Walters Axe Catalog

It's interesting that Walters Axe boldly stated 'made for 100 years' on the cover page of their late 1950s catalogue. The following snippets of information come from David Perch's 'History of Walters Axe' in Chronicle of the early American Industries Assoc. Vol 40 #4 Dec 1987.
Upon emigrating to Canada, Sheffield cutlery maker Henry T. Walters gained employment with Sexton Washburn's 'The Hull Axe Factory' as an axe maker. (So this would have been 1858-59 if Morley had a keen memory when he commissioned that catalogue). Sexton himself was first listed in the business directory in 1854 as having secured the Philemon Wright water-driven smithy on Chaudiere Island in Ottawa/Hull. Walters took over the business (when Washburn was about 75 years old) in 1885 and re-named it H. Walters & Sons the following year. The three sons listed at the time were Henry, David and James. In the 1899 Ottawa Directory of businesses sons Harry and Morley had joined the firm. Then in the 1912 directory Morley P is listed as president with James as secretary. Morley's date of birth is listed as June 10 1868, the last of 12 children, and a graduate of engineering from McGill U in 1897. There is no mention of when the firm was re-named to Walters Axe but this probably happened not long after 1912.
 
300Six said:
There is no mention of when the firm was re-named to Walters Axe but this probably happened not long after 1912.
Click to expand...
Google Translate:

It should be noted that Meribah Walters
Will no longer appear in any representation
the company. Morley Punshon
Will always be quoted with James
Walters. It can therefore be assumed that
Meribah divested itself of its shares in
His other brother, James Walters.
The latter will do the same in favor of
Of Morley Punshon Walters in 1921
When it is entered in the register
Social reasons as the sole owner of the
Of the company. (7)
At that time that the "Henry
Walters and Sons "will become the" Walters
Ax Company ".

7. Hull Registration Office: Reason
Social Issues # 461; February 11, 1921.​



Bob
 
For those who like sources to be shared:

La hache Hulloise : La «Walters» by Chantal Berniquez and Luc Villemaire
from the publication "Outaouais", "Le Hull disparu", 1988, pages 17-21
La revue «Outaouais» est publiée par l'IHRO
(L'Institut d'histoire et de recherche sur l'Outaouais Inc.)

View online:
https://www.yumpu.com/fr/document/view/17400064/le-hull-disparu-partie-1

PDF version that can be downloaded:
http://www.reseaupatrimoine.ca/documents/Outaouais no 2 Le hull disparu_partie1.pdf
 
300Six said:
Front and center that'll probably be Ed Hammell. Ed was exempted from military service in WWII by virtue of being a tool & die maker. But he was really good at it and was tasked with making Inglis washing machine of Toronto become primary makers of Bren machine guns and Browning Hi-power pistols. Morley enticed him over to to modernize his axe making operation starting in about 1947 and Ed wound up running the show towards the end. The closed die forming change he implemented was a miracle at reducing costs by raising production and maintaining quality. In fact (the way I understand it) Baker Bros of Ottawa (metal and automotive recyclers) bought up Walters Axe when it was about to fold (early 1970s) solely to get their hands on Mr Hammel's expertise so he could be pressed into service to modernize their car crushing operation. Bakermet wasn't long in looking through the bottom line of their ledger books when they decided to fold the side-line Walters operation.
Click to expand...

I think you're right about it probably being Hammell, because the building in the undated photo says "Walters Axe", which the company wasn't called until 1912-ish (according to YesteryearsTools: "The company name was changed to the Walters Axe Co., Ltd., right around the time Morley took over in 1912").

In 1912, the presumed earliest possible date of the photo, Morley Walters would have been 45 or 46-ish, but the guy in the photo looks younger than that (to me). Seems more likely that the photo was taken later than that, which would make Walters even older. Ed Hammell (presumed to be John E. Hammell) was born in 1915 or 1916 (according to newspaper articles from 1965 that say he was 49), so that would make him 31 or 32-ish when he joined Walters in 1947 (as quoted above), which seems closer to the age of the guy in the photo.
 
Last edited:
A wealth of information here gentlemen! Thank you rjdankert and Steve. Presuming that Morley knew precisely how old he was (94) when the catalogue was released (and having been born in June of 1868) then the publication ought to date from late summer of 1962 or perhaps the spring of 1963. And this would suggest that his dad Henry began forging axes at Hull Axe Factory in about 1862, so as truthfully being able to claim that Walters had been making axes for 100 years.
 
A lot of early history can be found in that Outaouais article. From page 17:
"C'est vers la fin des années 1850 que Henry Walters installa son premier atelier dans l'édifice de son prédèces- seur et premier fabricant de haches à Hull, monsieur Sexton Washburn."

Translated by google, this says,
"It was in the late 1850s that Henry Walters set up his first workshop in the building of his predecessor and first manufacturer of axes in Hull, Mr. Sexton Washburn..."
 
I read that too 'en Francais'. Whatever happened Henry did emigrate from England in the mid 1800s and did wind up having a large family to support. Typically when you've found Shangri-la (ie shifting from staid and stuffy old England over to 'entrepreneur free-for-all' Upper Canada) families were known to become overly fruitful and the Walters family was obviously no exception.
There will be (if somebody digs around) Port of Entry records from when they arrived and a talented tradesman such as Henry would have been snapped up right away. Folks that 'got off the boat' quite often wound up spending their lives in Quebec City or Montreal and Ottawa/Hull was not too far away. Business and census records do indicate that Walters took over Washburn business in 1885 so it's unlikely he set up shop in Washburn's axe-making facility already in the 1850s, unless he was doing something (such as making knives and forks) that Washburn was not.
 
A 1909 ad for "H. Walters & Sons":

BookReaderImages.php


Canada Lumberman and Woodworker
https://archive.org/stream/canadianforest1909donm/#page/n1097/mode/1up/
 
If the 1907 H. Walters & Sons ad said 'not too soft and free from flaws' either Morley had already become a big influence on the business or the motto pre-dated him.
 
The Hull registration office notification of Walters family internal squabbling of Feb 11 1921, that rjdankert submitted, mentions the proposed name change over to Walters Axe, and sounds imminently plausible to me. I will henceforth go forward with 1921, instead of 1913. The one old hatchet I have that is stamped H Walters & Sons has therefore become 8 years more recent!.
 
Steve Tall said:
. . .the undated photo says "Walters Axe", which the company wasn't called until 1912-ish (according to YesteryearsTools: "The company name was changed to the Walters Axe Co., Ltd., right around the time Morley took over in 1912"). . .
Click to expand...
Also from that source:
"Morley was quite active in the business, rising to the presidency by 1912."

Steve Tall said:
Advertisements from 1912, 1913, and 1914 are still calling the company "H. Walters & Sons". . .
Click to expand...

rjdankert said:
. . .Morley Punshon Walters in 1921
When it is entered in the register
Social reasons as the sole owner of the
Of the company. (7)
At that time that the "Henry
Walters and Sons "will become the" Walters
Ax Company ".

7. Hull Registration Office: Reason
Social Issues # 461; February 11, 1921.
Click to expand...


Bob
 
rjdankert and Steve, you guys are champions! First time I noticed a Walters stamp on an axe was one I was issued by Ontario Dept of Lands & Forests in 1970. I'm having a field day with this historic literature. Why most of it is in French baffles me. Quebecers mind you are very possessive, and flag-waving proud of their Lower Canada heritage, regardless of how 'Anglais' some of their bosses were.
 
300Six said:
If the 1907 H. Walters & Sons ad said 'not too soft and free from flaws' either Morley had already become a big influence on the business or the motto pre-dated him.
Click to expand...

Claims of "not too soft" and "free from flaws" were evidently not unique to Walters Axe:

The Iron Age - Volume 55 - Page 307
https://books.google.com/books?id=h2JDAQAAMAAJ
1895 - ‎Hardware
... it has until recently been customary for most manufacturers to warrant each Axe or Tool specifically to be free from flaws, not too soft...

The Evening Kansan-Republican from Newton, Kansas on June 2, 1908
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/95976468/
...We hereby guarantee all Edge Tools stamped "KEEN KUTTER" to be free from flaws and not too soft, and will replace free of cost any and all Tool...

"Price List of D. R. Barton Brand Edge Tools" - Internet Archive
https://archive.org/stream/Barton1909/Barton%201909#page/n3/mode/1up
Our tools are warranted free from flaws and not too soft, and defective tools, when returned to us express or freight prepaid, will be made good or replaced...
 
'Not too soft and free from flaws' is awkward compared to 'free from flaws and not too soft'.
 
Just FYI. Henry T. Walters was brought to Hull as a teenager by his axe maker father, John Walters. John was an edge tool maker in Staffordshire, England and brought his young family to America (Newark, NJ) in 1848 (when Henry was 14). Then he moved the family to Hull to make axes around 1952. So the Walters family was indeed making axes for well over 100 years. I'm a descendant of that family : )
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top