"Old Knives"

DaveHS said:
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Some history on Electric thanks to Mike and Derek.


In the first half of his career as a traveling salesman, J.B.F. Champlin spent more than a dozen years selling razors, knives, shears and strops marked with the “Electric Cutlery” trademark. Since J.B.F. was always successful in his work, one could easily assume that he cheerfully touted the quality and value of Electric Cutlery products to potential clients on a daily basis as he peddled his wares from town to town.

The Electric Cutlery trademark was first used as early as 1873 by the importing firm Friedmann & Lauterjung of New York City.

J. Christopher Friedmann and Charles R. Lauterjung operated the firm from 1864-1909. They also had and office in St. Louis, Missouri.

(It is of interest to note that both of these bill heads state that the company manufactured as well as imported cutlery. Current research has failed to reveal any F&L manufacturing facilities prior to their move to New Jersey in 1890).

German importer George W. Korn told the Senate Sub Committee on Tariff in 1888 that Friedman & Lauterjung dealt in high grade cutlery while many others imported inexpensive goods of lesser quality. He also went on to explain that US merchants wanted names on their goods that were familiar sounding and easy to pronounce. Merchants did not care for foreign names that were difficult to spell and remember.



With this understanding of their US market, Christopher Friedmann and Charles Lauterjung could not have picked a better name than the trademark they selected.

“The Electric Cutlery Company” was certainly a name easy for the American people to remember and pronounce. Plus, the terms “electric” and “electricity” were no doubt very modern sounding buzzwords of that day and age that carried their own level of interest and implied quality.

In 1890 the company set up manufacturing in earnest when they moved from New York City to Newark, New Jersey. The company letterhead of that period displays an impressive illustration of the factory along with the bold claim “The Best Equipped Cutlery Works in the World”.Viewing Note: If you click on an image, you will see an option to view that image at it’s full resolution. The line will say “1440 x 960″ or something similar. It’s a little hard to find, but it’s worth the trouble when you’re reviewing the details of the old invoices.

According to Goins, James E. Fuller (President of the Newark company) along with his brother Clifford (Treasurer) purchased the “New York Knife Company” of Walden, New York in 1903. They operated both firms until 1910 when the Newark operation was closed.

Electric knives marked “Walden” were produced in the New York Knife Company plant as a second line to their now famous “Hammer Brand” Knives. The Electric trademark was used until about 1920.




Here is an Electric Cutlery Co Newark NJ, would have been made 1890 to 1910.


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Augie said:
Electric knives marked “Walden” were produced in the New York Knife Company plant as a second line to their now famous “Hammer Brand” Knives. The Electric trademark was used until about 1920.
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Thank you kindly! I should say while these blades were aggressively de-pitted and un-patina’d, ground and sharpened by previous owner(s), the action is pretty great on this knife, especially the very snappy secondary.
 
I went to the history center yesterday and they had a display called the treasures of the Arabia. The Arabia was a steamboat that sank on the Missouri River in 1853 and it was later discovered in the 1980s in a Kansas cornfield. The Missouri river had shifted course

Anyways, the pictures are through glass and not all that great but you can see a cool wharncliffe swayback jack and a great stag knife with what may have been a corkscrew on the backIMG_20260525_140856177_AE~2.jpgIMG_20260525_140907159_AE~2.jpg

You can read about the history and original exhibit here
www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Pittsburgh’s Lost Steamboat: Treasures of the Arabia

Travel back in time to when Pittsburgh was the Gateway to the West with the History Center’s new major exhibition, Pittsburgh’s Lost Steamboat: Treasures of the Arabia. By popular demand,…
www.heinzhistorycenter.org www.heinzhistorycenter.org
 
RickHuf said:
I went to the history center yesterday and they had a display called the treasures of the Arabia. The Arabia was a steamboat that sank on the Missouri River in 1853 and it was later discovered in the 1980s in a Kansas cornfield. The Missouri river had shifted course

Anyways, the pictures are through glass and not all that great but you can see a cool wharncliffe swayback jack and a great stag knife with what may have been a corkscrew on the backView attachment 3193263View attachment 3193264

You can read about the history and original exhibit here
www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Pittsburgh’s Lost Steamboat: Treasures of the Arabia

Travel back in time to when Pittsburgh was the Gateway to the West with the History Center’s new major exhibition, Pittsburgh’s Lost Steamboat: Treasures of the Arabia. By popular demand,…
www.heinzhistorycenter.org www.heinzhistorycenter.org
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How cool! I've seen the pics of those original knives recovered. How I'd like to get few hours with them, with a camera, ruler, and note pad. Such a gathering of different patterns and constructions virtually unused and in one place.
 
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