If you searched this question after hearing that Ontario Knife Company shut down, here is the short answer: the brand still exists, but the company that made knives in upstate New York for over 120 years is gone.
Those are two different things, and a lot of articles and YouTube videos blur that line. This piece explains exactly what happened in 2023, who owns Ontario Knife now, what the factory closure means for workers and customers, and what buyers and collectors should know before purchasing.
Ontario Knife Company Did Not Disappear — But Its U.S. Factory Did
This is the core confusion worth clearing up first. Ontario Knife Company as a brand is still active. Ontario Knife Company as a manufacturing operation in Franklinville, New York is not.
In 2023, the parent company Servotronics sold the Ontario Knife brand, designs, trademarks, and remaining inventory to Blue Ridge Knives, a Virginia-based knife distributor. The Franklinville factory closed on July 27, 2023. Approximately 56 employees lost their jobs.
This was not a bankruptcy. There was no court-ordered liquidation. The Ontario Knife Company website itself states the company “has been purchased and relocated to Virginia.” That is the factual situation — a sale and relocation, not a collapse.
Many videos and posts use the phrase “going out of business,” which is understandable from a community standpoint, but it is technically inaccurate. What ended was the original Franklinville manufacturing operation, not the brand.
Why Servotronics Sold Ontario Knife Company
Servotronics is primarily an aerospace motion-control company. Ontario Knife was a small consumer-goods division that did not fit that focus.
On March 30, 2023, Servotronics announced it intended to sell Ontario Knife Company to concentrate on aerospace markets. This is straightforward portfolio rationalization — a larger company shedding a non-core subsidiary to free up management attention and capital.
There was no financial crisis driving the sale. Servotronics simply decided that running a cutlery brand had nothing to do with their main business, and they moved on. The sale closed on August 1, 2023, with Blue Ridge Knives paying approximately $2.1 million for the brand assets and remaining inventory.
For anyone studying business strategy, this is a clean example of a conglomerate trimming its portfolio. The knife division was not dragging Servotronics down — it just was not something they wanted to manage anymore.
What Blue Ridge Knives Bought — and What It Did Not
This detail matters if you care about where Ontario knives come from going forward.
Blue Ridge Knives purchased the brand name, product designs, trademarks, and existing inventory. The deal did not include the Franklinville factory building or most of its machinery. They bought the name and the products on hand — not the production infrastructure.
Blue Ridge is primarily a distributor, not a large-scale domestic manufacturer. That distinction is important when thinking about where future Ontario knives get made.
There was an attempt to keep production local. A Cattaraugus County development agency tried to acquire the brand and assets to preserve manufacturing jobs in Franklinville — but they were outbid. After the sale closed, Blue Ridge indicated it would work with former management to explore selling the equipment, leaving open a slim possibility that some local manufacturing might continue. No confirmed outcome on that has been publicly reported.
The regional development agency also expressed hope to repurpose the Franklinville facility as a manufacturing space for cutlery startups, but that remains aspirational rather than confirmed.
The Ontario Knife Brand Today — Products, Trade Shows, and Open Questions on Manufacturing
The Ontario Knife Company website is live and operational. It describes an active product catalog and confirms the Virginia relocation. Popular lines — Old Hickory kitchen knives, RAT folders, and military fixed blades — remain in the catalog under Blue Ridge ownership.
At SHOT Show in January 2025, the brand appeared under Blue Ridge with new product showcases, including a MagnaCut version of the RAT folder. That level of trade show presence signals this is not a dormant brand name sitting on a shelf.
The open question is where the knives are actually being made now. Because Blue Ridge is a distributor rather than a domestic manufacturer, enthusiasts and forum users widely expect production has shifted to overseas sourcing. A comment thread on Reddit’s r/knives noted that “new owners decided to shutter all U.S. manufacturing,” though that is community commentary rather than an official statement from Blue Ridge.
Until Blue Ridge makes a clear public statement about manufacturing origin, buyers should check the country of origin label on any post-2023 Ontario knife before purchasing — especially if U.S.-made is important to them.
What This Means for Buyers, Collectors, and Retailers
For Buyers
The Ontario Knife brand is still selling products. If you want a RAT folder or Old Hickory kitchen knife, you can still buy one. But be aware that knives made after the 2023 sale may come from a different production source than the Franklinville-era versions.
Check the country of origin on the packaging. If that matters to you, it is worth doing before you spend money.
For Collectors
Franklinville-made Ontario knives are now a closed chapter. Pre-2023 blades with Franklinville stamping represent the end of a 120-year American manufacturing run. If you collect U.S.-made knives specifically, those older Ontario pieces are worth tracking down — and their collector value may grow over time simply because no more will be made.
For Retailers
If you carry Ontario products, you likely have a mix of old Servotronics-era inventory and newer Blue Ridge stock. These are worth distinguishing for customers who ask about production origin. Pricing and marketing may differ depending on which inventory you are moving.
This situation is not unique to Ontario. Heritage brands getting sold and relaunched under distributor ownership — often with manufacturing shifted overseas — is a pattern that shows up regularly in tool, cutlery, and outdoor equipment markets. The brand name survives; the original production story does not.
Anyone tracking similar business transitions in niche manufacturing industries can find more case studies and analysis at Start Business Review.
Common Questions, Answered Directly
Did Ontario Knife Company go bankrupt?
No. This was a voluntary sale by Servotronics. No bankruptcy filing, no liquidation order.
Are Ontario knives still made in the USA?
The Franklinville factory closed in July 2023. Based on available information, U.S. manufacturing has stopped. The likely shift is toward imported production, but Blue Ridge has not made an explicit public statement confirming all production details.
Are the Old Hickory and RAT lines still available?
Yes. Both lines remain in the Ontario Knife catalog under Blue Ridge ownership.
Will the Franklinville factory reopen?
Local development agencies expressed interest in keeping it as a manufacturing space, but no confirmed reopening has been reported. Treat that as an open possibility, not a certainty.
The Bottom Line
Ontario Knife Company did not go out of business in the strict sense. The brand was sold, the Franklinville factory closed, 56 people lost their jobs, and production arrangements have changed in ways that are not yet fully transparent to the public.
What is clear: the Ontario Knife name continues under Blue Ridge Knives in Virginia, products are still being sold, and the brand showed up at SHOT Show 2025 with new models. What is less clear: exactly where those knives are now manufactured.
If you are a buyer, check the country of origin. If you are a collector, pre-2023 Franklinville-made Ontario knives are now a finished production run worth paying attention to. And if you are watching this from a business angle, the story is a clean example of a conglomerate exiting a non-core division — nothing more dramatic than that.
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