This Saturday the 'Worldwide Cutlery Collection' exhibition was inaugurated at the Municipal Museum of Cutlery in Albacete, in which 280 pieces donated by 136 artisans from 19 countries are shown. The exhibition will be on until 2024, when it moves to the headquarters of the IV Meeting of Knife Cities.

The exhibition has been designed and produced entirely by the museum's staff, who have sought to show the tradition of a trade that unites experience, design and expertise. In fact, the La Mancha museum itself has donated about twenty pieces, with knives from the knife makers José Giraldo and Paco Hernández Becerra.

"It will be a before and after for the museums that share this tradition," believes the president of Aprecu (Association of Cutlery and Related Products of Albacete), Pilar Jiménez.

The inauguration was attended by the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page; the president of the PP and leader of the opposition, Paco Núñez; the president of the Provincial Council of Albacete, Santiago Cabañero; the mayor of Albacete, Emilio Sáez; and even directors of museums and authorities of 17 delegations.

At the beginning of the act, Page, accompanied by Sáez and the director of the museum, Mariana de Pascual, presented the representatives of the European delegations with a collection of knives made by the students of the Amos Núñez School of Cutlery, as well as a traditional knife from Albacete. The exhibition is sponsored by Eurocaja Rural.

"Museums are the best instruments for democratizing knowledge and disseminating our history and culture," said Cabañero. Meanwhile, the mayor believes that this III Meeting of Knife Cities, which is being held this weekend in Albacete, "is meeting all expectations."

“Very important initiatives will emerge from this meeting from the point of view of crafts, training and the marketing of our products. The 'Albacete Meetings' is going to bring European projects that allow alliances so that our artisans can complement their training and learn the techniques of other countries”, the mayor predicted.

On the other hand, also this Saturday the first meeting of the Association of Cutlery Capitals took place, made up of eight museum institutions that seek to share common projects, spread the history of cutlery and guarantee its future.