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"We went to the Manufacturers' Building... and saw the "Keen Kutter" exhibit. In the
center of the space, which was nearly two hundred feet square... Everything about
the exhibit was worked by electricity. Above... is an arch made of glistening spoons
of different sizes. At the upper right-hand corner was a gigantic pocket knife with
four blades that kept opening and shutting and at the upper left-hand corner was
a row of seven blacksmiths standing each at his anvil with a different tool in his
hand. At stated times first one and then another would beat the tool on the anvil with
his hammer... At the center top were two windmills made of ax blades continually
turning. It was very interesting."
SEPTEMBER 29, 1915
E.C. Simmons & Co. was a wholesale hardware dealer which marked all types of tools. Although
they were not a maker per se, the company did acquire controlling interest in the Walden Knife Co. in the 1890’s and had some
of their tools made by that company. They were bought out by the A.F. Shapleigh Hdw. Co. n 1940.
Besides their best known brand name KEEN KUTTER, some other brand names they used not necessarily
before 1900 were: ARKANSAS (splitting wedges), AXTEL (horse rasps), BAY STATE (hatchets), BLACK JACK (various tools
including a wrench with a 14 JAN. 1896 patent), BLACKSNAKE (saws), Blue Brand or B.B. (squares and others),
BULL DOG (braces and tool sets), CHIPAWAY (axes, planes, hammers and other), CLAY BANK (shovels),
COLUMBIA (saws), CUMBERLAND (axes), DEFIANCE (saws), DELMAR (coffee mills), DRIVEWELL (punches),
DUCK BILL (wrenches), ESSEX (wrenches), EUREKA (rakes), FARMER BOY (scythe stones),FAST MAIL (saws), W.M. FINCH (saws), HERCULES (wheelbarrows), HOWARD (axes), KEYSTONE
(forks), KLICKER (various tools), KLINCHER (pliers), KORN KRUSHER (corn mills, LIGHTNIN, LONE STAR (hoes), H.M.
MEIER (saws), MESQUITE (axes), MOGUL (shovels), MONARCH (saws), NEVER SLIP (wrenches), OAK LEAF (various tools),OHIO BOY (rakes), OHIO FALLS (axes), OZARK (splitting wedges), POLAR (ice saws),
RED JACKET (hatchets),RED LINE (rules), RED TOP (scythes), ROYAL (axes), RUN
EASY (plows, lawn mowers), SMILEY’S (saws),SURE GRIP (braces, vises, wrenches),
SWIFT (saws and saw tools), TRUE BLUE (axes), UTILITY (saws, wrenches), VANGUARD (saws), WINNER (lawn
mowers), WOOD PECKER (axes), ZULU (axes), WM. ENDERS (various tools) information obtained from the EAIA Directory of American Toolmakers book which you can visit thier website at
this link http://www.eaiainfo.org/
Edward Campbell
Simmons and August Frederick Shapleigh founded keen Kutter.
Time line:
1847 Shapleigh
Day & Company- 1863 A.F. Shapleigh & Company-1870 Keen Kutter name chosen by E.C. Simmons-1872 E.C. Simmons &
Company-1874 Simmons Hardware Company
1922 Merger
of Simmons Hardware & Winchester- 1923 Winchester- Simmons Company
1929 Simmons
Hardware Company reverted to original status- 1940 Shapleigh Hardware Company-1962 Val-Test as to my understanding Distributors
Buying Group still existing
The Keen Kutter brand of tools was originated
in 1870 by the E.C. Simmons Company. In 1874 the organization was incorporated under new Federal corporation laws as the Simmons
Hardware Company. It was the first company to take such a step.
The company motto was "The Recollection
of QUALITY Remains Long after the PRICE is Forgotten."
A 1902 portrait of E.C.
Simmons' top 257 salesmen is included in Jack DeBoer's Keen Kutter collection. It was made to honor them for selling over two million dollars worth of
merchandise in just one month. The Keen Kutter gold axe badge, one of which is included in the
collection, was awarded only to elite salesmen. The badge was worn on the lapel and considered a symbol of great esteem. E.C.
Simmons was a pioneer in the development of the catalog as a sales tool. His catalog was the first to use color pictures
and was recognized around the world as the "hardware encyclopedia. "The 1908 "G" issue, which contained
over 79,000 items, was the largest hardware catalog of its kind in the world.
E.C. Simmons loved sales gimmicks. The firm
promoted its products with moving figures for display windows, such as a large, electric powered pocket knife which slowly opened
and closed.
The Keen Kutter puzzle was perhaps the most famous company promotional gimmick. One boy and one girl would be allowed to sit
in a store display window while competing to complete the puzzle in the least possible amount of
time. Victorious boys received a pocket knife; girls received a pair of scissors.
Built as a distribution center for the company's line of "Keen Kutter" products, the building was reported to have contained more floor space than any other building in Wichita,
80 thousand square feet. Designed by the St. LouisFirm of Mauran, Russell and Garden, the
architecture of the building incorporated both the Italianate and Romanesque styles. The four-story, nine bay red brick building
boasted an automatic sprinkler system that included a 20 thousand gallon water tank located 20 feet above the sprinkler heads
"hidden" in the cupola portion of the building. The heart of a state of- the-art fire extinguishing system. The building itself was constructed to be fire resistant.
Its floors were water-tight,
and its walls cobbled at each level to retard air currents. Cracks and seams were sealed with oakum and pitch to render them
air-tight. The massive wooden beams which formed the building's
frame were built into the brick walls. In case of fire, this design would prevent a burning or collapsing beam from pulling the surrounding
wall down with it. The Keen Kutter warehouse was said to be
the strongest building in Wichita
and the largest
warehouse in the world in 1906. Its design is identical to that of the CupplesBuilding in St. Louis.
The 40-foot high square cupola features a hipped roof with pairs of brackets flanking circular
window openings. Construction of the Keen Kutter warehouse began
in 1905 and was completed in the spring of 1906. The four-story, all-brick building encompasses 80,000 square feet of space
and cost $250,000 to build. Nine shipping bays received goods from all over the world
An E. C. Simmons Hardware Company Logo Trade Mark. E.C. Simmons operated in St. Louis MO
between 1868-1940 with distribution points in at least 8 major U.S.
Cities.
Pocketknives: Keen Kutter was the Simmons premium
brand, used mainly on American-made knives.
Lower priced knives, most made in Germany were
tang stamped Simmons or Simmons Hardware Co. Some of the latter have a picture of a hornet stamped on the reverse tang
Simmons Hardware had begun as a regional hardware
wholesaler in Saint Louis after the Civil War, much like hundreds of other similar firms all over the United States.
Unlike most hardware
wholesalers, however,
Simmons had grown and expanded aggressively in pursuit of a national market. The Simmons "Keen Kutter" brand had become known
all over the country
SIMMONS HARDWARE COMPANY
Street City/State/Zip
Business
TypeDomesticProfitState of
Incorporation MO
Status Date 11/15/1887 Status I
Registration
Date 12/15/1873 Current Name
Date 12/15/1873
Expiration
Date Perpetual Report Period :
Last AR
Filed Last AR Year
Name
Effective
Date
Name
1 09/06/1929 SIMMONS HARDWARE COMPANY OF
ST. LOUIS
2 04/30/1929 SIMMONS HARDWARE DISTRIBUTORS
COMPANY
3 11/15/1922 THE WINCHESTER-SIMMONS
COMPANY OF ST. LOUIS
Name SIMMONS HARDWARE COMPANY OF ST. LOUIS
Street City/State/Zip
Business
Type
Domestic
Profit
State of
Incorporation MO
Status Date 04/13/1936 Status ID
Registration
Date 11/15/1922 Current Name
Date 09/06/1929
Expiration
Date 11/15/1972 Report Period :
Last AR
Filed Last AR Year
Dissolution
Date 04/13/1936
Some of this Informantion on Keen Kutter was obtained from THCKK & EAIA
