Blade runner

Visiting with Italian knifemakers in south London: Visiting with Italian knifemakers in south London: Marco, a tall, wiry man, holds up his hands, which are covered in diagonal scars. "Every knife sharpener is covered in these," he says. "They're the scars of the trade." Modesto's hands are also rough and calloused, with deep crevasses. "His hands are so hard, when he cuts himself they don't bleed," says Marco. Modesto takes a vicious-looking four-edged mincing blade and puts one of its edges to the grindstone. As a shower of sparks flies up, his fingers look perilously close to the searing metal edge. Marco recalls the time he tripped in the back of the van and put his foot on a knife. "I learnt a lot of respect for knives after that," he says.