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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 30, 2014 at 13:55

Reply by Sue OldsWidow on November 12, 2013 at 11:49

Fremont ohio..

Christy Knife Company

http://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/mssfind/285/christyknife.htm

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on August 2, 2014 at 22:18

Reply by Sue OldsWidow on July 10, 2014

Freemont was cutlery capital of the Country

The Sandusky County Historical Society, just a couple of blocks west of downtown's Front Street, has a display featuring cutlery products produced by nearly 50 companies that once operated in and near Fremont.

It seems hard to believe, but it's true. The city was once known as the cutlery capital of the country.

The booming cutlery business was the result of a number of things, including the easy accessibility to water, natural gas and lumber for fuel. But, the key ingredient in the success of the industry was the influx of German immigrants. Many were skilled and experienced in the cutlery industry, and they brought their skills to this area. It's been said that the hard-working German men were also--at least partially--responsible for another booming business in the community -- the tavern business. But, that's another story.

Those nearly 50 companies represented in the Historical Society museum's included a number of small operations that were spinoffs of larger firms. But, there were some very big operations as well.

Henkel-Clauss, for instance, was said to be the largest cutlery plant in the world after Clauss Cutlery and the Henkel Co. merged in 1910. It's been said that the firm employed about 1,000 workers in the 1920s. The Christy Co. was another of the city's larger employers for years.

World War II presented some major challenges for the cutlery industry, because the demands of the war cut into the supply of materials. After the war, they faced another challenge -- cutlery produced by skilled German craftsmen -- in Germany.

As I understand it, Germany was allowed to ship cutlery products into the United States at cheaper prices, creating a new challenge.

Companies had to adapt and develop new product lines to survive, especially in the light of new technology and new product developments. The straight razor, for instance, virtually disappeared.

Fremont definitely has earned a spot in history in the cutlery industry, nonetheless.

Besides being dubbed the Cutlery Capital, our craftsmen have earned special notice. That Ginsu knife that is so well known among late-night television watchers?

It's not some exotic foreign product. It was produced right here by the Quikut Company before that firm moved out of town. And the Eickert Co. supplied American astronauts through a deal with NASA.

While the cutlery business has dwindled down to a precious few in the area, names like Crescent, Clauss, Quikut, Christy, General Cutlery, Eickert, B&P and others remain familiar to local residents, with some still operating.