America’s cutlery maker since 1818
✅ Made in USA
Where Dexter-Russell products are made
Southbridge, Massachusetts
Knives are forged, ground and finished at a works in operation for over 200 years.
SANI-SAFE
Introduced in the 1940s, still a foodservice gold standard.
Largest US maker
The broadest professional cutlery line made by any single US manufacturer.
Dexter-Russell designs and manufactures its cutlery and tools in Southbridge, Massachusetts, where it has operated for over 200 years — the largest professional-cutlery maker in the United States.
The story
Dexter-Russell’s roots run as deep as American cutlery itself. In 1818, Henry Harrington opened one of the first cutlery companies in the United States in Southbridge, Massachusetts; in 1834, John Russell launched his Green River Works, whose knives became standard equipment for the trappers, hunters and settlers of the expanding frontier. In 1933 the two most respected names in American cutlery came together, and the firm later took the name Dexter-Russell.
Today the company still calls Southbridge home, where it has produced cutlery and tools for more than two centuries. Dexter-Russell is the largest manufacturer of professional cutlery in the United States, trusted in commercial kitchens, fish houses, meat-processing plants and worksites nationwide. Its SANI-SAFE line, introduced in the 1940s, remains a gold standard in foodservice. For Dexter-Russell, ‘American-made’ is a 200-year practice carried on generation after generation in one Massachusetts mill town.
A 200-year practice carried on in one Massachusetts mill town.
Why they matter
Cutlery is heavily imported, so the largest American professional-cutlery maker is a cornerstone to support.
Buying Dexter-Russell backs over two centuries of knife-making jobs in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
Featured products
Browse Dexter-Russell cutlery available now in the Buy American store.
Frequently asked questions
Are Dexter-Russell knives made in the USA?
Yes. Dexter-Russell designs and manufactures its cutlery and tools in Southbridge, Massachusetts, where it has operated for over 200 years.
How old is the company?
Its cutlery lineage dates to 1818, making it one of the oldest cutlery makers in America; the modern Dexter-Russell formed when the Harrington and Russell companies merged in 1933.
What kinds of knives does Dexter-Russell make?
The broadest professional cutlery line of any single maker — chef’s, boning, fillet, bread and butcher knives, plus meat-processing and industrial blades — under brands like SANI-SAFE, Sofgrip and V-LO.
