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Campolin, A.G.A.

Angelo Campolin Sr. was born in 1923 in Maniago, Italy. He worked on perfecting his knife making skills before WWII and at this time made his first switchblades. After the war, in 1947 he started his company and made 30 stilettos with the marking “Angelo Campolin”. In the 1970’s Angelo’s son Gianni started to work in the company and they were specializing in folding hunting knives and also manual folding stilettos for the Robert Klaas company in Solingen Germany with their Kissing Cranes mark. In 2002 American switchblade collectors Dan Fuller, Brad West, and Tim Zinser were visiting Maniago and enjoying a few glasses of wine in a bar with Angelo Jr. and Gianni. The discussion was about a new name for some knife projects they wanted to pursue. It was Brad West that suggested the tang stamp should be AGA, for Angelo, Gianni, Angelo, thus representing three generations in the knife making business. The Campolins liked it and it stuck. In the beginning it was just a few items, but grew to the point where now there are 12 models and different scale options. The goal has been to offer quality switchblades using the old methods and traditions. Being a collector himself, Angelo Jr. knows what others like. The company headquarters has moved to Austria with production still in the original Maniago shop, as well as the others in Maniago that produce the knives for A.G.A. Campolin.