The Safety Knife
The Safety Knife Company is a UK-based manufacturer of industrial safety knives with enclosed and self-retracting blades, including the proprietary ReAkta range and metal-detectable products for food and pharmaceutical applications. It sells direct and through 10+ international distributors to warehousing, manufacturing, food/pharma, and rescue customers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersQuedgeley, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What The Safety Knife does
The Safety Knife Company is a UK-based private manufacturer of industrial safety cutting tools, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire. The company's product portfolio centers on safety knives with enclosed blades (Fish, Penguin, Boxer, Swan, Morri-Cut ranges), self-retracting utility knives (SKR and the proprietary ReAkta range with a patented 'lock out and retract' mechanism), and a metal-detectable product line moulded with proprietary additives and stainless steel blades for food processing and pharmaceutical environments. Complementary offerings include trimming knives (T500, Trim Guard 30), replacement blades, holsters, lanyards, sharps bins, and the DetectAPen metal-detectable marker range, alongside distributed third-party brands (Slice ceramic blades, PHC/NOVA, Klever Kutter).
The business operates a B2B go-to-market combining direct e-commerce and telephone sales (01452 887 900) with an international distribution network that includes an exclusive North American entity (The Safety Knife Company LLC, St Louis) and partners across Oceania, India, and nine European countries. Unit pricing ranges from approximately £2.10 for entry-level safety knives to £190 for heavy-duty steel band cutters, with volume discounts, a £250 carriage-free UK threshold, and replacement-blade sales providing recurring revenue from the installed base. The company serves four primary verticals: industrial warehousing and logistics, manufacturing, food and pharmaceutical, and rescue services, addressing workplace laceration risk, product contamination compliance (HACCP), and safe cutting of packaging, strapping, and seatbelts. General Manager David Harris leads site visits, training, and customer engagement. The company has no disclosed external funding, operates from a single UK manufacturing site with 11-50 employees, and has executed a 30+ year operating history built on UK manufacturing expertise, in-house mechanical design capability, and incremental product line extension including the 2020 PHC/NOVA brand transition and a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic range.
The Safety Knife firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Safety Knife
- Legal name
- The Safety Knife Co. Ltd
- Website
- https://safetyknife.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Safety Knife Company is a UK-based manufacturer of industrial safety knives with enclosed and self-retracting blades, including the proprietary ReAkta range and metal-detectable products for food and pharmaceutical applications. It sells direct and through 10+ international distributors to warehousing, manufacturing, food/pharma, and rescue customers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where The Safety Knife is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Quedgeley
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Safety Knife business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Safety Knife Product Sales: Direct sale of proprietary and distributed safety knife products through e-commerce, telephone, and sales team. Includes various series (Fish, Penguin, Boxer, Swan, Shark, SKR, ReAkta) with different blade types and retraction mechanisms.
- Replacement Blades Sales: Recurring revenue from replacement blades for multiple knife ranges including Fish, Shark, Big Fish, Boxer, SKR, ReAkta, Trim Guard, and Safety Trim 500.
- Accessories and Ancillary Products: Sale of accessories including holsters, lanyards, sharps bins, metal detectable pens, markers, and glove clips.
- Slice Ceramic Cutters Distribution: Distribution partnership for Slice ceramic blade products (lasts up to 10x longer than steel) to UK industrial market.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Entry-level recycled safety knives |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Heavy duty recycled safety knives |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Heavy duty industrial band cutters |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Metal detectable safety knives |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Trimming knives and blades |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Safety Knife product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Safety Knife Company designs, manufactures, and distributes industrial safety cutting tools — primarily safety knives with enclosed blades, self-retracting utility knives, and metal detectable knives — for warehouses, manufacturers, food processing, pharmaceutical, and rescue service customers. The company sells UK-manufactured proprietary products (Fish, Penguin, Boxer, Swan, ReAkta, SKR ranges) and distributes complementary third-party brands (Slice, PHC, NOVA, Klever Kutter), along with replacement blades, holsters, lanyards, sharps bins, band cutters, and metal detectable pens.
Product overview
The Safety Knife Company offers a comprehensive portfolio of industrial safety cutting tools, primarily consisting of physical safety knives and blades rather than software products. The core offering includes Safety Knives with Enclosed Blades (Fish, Penguin, Boxer, Swan, and Morri-Cut ranges), Utility/Self-Retracting Knives (SKR and ReAkta ranges with patented lock-out mechanisms), and Metal Detectable knives for food/pharmaceutical industries. The company also distributes Slice Ceramic Cutters and acquired the PHC/NOVA brand. Supporting products include replacement blades, holsters, lanyards, sharps bins, band cutters, trimming knives, VISIONSafe glove clips, and DetectAPen markers. The company operates a B2B model supplying UK-manufactured products complemented by strategic third-party brands.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ReAkta: Company's own design utility knife range with patented 'lock out and retract' mechanism, built in-house with ability to modify for different blades including round end and ceramic options.
- SKR Range
- DetectAPen
- Safety Trim
Products and services
- Fish Safety Knife Range The original enclosed-blade safety knife series, including Fish 200 (original/best seller), Fish 600 (lightweight disposable), Big Fish (heavy duty), Shark (heavy duty with retractable blade), and Fish 2000/3000 (auto/manual retract hook blade). Suitable for cutting packaging materials and ropes up to 12mm diameter. Target users: industrial warehouses, manufacturers, and rescue services.
- Penguin Safety Knife Range Safety knives featuring 'opposing slopes' on the knife head for efficient cutting. Includes Penguin 400, 900, and 1000 series, plus the P900 Recycled series made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Target users: industrial packaging operations seeking sustainable tooling.
- Boxer Safety Knife Range Safety knives in the Boxer 700 and Boxer 800 series with enclosed blades, suitable for industrial packaging applications. Target users: industrial packaging and warehouse operations.
- Morri-Cut Film Cutter Safety cutter specifically designed for film cutting applications in industrial settings. Target users: industrial film and packaging operations.
- Swan Safety Knife Safety knife with enclosed blade design for industrial packaging cutting applications. Target users: industrial packaging operations.
- SKR Retractable Blade Range Self-retracting utility knives including SKR100, SKR300, SKR400, SKR500, SKR600 (scraper), SKR700, and SKR800. Features automatic blade retraction for enhanced safety. Target users: warehouses, logistics, and manufacturing operations.
- ReAkta Utility Knife Range Company's own design utility knife range with patented 'lock out and retract' mechanism built in-house. Available in Standard, Heavy Duty, and Auto Knife variants. Can accommodate different blades including round end and ceramic. Target users: industrial customers seeking proprietary safety utility knives.
- Slice Ceramic Cutters and Blades Ceramic blade cutters and replacement blades from Slice (USA company). Ceramic blades last up to 10x longer than steel. Distributed to UK industrial market by The Safety Knife Company. Target users: UK industrial customers seeking long-life ceramic blade cutters.
- PHC and NOVA Safety Knives PHC safety knives and NOVA brand products acquired following the Safety Products Global acquisition. NOVA products are being rebranded to PHC as stock depletes. Target users: UK industrial customers seeking additional complementary safety knife brands.
- Metal Detectable Range Safety knives and tools moulded with metal detectable additive and stainless steel blades for food and pharmaceutical industries. Includes Fish, Penguin, Swan, ReAkta, and Boxer detectable knife variants. Target users: food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturers requiring contamination-safe tooling.
- DetectAPen Metal Detectable Markers Metal detectable marking pens including J800 Original, P950 Pressurised, ECO210, ECO220, ECO240 Stylus, plus DETECTA-MARK permanent markers, DETECTA-WIPE dry wipe markers, and DETECTA-LITE highlighters. Target users: food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturers needing detectable marking tools.
- Trimming Knives Trim Guard 30 and T500 SafetyTrim knife designed for trimming applications with replaceable blades. Target users: industrial and manufacturing customers performing trimming and skiving operations.
- Replacement Blades Replacement blades for all knife ranges including hook blades, straight blades, tape cutter blades, ceramic blades, and scalpel blades (Swann-Morton). Target users: existing customers of Safety Knife Company knife ranges needing ongoing blade replenishment.
- Band Cutters Heavy duty metal and plastic banding cutters including HD Steel/Plastic Band Cutter (up to 30mm wide) and Super Tymer Steel Band Cutter with rubber dampers. Target users: industrial and warehouse operations cutting steel or plastic strapping bands.
- Holsters and Lanyards Safety holsters (PVC black, heavy duty woven polyester, leather) and lanyards for secure knife storage and attachment. Target users: industrial knife users needing safe storage and tethering solutions.
- Sharps Bins Containers for safe disposal of used blades and sharp objects. Target users: industrial customers needing compliant disposal of used blades.
- Reel Glider Utility knife for cutting film and packaging materials from reels. Target users: industrial packaging and warehouse operations handling reel-fed film.
- VISIONSafe BottleChocks and Glove Clips Safety accessories including BottleChocks and Glove Guard Clips, Utility Guard Clips, and Handi Klips. The VISIONSafe product line is associated with Vision Safe PTY Ltd, the exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand. Target users: industrial and warehouse workers needing glove retention and bottle storage safety.
Quantifiable outcome
- Self-retracting knives significantly reduce cut-related injuries in industrial environments
Companies that use The Safety Knife
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Safety Knife technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Safety Knife partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and minor.
- The Safety Knife Company LLCcoreExclusive distributor for USA, Canada and Mexico. Located at 755 Old Frontenac Road, St Louis, MO 63131. Tel: (+1) 314 645 3900. Contact: Joyce Snyder / Laura Wissman. Website: www.safetyknifeus.com
- Vision Safe PTY LtdcoreExclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand. Located at 64 Wandeara Crescent, Mundaring 6073, Western Australia, Australia. Tel: +61 (0) 8 9295 0624. Contact: Dean Roberts. Website: visionsafe.com.au
- Netfil Technik Pvt LtdregionalDistributor for India. Plot No E 163, MIDC Baramati, Behind Piaggio, Baramati 413133, MH, India. Contact: Madhav Parekh. Tel: +91 9930359879.
- Dimensio Verpakkingen BVregionalDistributor for The Netherlands and Belgium. Located at Wittevrouwen 1, 1358 CD Almere, Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0) 36 54 94 111. Contact: Dex Dissen. Website: www.dimensio.nl
- Rala GmbH & Co. KGregionalDistributor for Germany. Maudacher Str. 109, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, 67065 Germany. Tel: +49 (0) 621 5701159. Website: www.rala.de
- DB Forsaljnings Wiedland ABregionalDistributor for Sweden. Box 8, SE232 21 Arlov, Sweden. Tel: +46 (0) 40 534030. Contact: Tor Wiedling-Fernandes. Website: www.wiedland.se
- ActiworkregionalDistributor for France. 260 rue des Barronières, 01700 Beynost, France. Tel: +33 (0) 4 82 75 27 90. Website: www.actiwork.fr
- Maya Professional ToolsregionalDistributor for Spain. Pol. Ind. Bufali, C/ En Proyecto S/n, Parcela nº 3, 46891 Bufali (Valencia), Spain. Tel: +34 (0) 962 389 059.
- Jusky Jacek JuszczakregionalDistributor for Poland. Ul. Marka Hlaski 51/6, 54-608 Wroclaw, Poland. Contact: Jacek Juszczak. Tel: +48 (0) 71 759 25 59.
- Budai József e.v.regionalDistributor for Hungary. Rákóczi Street 126, 9343 Beled, Hungary. Contact: Levente Budai. Tel: +36 (0) 7061 46934.
- PHC (Safety Products Global)corePHC safety knife products acquired by Safety Products Global. Products being rebranded and transitioning to PHC branding. NOVA branded items being replaced with PHC branded equivalents as stock depletes.
- Klever KutterminorComplementary safety knife brand that complements The Safety Knife Company's own UK manufactured products.
- Slice (USA)minorUSA-based ceramic blade company. The Safety Knife Company distributes Slice ceramic cutter products to the UK industrial market. Slice blades last up to 10x longer than steel.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Safety Knife competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Knipex: German pliers and hand tools specialist whose cutting tools (shears, cable cutters, specialty blades) compete with The Safety Knife in industrial cutting applications and are stocked by similar industrial distributors.
- 3M: Global safety and industrial supply major whose Safety Division bundles PPE and cutting tools into enterprise contracts; competes indirectly with The Safety Knife for large manufacturer and logistics safety procurement budgets.
- Stanley Black & Decker: Large industrial tools conglomerate whose Stanley and related brands ship safety utility knives as part of broader cutting and PPE portfolios, competing with The Safety Knife on shelf at industrial distributors.
- Milwaukee Tool (Techtronic Industries): Major industrial cutting tools brand offering fixed and retractable blade utility knives within a much wider professional tools portfolio, serving overlapping industrial and trade buyers.
Direct peers
- Tajima: Japanese cutting tool specialist (utility knives, snap-off blades, and gypsum/cutting tools), with a product line that overlaps with The Safety Knife's utility and enclosed-blade knives sold into construction and industrial trades.
- Olfa: Japanese manufacturer of snap-off and safety utility knives, with overlapping industrial self-retracting and concealed-blade product lines targeted at the same warehouse/manufacturing buyers as The Safety Knife.
- Slice: US-based maker of ceramic safety cutters and blades, with whom The Safety Knife has a UK distribution partnership and overlapping ceramic safety-knife offerings for industrial markets.
- Klever Kutter: Safety knife brand that the company already distributes as a complementary line; competes head-to-head in concealed-blade safety knives sold into logistics and industrial channels.
- Martor: German specialist manufacturer of safety knives with concealed, replaceable blades for industrial packaging and warehouse use, directly competing in the same enclosed-blade niche as The Safety Knife.
- Pacific Handy Cutter (Safety Products Global): Owner of the PHC and former NOVA safety knife brands, which The Safety Knife distributes in the UK following Safety Products Global's acquisition; competes in the same concealed-blade safety knife category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Safety Knife social profiles
Digital presenceThe Safety Knife financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Safety Knife leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Safety Knife subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
The Safety Knife funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Safety Knife M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Safety Knife
What does The Safety Knife do?
The Safety Knife Company designs, manufactures, and distributes industrial safety cutting tools — primarily safety knives with enclosed blades, self-retracting utility knives, and metal detectable knives — for warehouses, manufacturers, food processing, pharmaceutical, and rescue service customers. The company sells UK-manufactured proprietary products (Fish, Penguin, Boxer, Swan, ReAkta, SKR ranges) and distributes complementary third-party brands (Slice, PHC, NOVA, Klever Kutter), along with replacement blades, holsters, lanyards, sharps bins, band cutters, and metal detectable pens.
Is The Safety Knife a public or private company?
The Safety Knife is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Safety Knife founded?
The Safety Knife was founded in 1993. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Safety Knife based?
The Safety Knife is headquartered in Quedgeley, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Safety Knife make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Safety Knife Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are replacement Blades Sales, accessories and Ancillary Products and slice Ceramic Cutters Distribution.
Who are The Safety Knife's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Knipex, 3M, Stanley Black & Decker and Milwaukee Tool (Techtronic Industries). Direct peers are Tajima, Olfa, Slice, Klever Kutter, Martor and Pacific Handy Cutter (Safety Products Global).
Does The Safety Knife have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Safety Knife.