless innovation. Nothing is left to chance, nothing is mass-produced, and nothing gets approved that isn’t flawless. This is how Heimo Roselli invented his unique steel. And this is how you can stop searching for a better knife.

When a Roselli knife is finalized, it has been personally inspected – branded with the family name across its beautiful handle made of waterproof curly birch, and placed in the carefully tanned leather sheath. Now it’s ready to go to work, and perform a wide range of heavy duties on a daily basis. For a very long time.