The Made in America Matrix

We hear a lot from our customers about buying American made, especially since it's been in the news lately.  If you know anything about us, you know we do our best to provide American made products.  Dexter Russell is a line of professional cutlery that's been produced in Massachusetts since 1818.  Not only are they the oldest cutlery manufacturer in the U.S., but they are also the largest in the world.  Dexter is a name most Americans are more likely to associate with a cable series, but professionals in the food service industry (chefs, butchers, caterers) rely on Dexter knives for their quality, high-carbon steel, hand-ground and honed, ultra sharp blades, and comfortable, slip-resistant grips to provide for safety and tough use.

The only clam and oyster knives we sell are made by Dexter Russell.  While there are a multitude of over-seas manufactures who make those knives for half the price, we stubbornly refuse to sell them, even if it means we lose a sale when a customer refuses to pay for American made.

This summer, it became even more apparent how important buying American really is when we witnessed the interdependency of this one company with other Massachusetts companies.  We met 3 people who are all connected by Dexter Russell.  The first was a (handsome---sorry Joe, he was.) man from Poland who immigrated here a number of years ago.  He was vacationing with his family when he visited our shop and saw our display of Dexter knives and told us how he works for the company (another Massachusetts manufacturer) that fabricates the dies for Dexter knife handles.  (Those are the forms that the plastic is poured into to create the handle's shape.)

Not long ago, we met another customer who told us she actually designs the packaging for Dexter Russell.  She works for another Massachusetts company.  Just the other day, a gentleman who works as a butcher for Shaw's was down for the weekend, and told us how much he loves Dexter knives and wouldn't use anything else for his job.

So the moral of the story is, while we thought we were supporting American manufacturing,  EVEN we didn't realize to what extent.   By selling Dexter Russell knives we are promoting more than just one company and its employees, but many more local jobs are inter-connected.  When our customers listen to our spiel and decide to buy this Massachusetts made product, they are helping to support the jobs of many more than they probably realize.  Made in America!