Thursday, March 15, 2018

Vanished Tool Makers: Walden Worcester, Worcester, Massachusetts










For a while, I kept running across these old nut drivers.  One day, I picked up the socket set below.







Charles M. and Frederick E. Walden founded the Walden Manufacturing Company in 1906 to make wrenches.  A year later, the company was bought by Warren S. Bellows, who brought his extensive inventive skills to the mix.  For example, he came up with a new method for constructing wrenches using laminated sheet metal, putting these on the market around 1909.  In 1916, the company became Walden-Worcester.  In the face of a rapidly growing market for their products, the company began construction of a massive mill complex, but delays and competition from the Blackhawk Manufacturing Company (which introduced the first line of interchangeable socket sets)  and the newly formed Snap-On Wrench Company.  As a result, Walden went into receivership in 1922.  The company survived and continued to innovate, being one of the first American tool makers to use alloy steels for its sockets.  In the 1920's, they introduced the "Spintite" nut driver. 



In 1926, the company merged with Stevens & Company to form Stevens-Walden-Worcester, specializing in automotive service and general purpose tools.  In the 1930's, open-ended and box-end wrenches were introduced to the product line. Eventually, the company became Stevens Walden Inc, with an SW-C
circle logo, remaining in business into the 1990's.
1954

1917


Radio-Television, December 1942

Popular Mechanics, February 1946
Popular Mechanics, October  1947

1952

Popular Mechanics, September  1954

1954
Popular Mechanics, March 1955

7 comments:

  1. Hi my name is Justin Walden, I'm a relative of Frederick Walden. I would like to talk to you about your collection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. I have a 1133 ratchet pull bar thats in great shape.

      Delete
  2. The Duke who did the post has passed away but contact me at gerald@vanwyngaarden.ca Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a few ratchet wrenches 1/2” and sockets I believe. If
    Interested email @ alanrudnicki122@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, I am Kjell from Norway and I have some tools from Walden.
    These are from my father and are around 100 years old, well used but in good shape.
    I have:
    -Ratchet 916
    -Square bar 9 inch 1139
    -joint 1102
    -socket 15/16 230/830

    I am reachable on khaakaas@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gavin Mitchell, Cape Town South Africa. I have a Stevens Walden valve lifter

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just came across a Walden-Worcester tool set with two 1/2 inch ratchets, speed driver, several extensions in a case. Any one interested ???

    ReplyDelete