Buying guide

Where Knives Are Made in Pakistan: Sialkot, Wazirabad and Gujranwala

Knives in Pakistan are made mainly in Wazirabad and Sialkot, two separate cities in Punjab, with pots and pans also made in Gujranwala. Wazirabad is the main centre of cutlery, known for hunting knives and tableware, while Sialkot is a wider export city for cutlery and surgical instruments, where many knife makers such as ourselves also work.

Updated 5 November 2026. Written by Pakistan Knives Factory, a knife manufacturer in Sialkot since 1982: we work in Sialkot, so we rely on published studies for the wider picture.

Wazirabad

A 2022 study for the Pakistan Business Council calls Wazirabad the epicentre of the sector, for hunting knives and tableware. A 2021 report in Dawn quoted the chairman of the local association on 3,000 units, 25,000 workers and about US$100 million a year, figures that are wider than knives alone. The Pakistan Cutlery & Stainless Utensils Manufacturers & Exporters Association, founded in 1967, is based there and had about 600 members at the end of 2024.

Sialkot

Sialkot's export trades include surgical instruments, cutlery and sports goods, and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry groups members under a "Surgical & Cutlery" category. In the government's list of exporters for chapter 82 (tools, implements, cutlery) dated 2022, about 988 of some 1,400 lines mention Sialkot, 124 Wazirabad and 95 Gujranwala. That chapter is much wider than knives, so these are not counts of knife makers, but they show the weight of the city in the export trade.

Our own workshop has worked in Sialkot's Small Industrial Estate since 1982. More about us.

Gujranwala

The same study places pots and pans in Wazirabad and Gujranwala. We found no separate figures for knives in Gujranwala, so ask any supplier there for evidence of knife production specifically.

Export figures, and why they differ

Figures for the sector vary because they do not cover the same products.

US$39.6 million in 2020, of which 64% utensils and US$9 to 12 million a year for knives: Pakistan Business Council study.
US$55.3 million in July to May of fiscal 2024-25: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan.
US$142.4 million in 2020-21: the association's own figure, on a wider range of customs codes.

The main markets named are the USA, the Middle East, the UK, the EU and Afghanistan in the study, and Canada, the UK and Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Australia in a TDAP brochure. We found no published figure for knives from Sialkot alone.

How to find a maker

Start from the registers rather than from advertising: the TDAP exporter list, the Sialkot Chamber directory and the Wazirabad association.
Check each candidate the way we describe in how to verify a manufacturer.
Ask which town the workshop is in and find it on a map: these are separate cities.

Questions buyers ask

Which city in Pakistan is famous for knives?

Wazirabad is the main centre of cutlery, known for hunting knives and tableware. Sialkot is also a major export city for cutlery and is home to many knife makers.

Are Sialkot and Wazirabad the same place?

No. They are separate cities in Punjab, each with its own makers and its own business organisations.

How much cutlery does Pakistan export?

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan give US$55.3 million for July to May of fiscal 2024-25. Other sources use a wider product scope, so totals differ.

Buying knives in quantity? Send us your references and quantities: wholesale price from 50 pieces, no minimum order, your logo laser-engraved on the blade, about one month lead time on average.

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