I picked up this bicycle wrench a while ago. Any tool with a name stamped on it is an interesting focus for research.
Ewald and Herman Pawsat came up with the Wald Tire Repair Tool in 1905 and started the Wald Cycle Company in Sheboygan, Michigan. (I'm assuming that the "Wald" company name came from Ewald's first name.)
Looking for better location for their business, they packed up shop in 1924 and moved south to Maysville, Kentucky on the Ohio River. Eventually, the factory would span 300,000 square feet. Including the bicycle basket, their list of bicycle innovations and products was impressive and they made parts for most of the big American bicycle manufacturers of the time. As the years passed, and off-shore manufacturing gobbled a bigger share of the market, Wald expanded into products for automotive and appliance manufacturers. Wald is still around.
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