What ANATOLO stands for
ANATOLO brings craft products from Anatolia to the Netherlands and Germany: objects made there for generations, by people who learned their craft from their parents. We are starting with knives from Sürmene. This is our first collection, not our last. Whatever comes next will meet the same standard: genuinely made, genuinely used and genuinely from its place of origin.
Why Sürmene
Sürmene is a district of Trabzon on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Iron ore in the mountains behind the town is why iron was smelted here before the Common Era. Trabzon’s harbour lay on the trade route to Persia and beyond, carrying Sürmene’s forged goods out into the world.
During the Ottoman period, Sürmene’s smiths supplied swords, daggers and tools to the army and navy. The traditional Sürmene knife, a 15–20 cm kama with a horn handle and wooden sheath, belonged to life on the Black Sea: it was worn for the horon dance and given at weddings and when a young man left for military service. The steel was hardened in fish oil, which draws heat away slowly and evenly. By the middle of the twentieth century, the Soğuksu neighbourhood had around 250 home workshops.
1953: from weapon to kitchen knife
In 1953, Law 6136 classified pointed, double-edged knives as weapons. Sürmene’s smiths faced a choice: stop or make something else. They chose the latter and turned to kitchen, butcher’s and agricultural knives. The craft remained; the product changed. That is why the Turkish butcher’s knife so often comes from Sürmene today.
Protected origin
On 22 February 2018, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (Türk Patent) registered “Sürmene Bıçağı” as geographical indication number 329, following an application by Sürmene Municipality. Like names such as Solingen in Germany or Laguiole in France, it identifies a place of origin: the protected Sürmene name belongs to knives made there using local methods.
How our knives are made
ANATOLO knives come from a workshop in Sürmene that combines tradition with modern production. The blade uses German 4116-grade stainless knife steel (X50CrMoV15), also used by well-known European knife brands. After hardening, it reaches approximately 55–57 HRC: hard enough to hold an edge, tough enough to resist breakage and easy to sharpen at home. The heavy work is done by machine; grinding and finishing are done by hand. Every blade bears the TSE mark of the Turkish Standards Institution.
Three ranges
Anatolo Pro: a seamless moulded plastic handle. Light, hygienic working knives for butchers and professional kitchens.
Anatolo Classic: a plastic handle secured with three rivets. The familiar design seen in Turkish butcher shops for decades.
Anatolo Yöresel: the classic Sürmene design with a wooden handle and steel bolster. For anyone who likes their knife to be seen as well as used.
Alongside these: börek knives and the fruit knife set.
How we work
We buy directly from the workshop, keep stock in our own warehouse in the Netherlands and ship to the Netherlands and Germany. A two-year manufacturer’s warranty, a 30-day returns period, and answers to your questions in Dutch, German or Turkish.