Fifty-six brand guides to the knife on the board and the fork on the table — kitchen-knife makers, bladesmiths and flatware houses.
Knife-making is organised around a few historic towns, and these guides map the makers in each, with where their knives and cutlery are made.
The knife towns
Solingen makers include Güde, Robert Herder (since 1872), Nesmuk and Böker; Thiers is home to Perceval and Claude Dozorme; Sakai Takayuki’s knives are made in Sakai, Misono’s in Seki and Tojiro’s in Tsubame-Sanjo; and Morakniv’s are always made in Mora. Dexter-Russell, described in its guide as America’s oldest cutlery maker, makes its knives in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
Bladesmiths and flatware
Smaller workshops hand-forge to order: Blenheim Forge under a Peckham railway arch, Fingal Ferguson on a West Cork farm, and Savernake in Wiltshire. At the table, David Mellor still makes its Pride cutlery in its own Sheffield factory, Puiforcat is owned by Hermès, Christofle sits within the Chalhoub group, and Liberty Tabletop is described as the only flatware made in the USA.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Kitchen knife icons
Wüsthof, Global, Shun, MAC Knife, Sabatier, Benchmade and Spyderco.
- Wüsthof — The 1814 Solingen origin, the trident trademark, precision-forged German knives, seventh-generation family ownership, and honest caveats.
- Global — The Yoshikin/Komin Yamada 1985 design, the seamless-look all-stainless knife, the dimpled sand-filled handle, and honest caveats.
- Shun — The KAI/Seki origin, the 2002 launch, the Damascus-clad VG-MAX blades, the D-shaped handle, and honest ‘not ancient Damascus’ caveats.
- MAC Knife — The 1964 Seki origin, the thin razor-sharp blades, the test-kitchen top-pick MTH-80, and honest ‘not MAC Cosmetics’ caveats.
- Sabatier — The Thiers origin, the genericized (untrademarked) name used by many makers, the distinguishing emblems, and honest caveats.
- Benchmade — The 1979 balisong origin, the butterfly logo, the licensed AXIS lock, the family ownership, and honest caveats.
- Spyderco — The 1976 Glesser origin, the Trademark Round Hole, the pioneered pocket clip, the sports-car name myth, and honest caveats.
Kitchen knives, part 1
Sakai Takayuki, Güde, Perceval, Morakniv, Coltellerie Berti, Savernake and New West KnifeWorks.
- Sakai Takayuki — The Aoki Hamono knife brand made in Sakai, where a forger and a sharpener each own their step.
- Güde — The Solingen manufactory whose forged knives are ground and hand-sharpened in Germany.
- Perceval — The Thiers atelier whose 9.47 is a table knife cut from one piece of steel, made in France.
- Morakniv — The Swedish knife maker with a Scandi grind and laminated steel, always made in Mora.
- Coltellerie Berti — The Scarperia house where one artisan makes each knife start to finish and signs it.
- Savernake Knives — The English maker whose bespoke, concave-ground knives are made to order in Wiltshire.
- New West KnifeWorks — The Wyoming-and-Idaho maker whose bold-handled knives are made in the USA from American powder steel.
Kitchen knives, part 2
Zhang Xiaoquan, Tramontina, Icel, Arcos, Roselli, Tojiro and Robert Herder.
- Zhang Xiaoquan — The centuries-old Hangzhou cutlery name, a China Time-Honoured Brand, made in China.
- Tramontina — The Brazilian maker whose everyday knives, made in Brazil, equip kitchens worldwide.
- Icel — The Portuguese cutlery maker forging professional kitchen knives in Portugal since the 1940s.
- Arcos — Spain’s cutlery house from Albacete, making knives in Spain for nearly three centuries.
- Roselli — The Finnish workshop hand-forging high-carbon knives in Finland since 1976.
- Tojiro — The Tsubame-Sanjo maker that brought accessible Japanese knives to the world, made in Niigata.
- Robert Herder — The Solingen maker of thin, hand-ground Windmühlenmesser knives since 1872.
Bladesmiths
Blenheim Forge, Florentine, Nesmuk, Chelsea Miller, Tharwa Valley Forge, Yu Kurosaki and Fingal Ferguson.
- Blenheim Forge — The self-taught London studio hand-forging kitchen knives under a Peckham railway arch.
- Florentine Kitchen Knives — The design-forward brand, born in Tel Aviv, now handcrafted in Barcelona.
- Nesmuk — The modern Solingen house making ultra-thin, high-end kitchen knives by hand in Germany.
- Chelsea Miller — The Brooklyn maker forging raw, one-off kitchen knives from recycled farrier’s rasps.
- Tharwa Valley Forge — The Australian bladesmithing school and workshop forging its own kitchen knives.
- Yu Kurosaki — The contemporary Echizen smith’s eponymous knife brand, made in Takefu, Japan.
- Fingal Ferguson — The one-man West Cork workshop hand-making kitchen knives on a Gubbeen farm.
Cutlery houses
Dexter-Russell, Claude Dozorme, Taylor’s Eye Witness, Böker, Misono, Due Cigni and Pallarès Solsona.
- Dexter-Russell — America’s oldest cutlery maker, whose professional knives are made in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
- Claude Dozorme — A four-generation Thiers cutlery house, made in France, now under a new owner.
- Taylor’s Eye Witness — A Sheffield cutlery survivor with a genuine Sheffield-made range, now employee-owned.
- Böker — The 1869 Solingen Tree Brand, whose Manufaktur kitchen knives are made in Germany.
- Misono — The Seki house making Western-style Japanese chef’s knives for professionals, made in Japan.
- Due Cigni — The 1896 Frosolone cutlery house, made in Italy, now under the Fox Group in Maniago.
- Pallarès Solsona — A third-generation Catalan family cutler, made in Solsona, Spain, since 1917.
Flatware, part 1
David Mellor, Mono, Puiforcat, Christofle, Mepra, Liberty Tabletop and Luckywood.
- David Mellor — The British cutlery maker whose Pride is a design icon, still made in its own Sheffield factory.
- Mono — The German flatware maker of the 1959 mono-a icon, made in Mettmann, which also owns Pott.
- Puiforcat — The French Art Deco silversmith of Jean Puiforcat, made in its Pantin atelier, owned by Hermès.
- Christofle — The French silversmith since 1830, made in its Normandy factory, within the Chalhoub luxury group.
- Mepra — The Italian flatware and hollowware maker from Lumezzane, with a Pininfarina-designed line.
- Liberty Tabletop — Sherrill Manufacturing’s flatware brand, the only flatware made in the USA, at the old Oneida plant.
- Luckywood — The Japanese cutlery house from Tsubame, making flatware in its own works since 1868.
Flatware, part 2
Robbe & Berking, Herdmar, Aoyoshi, Yamaco, Serafino Zani, Gense and Studio William.
- Robbe & Berking — The independent Flensburg silver manufactory making sterling flatware since 1874.
- Herdmar — The family-owned Portuguese cutlery maker from Guimarães, making award-winning flatware since 1911.
- Aoyoshi — The Tsubame cutlery maker whose Vintage Inox aged-stainless finish is its patented signature.
- Yamaco — The Tsubame flatware maker, Yamazaki Kinzoku Kogyo, which states it produces the Nobel banquet cutlery.
- Serafino Zani — The Lumezzane flatware maker with Sottsass and Grcic collaborations, made in Italy.
- Gense — The Swedish flatware heritage name since 1856, its production moved to China and owned by a Danish group.
- Studio William — The UK design-led flatware studio of William Welch, whose country of manufacture is undisclosed.
Flatware, part 3
Tsubame Shinko, Guy Degrenne, Pott, Jay, Hisar, Awkenox and Notdam.
- Tsubame Shinko — The vertically-integrated Tsubame cutlery works whose SUNAO line was designed by graf.
- Guy Degrenne — The French cutlery maker at Vire in Normandy, whose family-owned story is more marketing than history.
- Pott — The German cutlery manufactory of numbered Modernist patterns, made in Germany and owned by Mono.
- Jay — The Galician flatware manufacturer in Spain, making stainless and silver cutlery on modern lines.
- Hisar — The Turkish cutlery and tableware maker since 1968, on a Sofra Sanatı, art-of-the-table, philosophy.
- Awkenox — The Indian stainless-steel cutlery and tableware maker, with its own factory near Delhi since 1977.
- Notdam — The Korean brand of bangjja forged-bronze tableware and cutlery, sold through the major department stores.
At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Where made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aoyoshi | 1955 (Tsubame, Japan) | Independent (JP) | Japan (Tsubame) |
| Arcos | 1734 (Spain) | See guide | Albacete, Spain |
| Awkenox | 1977 (Ghaziabad, India) | Private (India) | India (own factory) |
| Benchmade | 1979 (Oregon) | Family (de Asis) | See guide |
| Blenheim Forge | 2014 (England) | See guide | Peckham, London |
| Böker | 1869 (Germany) | See guide | Solingen (Manufaktur) |
| Chelsea Miller | See guide | See guide | Brooklyn, New York |
| Christofle | 1830 (Paris) | Chalhoub group | France (Yainville) |
| Claude Dozorme | 1902 (France) | See guide | Thiers, France |
| Coltellerie Berti | 1895 (Italy) | See guide | Scarperia, Italy |
| David Mellor | 1973 (Sheffield) | Family (Mellor) | England (own factory) |
| Dexter-Russell | See guide | See guide | Southbridge, Massachusetts |
| Due Cigni | 1896 (Italy) | See guide | Maniago, Italy |
| Fingal Ferguson | See guide | See guide | West Cork, Ireland |
| Florentine Kitchen Knives | 2012 (Spain) | See guide | Barcelona, Spain |
| Gense | 1856 (Eskilstuna) | F&H Group (DK) | China (since 2017) |
| Global | 1985 (Japan) | See guide | See guide |
| Guy Degrenne | 1948 (Vire, Normandy) | Holding/group | France (Vire) |
| Güde | 1910 (Germany) | See guide | Solingen, Germany |
| Herdmar | 1911 (Guimarães) | Family (indep) | Portugal (own factory) |
| Hisar | 1968 (Turkey) | Optima A.Ş. | Turkey |
| Icel | 1940s (Portugal) | See guide | Ribafria, Portugal |
| Jay | Galicia (Spain) | Not stated | Spain (Galicia) |
| Liberty Tabletop | 2005 (Sherrill, NY) | Independent (Sherrill) | USA (own factory) |
| Luckywood | 1868 (Tsubame, Japan) | Kobayashi family | Japan (Tsubame) |
| MAC Knife | 1964 (Seki) | See guide | See guide |
| Mepra | Reported 1947 (Lumezzane, IT) | Family (reported) | Italy (Lombardy) |
| Misono | See guide | See guide | Seki, Gifu, Japan |
| Mono | 1959 (Germany) | Mono GmbH (owns Pott) | Germany (Mettmann) |
| Morakniv | See guide | See guide | Mora, Sweden |
| Nesmuk | Modern Solingen (Germany) | See guide | Solingen, Germany |
| New West KnifeWorks | Late 1990s (USA) | See guide | Victor, Idaho, USA |
| Notdam | Korean brand (Seoul) | Jukjeon Doyae | Korea (bangjja) |
| Pallarès Solsona | 1917 (Spain) | See guide | Solsona, Catalonia |
| Perceval | 1996 (France) | See guide | Thiers, France |
| Pott | 1904 (Solingen) | Mono | Germany |
| Puiforcat | 1820 (Paris) | Hermès (1993) | France (Pantin) |
| Robbe & Berking | 1874 (Flensburg) | Family (5 gen) | Germany (own works) |
| Robert Herder | 1872 (Germany) | See guide | Solingen, Germany |
| Roselli | 1976 (Finland) | See guide | Harmoinen, Finland |
| Sabatier | See guide | See guide | See guide |
| Sakai Takayuki | See guide | See guide | Sakai, Osaka, Japan |
| Savernake Knives | See guide | See guide | Wiltshire, England |
| Serafino Zani | 1963 (Lumezzane, IT) | Family (likely) | Italy |
| Shun | 2002 (Seki) | KAI Group | See guide |
| Spyderco | 1976 (Colorado) | Family (Glesser) | See guide |
| Studio William | Founder-led (Chipping Campden) | Founder (Welch) | Not stated |
| Taylor’s Eye Witness | 1820 (England) | See guide | Sheffield, England |
| Tharwa Valley Forge | 2003 (Australia) | See guide | Tharwa, near Canberra |
| Tojiro | 1953 (Japan) | See guide | Tsubame-Sanjo, Japan |
| Tramontina | 1911 (Brazil) | See guide | Carlos Barbosa, Brazil |
| Tsubame Shinko | 1919 (Tsubame, Japan) | Independent (JP) | Japan (Tsubame) |
| Wüsthof | 1814 (Solingen) | Family, 7th gen | See guide |
| Yamaco | 1918 (Tsubame, Japan) | Independent (JP) | Japan (Tsubame) |
| Yu Kurosaki | See guide | See guide | Takefu, Japan |
| Zhang Xiaoquan | See guide | See guide | Hangzhou, China |
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Puiforcat?
Hermès, according to our guide.
Is any flatware still made in the USA?
Our guide describes Liberty Tabletop, made by Sherrill Manufacturing at the old Oneida plant, as the only flatware made in the USA.
See also our cookware brand guidelines.
Part of our Home & Kitchen brand guidelines. See also all collections.