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Anybody have an idea when Winchester started and stopped making “Hardware” type products: Roller skates, scissors, levels etc
Thnaks
Mike Hunter
Mike,
Winchester never really "made" the hardware items. Simmons did that. Winchester bought Simmons in the mid 1920s, and when Olin bought Winchester out if bankruptcy in late 1930, Simmons was no more.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
Thanks Bert
Is there anyway to date Winchester marked products?
Did Olin keep the Hardware side when it bought out Winchester inthe 30s?
V/R
Mike
Mike,
Not that I am aware of… but I am not a collector of such items, so hopefully if somebody with more knowledge sees this, they can answer more definitively.
No, Olin did not retain Simmons.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
It depends on what you consider hardware items. The shop in New Haven produced flashlights and also batteries. Many of the tools were also made there such as hammers and wrenches etc. Most of it was phased out in the 30s but the battery and flashlight jobs lingered into the 50s.
Online
I thought I remembered reading some where that Simmons broke off from partnership with Winchester and then some years later on its own terms became bankrupt.
I googled and found a couple of possibly interesting articles.
These are articles of the "The Hardware Companies Kollectors Klub", which I had no idea existed.
This link talks about the Companies merger.
http://www.thckk.org/history/win-sim.pdf
This link talks about a general history of the companies.
http://www.thckk.org/history/winchester-hist.pdf
Most of the history info you will probably already know about, and some of which maybe somewhat in error or disputable. But they are nice quick little reads.
Sincerely,
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
Over a year late to the party…
My dad worked for Winchester from 1934-1958. My mom worked there from 1940-1956. The first job my dad had was making roller skates. He then moved on to flashlights. Unfortunately I don’t have the date. My dad passed away in 1996, so I can’t ask. From the notes my mom left me, she stated making roller skates, then installed switches on flashlights. She eventually went to making .303 brass. When the war started, they both moved to the gun side. My mom passed away in 2000. If her note is correct, they were still making roller skates in 1940.
That’s pretty interesting, Rat.
I have no idea about any of this part of Winchester’s history, but do have a couple of tools with the brand name on them. Inherited the hatchet & pliers from my grandpa who ran an auto repair garage in a rural NW Missouri town from 1920 until 1958
In 1922 Winchester announced to its stockholders that they were combining operations with the Associated Simmons Hardware Companies. The announcement stated that
“The Winchester Company will operate as the manufacturing organization and the Associated Simmons Hardware Companies will operate as the distributing organization:
The Associated Simmons Hardware Companies will continue the operation of their hardware jobbing business as heretofore and in addition will act as distributors of Winchester products to the Winchester stock-holding agents, and for this purpose the sales, warehousing and distributing organizations of Winchester and Simmons will be combined and hereafter operated as one.”
After the merger Winchester started manufacturing the Keen Kutter brand of cutlery and hardware previously made by Simmons.
Winchester used the advertising slogan “As Good As The Gun” on their hardware and tool products.
In 1926 Winchester acquired the physical assets of the U.S. Cartridge Company and started manufacturing ammunition but USCC would continue to market the ammunition.
Due major debt problems in 1929 Winchester reorganized into the Winchester Repeating Arms Company of Delaware and, as a result, the marketing arrangement with Simmons was terminated.
At the end of 1931 the Western Cartridge Company purchased all of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Great Depression had helped to place Winchester into major dept. The management of Western consisted of F.W. Olin and his two sons, who had originally started the Equitable Powder Manufacturing Company in 1892 to make black powder for the local coal mines. In 1898 they started the Western Cartridge Company which became an industry leader. By the late 1920’s they had seen the advantage of combining the manufacturing of sporting firearms with that of ammunition.
In 1931 raising the cash to purchase Winchester was a difficult proposition as banks were collapsing due to the Depression but the funds were obtained by a loan from the First National Bank of St. Louis and the Olin Corporation, which was another Olin company organized for the express purpose of providing cash in emergencies, as well as the personal resources of Olin and his two sons. The total purchase price was $ 8.1 million in cash and Western Cartridge Company preferred stock.
The acquisition of Winchester made Western Cartridge Company the largest owner of patents covering firearms and ammunition developments in the industry and permitted the pooling of manufacturing and technical knowledge to the benefit of both organizations.
After the purchase, the Olin Group took over the management of the Winchester and the Western companies.
"This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
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