Enameled Ware.— Coincident with this is the development of what is known as enameled ware, being a coating on the sheet steel in place of the tinning. It is of all colors and varieties and has grown to be a business of great im portance. It illustrates distinctly the general desire of the people for something more taste ful and artistic in appearance than the old fashioned tinware.
Mechanics' Tools.— The American manu facturer has shown to great advantage in the manufacture of high grade mechanics' tools for exceedingly fine measurements. In this respect the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, of Providence, R. I., occupy a commanding po sition and their products to-day arc sought for all over the world where exceeding accuracy is necessary. As an example, the micrometer caliper will measure with absolute accuracy the 250,000th part of an inch. For an attainment of such results, the finest tools made by any other nation cannot be compared with those of America.
Few things are more interesting than the history of cutlery-making in the United States, as it has suffered many "ups and downs," not alone from various foreign com petition, but from the difficulty of procuring sufficiently skilled labor to produce the proper article. The manufacture of scissors and shears — which are always treated as a part of the cutlery business — has been unique in the fact that it was a Yankee genius who first solved the problem of welding a high grade steel blade to a soft casting of iron backing made to fit the hand, this being the invention of Seth Boyden in 1826. The actual manufac ture of shears in this country seems to have been commenced by R. Hcinisch in 1825 at Elizabethport, N. J. This was followed by others until at present the American shears have been so developed and improved as to be far ahead of any in the world. Prior to 1832 table cutlery was imported very largely from England. From that year American manufac turers began in a small way to produce these goods and by 1865 they had practically taken the business unto themselves. There is a large
export trade business in table cutlery owing to the superior quality of the goods made in this country.
The making of pocket cutlery is one of the most interesting things connected with the hard ware business in America. It was started at Lakeville, Conn., by the Holley Manufacturing Company about 1845. The total annual capacity was probably less than $50,000. The business was gradually extended in a small way and finally a co-operative colony was established at Walden, N. Y., and since then this line of American industry has largely centred in the two States of New York and Connecticut. In numerable factories have been started and have failed, largely owing to the lack of foresight on the part of the manufacturers in attempting to compete with the cheap labor of Europe in pro ducing goods cheap in quality and finish as they were in price. The co-operative colony spoken of grew by slow degrees and economical management, having the advantage of large water-power at Walden, until they finally be came one of the leading makers, not alone of this country but of the world, and were enabled to show at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition products superior to those made abroad, for which they received the highest award. It is an interesting case of development in the way of quality and of merit by patience and skill. In 1914 there were 32 makers of pocket knives in the United States, with an annual produc tion valued at over $4,000,000. The number of establishments making other cutlery and edge tools numbered 252 with a total capital of $35, 666,000 and employing 16,561 wage-earners.
The annual output was valued at $25,541,000, of which $8,186,000 represented cost of materials, and $9,076,000 wages. For a discussion of this subject as it relates to the metropolis, consult Pratt, E. E., 'The Hardware Industry in New York City' (Hardware Dealers' Magazine, 1913, pp. 1211 seq.). (See CUTLERY).