Trips abroad are the best opportunity to buy local products which aren’t available anywhere else. The same can be said for knives. Many can be bought only in private workshops or small fishing shops. However, the problem lies in finding those places in a completely unknown city, especially when you don’t often speak the local language or really know what brand to look for. While planning my holiday in Lisbon, I set myself to find such a shop and expand my collection by adding at least one knife made in Portugal. Though Portuguese knife market is small, it’s far more prosperous than Polish. During the internet reconnaissance several producers names came up and I stumbled upon a few others on the trip itself: MAM (already reviewed on the website in Polish), ICEL, IVO, SICO, CIOL, PIRES, and MARTINS. The search for shops where they would be available wasn’t so successful. I found only one reference to knife-purchase opportunities in Lisbon on multitool.org, which appeared to be out-of-date. “LaCoutada”, a shop it mentions, welcomed me with an empty, dusty shopping window suggesting that the shop had been long closed down. This discovery forced me to combine knife-hunting with exploring the city. At the end of my stay in Lisbon I decided to prepare a mini guide which would save you a lot of time while searching for knifes there. All of the shops mentioned below are located in the close proximity to the must-see city landmarks, so if you decide to visit the capital of Portugal with sightseeing in mind, will walk right past them.

Here’s what I’ve managed to find:

Polycarpo, Rua de S. Nicolau, 19-31

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It’s a shop with knives, razors, trimmers and other shaving and cutting tools. It has a virtually complete offer of ICEL kitchen and pocket knives. You’ll find also Victorinox and Opinel products there.

The shop is located in the centre of Baixa, a tourist district you need to visit while sightseeing Lisbon. The best way to get there is to take the underground to Baixa-Chiado station, where the blue and the green lines cross. It’s within a 5-minute walking distance from the station.

Mercado da Ribeira, Av. 24 de Julho 50, Shop A Vida Portuguesa

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Mercado da Ribeira is a huge fish, fruit and vegetable market, as well as a dining complex. In the latter there is A Vida Portuguesa which offers dozens of Portuguese products: decorations, cosmetics, sweets, knick-knacks, etc.; all “made in Portugal”. Their offer includes IVO kitchen and pocket knives.

The market is located by Cais do Sodré, an enormous underground and train station. It’s most convenient to take the green underground line and get off at the last station. However, as the bus and tram lines, as well as trains and even a ferry cross there, you can reach the destination by any means of public transport.

Luiz Godinho, Avenida 24 de Julho nº1 F/G

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A shop dedicated to fishermen and owners of boats and yachts. You can find there all kinds of ropes, buoys, shackles, lamps, as well as IVO and SICO knives.

The shop is located 100m away from the mentioned above Mercado de Ribeira market.

Amoreiras Shopping Center, Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco – Shop 45

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A big shopping centre where you can find the shop whose name I don’t remember. It offers Victorinox, Puma, IVO, Crossnar knives, as well as Laguiole-type knives (very well-made, but probably Chinese), to mention only a few.

The easiest way to get to the shopping centre is from Marquês de Pombal underground station, where the blue and yellow lines cross. It’s ca. 1 km up Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco from there. You can take a bus and get off at the second stop.

Centro Vasco da Gama,  Av. Dom João II 40

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A huge shopping centre combined with an equally huge public transport station. They didn’t have Portugese knives, but you can find Victorinox, Opinel and Crossnar in one of the shops.

It’s located about 1km away from the biggest Oceanarium in Europe, which you would probably like to visit. It’s probably best to take the red underground line, get off at Oriente, and then walk to the shopping-centre part.

That’s all I managed to find. I didn’t come across a shop with knives from the premium segment. I believe that they are there somewhere, though. Therefore, I have a small request to all of you. If you happen(ed) to visit Lisbon and manage(d) to find other shops, let me know, and we will complete this guidebook together.

Remember also that you can’t take knives on board of a plane in your hand luggage. If you don’t have any checked luggage, there is a posting machine at the airport in Terminal 1. You can buy everything you need for packing and sending your purchases there.

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Thank you Agnieszka for helping me with the translation.