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Beaver Falls Cutlery Company
Published: August 18th, 2025
The roots of the company began in 1866, in Rochester, Pennsylvania, where Edward Binns and Samuel Mason began a small knife-making enterprise under the name Binns & Mason. By October of that year, the firm had been officially chartered, but it quickly became apparent that the company lacked the capital it needed to scale operations. Seeking financial support, the founders turned to investors in Pittsburgh. With their backing, the company was restructured and renamed the Pittsburgh Cutlery Company in October of 1866. Yet even this influx of investment proved insufficient.
Real momentum came when the Pittsburgh Cutlery Company was absorbed by a larger and more financially stable force, the Harmony Society. A religious and communal group of German-American settlers originally based in Harmony, Pennsylvania, the society had become a powerful economic engine by the mid-nineteenth century, shifting from farming and religious utopianism toward shrewd business investments. The Harmony Society had already purchased the town of Beaver Falls in 1849 and saw potential in establishing a manufacturing base there. With their involvement, the cutlery operation was merged with a new firm backed by the society, and prominent figures such as Henry Reeves (president), John Reeves (secretary and treasurer), and Samuel Mason (director) took leadership roles.
In April 1867, the entire knife-making business was relocated to a two-acre tract in Beaver Falls, on the lower end of town near the river. There, the company launched a major expansion effort, backed by Pittsburgh industrialists including Dr. C.G. Hussey, General Thomas M. Howe, and James W. Brown. A second wave of skilled cutlers was recruited from Sheffield, England, the center of global knife-making at the time, in hopes of bringing Old World craftsmanship to an American enterprise. By early 1868, the firm had adopted the name Beaver Falls Cutlery Company.
The Harmony Society, now the majority shareholder, transformed the business into a joint-stock company. By 1870, it had a capital stock of $400,000, an impressive figure for the time. Under the management of John Reeves and the broader guidance of Harmony’s leadership, the company constructed a massive factory complex between Second and Third Streets, off Seventh Avenue in Beaver Falls. Often referred to as the “cutlery property,” the site became one of the largest knife-making operations in the United States.
- In 1866, Edward Binns and Samuel Mason founded Binns & Mason
- In October 1866, Binns & Mason was renamed to the Pittsburgh Cutlery Company
- In late 1866, the Pittsburgh Cutlery Company was absorbed by the Harmony Society (pictured above)
- In 1867, the Pittsburgh Cutlery Company was relocated to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
- In 1868, the company adopted the name Beaver Falls Cutlery Company
At its peak, the factory employed 300 workers and produced 1,200 dozen finished pieces of cutlery per day. It was powered by three 82-horsepower turbine water wheels and a 125-horsepower steam engine, reflecting the scale and ambition of the project. The company didn’t just make table knives; it produced razors, scissors, surgical tools, and, in time, even grand showpieces like an ornate Bowie knife that was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. That piece, nearly two feet long and etched with patriotic designs, symbolized the company’s desire to challenge the dominance of Sheffield and establish America as a leader in fine steel goods.
The optimism of this period was real, but so were the pressures. Many of the skilled English workers who had been recruited to staff the factory brought with them the principles and expectations of the Sheffield trade unions. They pushed for higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions, values that clashed with the priorities of management. These tensions reached a breaking point in 1872 when the workforce went on strike. The strike brought production to a halt and forced the company’s leadership to make a controversial and historic decision.
Rather than yield to the workers’ demands, the company turned to a growing source of labor on the West Coast: Chinese immigrants. Over 200 Chinese laborers were brought in from California to replace the striking workers. Many had previously worked on the transcontinental railroad and were known for their discipline and efficiency. Their arrival in Beaver Falls marked one of the earliest and most prominent uses of Chinese labor in eastern U.S. manufacturing. It also sparked significant backlash. Anti-Chinese sentiment was already brewing in the West, and their presence in Pennsylvania, where the idea of immigrant replacement labor was still relatively new, stirred public hostility.
Despite these tensions, the Chinese workers succeeded in restoring production, and the factory returned to profitability, at least for a time. The company continued operating through the 1870s, riding the ups and downs of the national economy. During the 1876 exposition, Samuel Mason proudly stated that the company had surpassed the English in one key regard: while Sheffield was still producing iron cutlery, the Beaver Falls plant was turning out cutlery made from steel
Chinese Beaver Falls Cutlery Worker 1870
But the company’s success could not outpace larger economic currents. The Panic of 1873 ushered in a deep financial depression that affected manufacturers across the country. For Beaver Falls Cutlery, which had made large capital investments and carried high operational costs, the slowdown in demand proved devastating. Competition from both domestic producers and imported goods intensified. Despite its early success and modern equipment, the company couldn’t maintain its position.
By the early 1880s, financial strain, declining labor conditions, and the Harmony Society’s waning interest in hands-on manufacturing led to the company’s slow unraveling. The factory, once a symbol of postwar industrial promise, shut down in 1886. The machinery was left idle, the workers dispersed, and the Harmony Society retreated further into its role as an investment entity.
Yet the company’s story didn’t end completely with the closure of the Beaver Falls plant. In 1890, the Champlin family of New York, already known for their work in the cutlery business, purchased much of the knife-making equipment from the defunct factory. Using these tools, they launched the Cattaraugus Cutlery Company in Little Valley, New York. That firm would go on to become a respected name in American knife-making, carrying forward, in a small way, the same industrial spirit that had once fueled the Beaver Falls Cutlery Company.
Written By
Drew Clifton
Drew is the lead writer for SMKW's Knives 101, crafting informative and engaging content for the world’s largest knife store. With expertise in knife history, design, and functionality, Drew delivers articles and product descriptions that educate and inspire knife enthusiasts at all levels.
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T.C. Barnette
T.C. Barnette is a dynamic media personality and the esteemed spokesperson for SMKW (Smoky Mountain Knife Works), where his passion for knives intersects with his captivating on-screen presence. With a magnetic charisma and deep expertise in cutlery, T.C. has become a beloved figure in the knife community.