Morakniv | The story of KJ Eriksson and FM Mattsson

The tap/water faucet manufacturer FM Mattsson has since 1865 been casting brass products. Everything from horse bells to gears and hands to the famous clocks from Mora. But it was not until the taps became the main source of income that they positioned on top of the game in Sweden.

Like several other family businesses in our area of Östnor, they have from time to time had other businesses up and running. In 1917 FMM began to manufacture knives. Already the following year, a new factory premises was built for the purpose in the former Granath’s premises, which now houses a construction company, just north of the by then Morkarlby Railway Station.

The intention of the location was to be close to the railway to avoid the sometimes difficult freights across the Österdalälven river during winter. After more than 40 years of knife production, and by then, worn machines and tools they had no option to closing the business in late 1961. We believe that there were several intending buyers but that Frosts Knife Factory was rather uninterested due to worn machines and tools. KJ Eriksson, on the other hand, was interested in buying a new possible startup, but was not allowed to buy from FMM because they were considered a competitor on the tap/water faucet side with its sibling company AB MoraIndustri. J. Hallin with his knife business AB Moraknivar in Färnäs was the one who finally got to buy the already closed knife production from FMM, but they unfortunately went out of business before the deal was settled, so a couple of resolute FMM boys went to Färnäs and brought back what had previously been delivered.

It was then the FMM founder’s great-grandson Ingmar Norlin, also a friend of my fathers, who got to buy the knife production from FMM and who then sold it on to my dad and he in his turn on to KJ Eriksson, my grandfather’s knife company. Only a few knives from the FMM range survived further into KJ Eriksson’s range, of which the most famous is FM Mattsson’s No. 650, which re-emerged as KJ Eriksson’s No. 1700.