Relabeled and House branded axes

fast14riot

fast14riot

Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
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I thought it would be interesting to see some of the relabeled or house branded axes. Brands that were not made by the name on the axe, like Craftsman is made by Vaughn, to see what is out there. I am working on a Lakeside boys axe, which was a Montgomery Wards brand used up to the 1950's. I don't know who actually made it, but I know Wards did not.

Here is my Lakeside...

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After some filing, wire wheel treatment and reshaped the eye...(photos styled in homage to Cooperhill's great looking photo style!)

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-Xander
 
I wasn't aware that Sears actually owned any manufactering plants, I'm far from very knowledgeable on the subject, but I know most all their hand tools were contracted out. Best I can tell, Fulton was an internal "brand" for sears, maker unknown.


-Xander
 
From Axe Makers of North America...

"In the long list of axe retailers, Sears has a special spot, because they were makers, but also offered a wide choice of America's best axes from other sources. It was nice to walk into a Sears store, in years past, and see such large and diverse axe displays."

"Excellent axes were made in a number of grades. The top quality line, handmade, was the VILLAGE FORGE axe, but they also had FULTON SPECIALS, LUMBERJACK and MERIT labels."
 
Is that excerpt speaking in reference to any particular year catalog? Craftsman wasn't a Sears brand until 1927.

This is not the original intent of posting this thread, but I find this avenue very interesting to go down! Let's keep discussing it. How about any regional rebrands, say from smaller hardware stores? What other known rebrands are there?


-Xander
 
...
"It was not until the 1930's that Sears brought out the DUNLAP axe, which was another "standard" line, 4-SQUARE axes, and it's most famous tools~CRAFTSMAN!"
 
fast14riot said:
I wasn't aware that Sears actually owned any manufactering plants, I'm far from very knowledgeable on the subject, but I know most all their hand tools were contracted out. Best I can tell, Fulton was an internal "brand" for sears, maker unknown.
-Xander
Click to expand...

Kelly had a Fulton brand name in their history. I don't know if it was made for Sears.

Tom
 
I was just looking through the Sears Catolog(1908) and dreaming of ordering me a axe or two. All the axes listed are Fultons. I wonder who made Merit. Any body know?
Fast14, nice thread, I think we are going to gain some knowlege and see some nice axes.
 
Axe Makers says that Sears & Roebuck had a FULTON axe factory in Chicago.

Quote...
"They were proud to state in their 1908 catalogue (#117) they sold over 100,000 FULTON axes in 1907, more than any other two brands combined."

It seems that the Merit lable was also made by Sears.
 
For some interesting reading about Craftsman tool history and related brands, click here.

An excerpt from the link reguarding Merit Brand...

" The Sears catalogs frequently mention "Merit" brand tools as lower-cost alternatives to the Craftsman selections, and the next several figures show examples of various tools marked with the Merit brand. The Merit brand is believed to have been a private unregistered brand used by Sears, rather than an independent company brand.
Interestingly, several of the examples below are marked with an "AF" code, a code also found on a number of Craftsman brand tools. This strongly suggests that the maker of the "AF" Merit tools also produced Craftsman-branded tools.
Some of the manufacturers of Merit brand tools have been identified by means of manufacturer's codes or by production characteristics, including Danielson, Diamond Calk Horseshoe, and Vlchek Tool."


-Xander
 
I bought a cruiser axe head marked "Tru-Test", which is a house brand from True Value hardware stores back in the 1960s and 70s.
 
Montgomery Wards also had Wards Master Quality. I think that was their top line. The ones I've seen were top quality.
 
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