COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 3421

Cutlery

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

20companies1852–1989founding years20still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironment
FoundedThe Stanley WorksFoundedThe Stanley Works
1852
FoundedAmerican Safety Razor CompanyFoundedAmerican Safety Razor Company
1875
FoundedVictorinox AGFoundedVictorinox AG
1891
FoundedMedusa CorporationFoundedMedusa Corporation
1892
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
1908
TechnologyThe Ford Model T brings the automobile to the middle class.
1913
EconomyThe Federal Reserve is created.
FoundedScott Fetzer Company
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedWarner-Lambert Co.FoundedWarner-Lambert Co.
1920
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression begins.
1933
EconomyNew Deal reforms reshape banking and industry.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedLifetime Hoan CorporationFoundedLifetime Hoan Corporation
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long postwar expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented at Bell Labs.
1956
EconomyThe Interstate Highway program remakes commerce.
FoundedBIC CorporationFoundedBIC Corporation
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedGeneral Housewares CorporationFoundedGeneral Housewares Corporation
1967
1970
EnvironmentThe EPA is founded; environmental regulation expands.
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; Nasdaq opens.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins with the Altair.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall 22% in a single day.
FoundedSunbeam-Oster Co., Inc.
1989
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2001
EconomyThe September 11 attacks; a recession follows.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 begin to take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

The Stanley Works →
Active · founded 1852
The Stanley Works is a manufacturer of a broad range of tools and hardware for home improvement, consumer, industrial,…
The Stanley Works →
Active · founded 1852
The Stanley Works is a manufacturer of a broad range of tools and hardware for home improvement, consumer, industrial,…
American Safety Razor Company →
Active · founded 1875
American Safety Razor Company (ASR) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of brand-name and private-label personal…
American Safety Razor Company →
Active · founded 1875
American Safety Razor Company (ASR) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of brand-name and private-label personal…
Victorinox AG →
Active · founded 1891 · Switzerland
Victorinox AG has spent the 20th century perfecting and popularizing a cultural icon: the Swiss Army knife.
Victorinox AG →
Active · founded 1891 · Switzerland
Victorinox AG has spent the 20th century perfecting and popularizing a cultural icon: the Swiss Army knife.
Medusa Corporation →
Active · founded 1892
Medusa Corporation is one of the oldest cement companies in the United States, having been in business for over a…
Medusa Corporation →
Active · founded 1892
Medusa Corporation is one of the oldest cement companies in the United States, having been in business for over a…
Scott Fetzer Company →
Active · founded 1914
The best-known of Scott Fetzer Company's businesses in the mid-1990s included World Book encyclopedias and Kirby vacuum…
Scott Fetzer Company →
Active · founded 1914
The best-known of Scott Fetzer Company's businesses in the mid-1990s included World Book encyclopedias and Kirby vacuum…
Warner-Lambert Co. →
Active · founded 1920
The Warner-Lambert Co.
Warner-Lambert Co. →
Active · founded 1920
The Warner-Lambert Co.
Lifetime Hoan Corporation →
Active · founded 1945
Lifetime Hoan Corporation designs, markets, and distributes household cutlery, kitchenware, cutting boards, and…
Lifetime Hoan Corporation →
Active · founded 1945
Lifetime Hoan Corporation designs, markets, and distributes household cutlery, kitchenware, cutting boards, and…
BIC Corporation →
Active · founded 1958
BIC Corporation is the country's leading manufacturer of disposable ballpoint pens and cigarette lighters.
BIC Corporation →
Active · founded 1958
BIC Corporation is the country's leading manufacturer of disposable ballpoint pens and cigarette lighters.
General Housewares Corporation →
Active · founded 1967
General Housewares Corporation is a leading manufacturer and marketer of cookware, cutlery, kitchen tools, wood…
General Housewares Corporation →
Active · founded 1967
General Housewares Corporation is a leading manufacturer and marketer of cookware, cutlery, kitchen tools, wood…
Sunbeam-Oster Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Sunbeam and Oster are consumer brand names recognizable from coast to coast, and by all generations of Americans.
Sunbeam-Oster Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Sunbeam and Oster are consumer brand names recognizable from coast to coast, and by all generations of Americans.
Build It Today

Starting a cutlery company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories for today's tools and capital.