Caleb Jewett Kimball
Bennington, NH
This photograph is from pg. 5 of Roger K Smith's
article in The Fine Tool Journal.
DATM (1999) states that Caleb Jewett Kimball was born in 1817 and died in 1896.
He made draw knives, hoes and shaves using the mark C. J. KIMBALL.
His solo working dates are from 1841 to 1872. He started in Milford,
NH then moved to Wilton, NH from 1849 to 1851 and finally to Bennington,
NH. In 1873, he started working with his son, George Edward Kimball
(b. 1842, d. 1913) as C. J. KIMBALL & SON. Their tool line expanded
to include axes, cutlery, knives and leather tools.
In 1894, Caleb retired and the company became
the Caleb Jewett Kimball Co. in which two of his younger sons were partners
(Fred Hastings Kimball b. 1857, d. 1917 and Charles Herbert Kimball b.
1848, d. 1912) along with William H. Odell.
In 1894, Wilbur Webster of E. Jaffrey, NH sold
his cutlery, knives and leather tools business to the C. J. Kimball Co.
References
Smith, Roger
K. Caleb Jewett Kimball: Edge tool maker: Bennington, NH.
- "In the late 1880s the Kimball's started manufactured drawknives for E.
C. Simmons, the large hardware firm of St. Louis, MO, which used the brand
name KEEN KUTTER." (pg. 6).
- "In August of 1914 Fred Hastings Kimball, at that time president of the
firm and only surviving son, announced that the machinery and tools would
be moved to the Walden Knife Co. in Walden, N.Y., a company also largely
owned by the E. C. Simmons Co. The Kimball firm continued to manufacture
drawknives until 1915 when they completed their move to New York."
The Davistown Museum has a C. J. Kimball
& Son farrier's slick in the Maritime
IV collection listed under edge tools.
