Craftsman stamps

Sears Canada (Simpson-Sears or 'Pimps & Queers' as it was un-affectionately known up this way) has just filed for bankruptcy protection. Some 40-50 years ago many of us young adults, with parental and elder coaching, bought 'hook line and sinker' into Craftsman brand tools. Within a few short years they forfeited the socket button release mechanism rights on their ratchets and everything they offered gradually went downhill from there. Sure they had a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty but their stuff began to fail so often that folks began to invest in other brands and slowly weaned themselves off the Craftsman name altogether.
 
Square_peg said:
...I've recently concluded that the 'Craftsman' name which Sears-Roebuck purchased in 1927 belonged to the G.N. Cushman Co. of Champagne Ill.
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This of course contradicts the "official" story that Sears bought the name Craftsman from the Marion-Craftsman Tool Company, but...

The Marion Craftsman Tool Company (of Marion, Indiana) was newly incorporated in 1927 (according to this announcement dated 12/29/1927), while Sears was already advertising Craftsman Tools in a 1927 catalog (shown earlier in this thread).

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from American Machinist, Vol. 67, Dec. 29. 1927, page 1042e


The Cushman Company, Inc. (of Champaign, Illinois) had a "Craftsman" line of tools before then.
From 1921 (note the mention of hatchets and chisels):

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https://books.google.com/books?id=NfAyAQAAMAAJ&dq=craftsman tools cushman champaign&pg=PA635#v=onepage&q&f=false


An earlier mention (from 1919) of "Craftsman" brand chisels and wrenches from Cushman Auto Tool Co, of Champaign, Ill.:
https://books.google.com/books?id=pCBbAAAAYAAJ&dq=craftsman tools cushman champaign&pg=PA188#v=onepage&q=craftsman tools cushman champaign&f=false


Some "Craftsman" tools from Cushman:
cushman-co-craftsman-tools.jpg

from http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=1871.0


Note that the "Craftsman" stamp from Cushman does not resemble the early (wavy) Sears Craftsman logo.
 
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Cushman borrowed money to build an expanded tool factory just after WW1. They struggled and folded in 1926 just before Sears bought their Craftsman brand. It just makes sense.
 
I don't have my source handy for the 1926 date so take that with a grain of salt for now. I'll see what I can dig up. I have an article on my desktop about the planned 1917 expansion.
 
OK, here's the 1926 reference.

" The first mystery company is the Craftsman Tool Company of Champaign, IL. This company is listed in Franklin's Directory from 1924 through 1926. Now there is a Cushman Company listed in 1923, also in Champaign, but that is probably a misprint or the company was bought by or merged with the Craftsman Company. There are no instances where companies are known to produce shoes for just one year. There are no Craftsman shoes found by this company's brand name, although there are many shoes bearing the name Craftsman. They were actually made by the Marion Tool Corporation of Marion, Indiana. The Indiana company is first listed in 1936. The 10-year gap makes it rather unlikely there is any correlation between the two companies. Marion Tool produced three models through the 1930s and 1940s: a plain bookless model, then-first hooked model had very small blunt hooks, and the supreme design, the Craftsman Ace is rare in its own right, for only one set is known in collection. The Craftsman shoes have no relationship with the Sears & Roebuck Company, although the catalog did sell pitching shoes for decades. "

http://www.horseshoepitching.com/dunn/may-jun99.html

So there you have Craftsman Tools disappearing in 1926. They were in receivership in 1922 according to the Papawswrench site. Then Sears brings out their Craftsman brand in 1927.
 
Wow, that is some killer research Steve Tall and Square Peg have done on the Craftsman brand. I started thinking about it today because I picked up this really nice Craftsman broad-hatchet at a house sale so I googled this thread and now I am glad I did because this new information added today is fabulous, thank-you guys...

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19264645_1398031760287700_2957514547280034776_o.jpg
 
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Square_peg said:
You might have a pre-Sears tool there.
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Well, there is no documentation showing that the "wave" logo was used before Sears is there? Until there was I would not state it as a fact or assume it. It just looks like maybe the first one Sears used for maybe a year or so before switching to something else.

I would not be surprised if most axe manufacturers took it as an opportunity to create new logos whenever the tooling for the old stamps wore out. Plus marketing always likes something "new" to trumpet in advertising. Follow the money...
 
What leads me to believe that some of these are pre-Sears is that Sears very quickly abandoned that logo and yet they are relatively common. In the catalogs it appeared only briefly. I reviewed the catalogs at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. They inherited a set from the Seattle Sears Roebuck headquarters, the main west coast hub for Sears. The collection is available by appointment.

I certainly have nothing definitive to prove this. It is my opinion which is why I haven't stated it as fact.

What we need is to see that logo in combination with the Cushman name or the Champagne location.
 
Is this the company that ended up producing Cushman motor-scooters back in the mid-20th century?
 
gben said:
Is this the company that ended up producing Cushman motor-scooters back in the mid-20th century?
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Nope.

History. The Cushman company started in 1903 in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Everett and Clinton Cushman. The company incorporated as Cushman Motor Works in 1913. ...Cushman began making Auto-Glide scooters in 1936 as a means to increase the sale of Husky engines during the Great Depression.
Cushman (company) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushman_(company)
 
Marion vs Cushman?

I did this search:


USPTO: https://www.uspto.gov/trademark

This was one of the results:


DISCLAIMER: I know nothing about trademark law, and this was my first time using the TESS. FWIW -

What I could find from the USPTO is that a "Craftsman" trademark was registered by Sears with first use of October 28, 1927 and the last listed owner as Stanley. In my TESS search (above) I entered "craftsman sears". I also searched for "craftsman marion" and "craftsman cushman", but neither returned results. If Sears bought the "Craftsman" TM, where would one find who was the previous owner?

In playing around on the internet looking for information about the Sears "Craftsman" TM, I found that "Craftsman" is not an uncommon name used on a lot of different products and services having no relation to Sears. Maybe Sears just registered "Craftsman" without involvement with Marion, Cushman, or any other particular company?


Bob
 
A little late to the party, I know. I spent over 20 minutes reading this thread and wasn't sure if this logo was ever given an estimated date, though someone did mention it started in the early 1930's. This eBay seller (for whatever that is worth) dated this one as a 1930's ax head. The head is sold and the listing is ended, so I hope it is okay to post an eBay link in that scenario. The second photo shows the logo more clearly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1930-CRAFTSMAN-DOUBLE-BIT-AXE-HEAD-CHOPPING-CAMPING-WOODSMAN-3-1-2-LBS-/352314695390?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&nma=true&si=QKRIad2tVKlWUc3eyIwYr1%2BoN9k%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
 
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