Historical information

Clauss Cutlery’s long and vivid history started in early 1880’s when John Clauss and his younger brother Henrie established Elyria Shear Works in Elyria, Ohio. At one time the company was the largest manufacturer of scissors and shears in the world and was acquired by Acme United Corporation in 2004. John and Henrie Clauss, of German origin, started Elyria Shear Works from a one-room building in Elyria, Ohio Together with five employees, they began manufacturing scissors, shears, straight razors and serrated kitchen knives In August 1887, the Company moved to Fremont, Ohio to be near an accessible, abundant supply of natural gas which had recently been discovered. 1889, disaster struck as the plant was completely destroyed by fire, In 4 months Clauss built a new plant and was back in full operation and changed the company’s name to Clauss Shear Company. 1919 Clauss Shear merged with Henkel Company, to become Henkel-Clauss Company. Henkel Company was founded in 1906 to manufacture manicure and pedicure files, knives, shears and razors. After World War II, Clauss was unable to compete with European firms producing household scissors and shifted its focus to industrial scissors. In 1967 Clauss was taken over by Alco Standard Corporation who integrated Clauss into its existing structure to manufacture tools for industrial niche markets. Clauss made surgical scissors for eye operations, heavy duty metal cutting shears, poultry shears for gutting chickens and specialty items such as anti-acid, anti-magnetic tweezers for the electronics industry. Clauss had approximately 100 employees and produced about $18 million in annual revenues in the late 1980s, but profits continued to decline. In 2004, Acme United Corporation acquired the Clauss inventory, trademarks and brand names from Alco Industries for approximately $500,000

Physical description

A large Bread Knife with scalloped / serrated edge and looped handle

Inscriptions & markings

Front : CLAUSS Back : FREEMONT / OHIO