E.C. Simmons Hardware Co.

Location: St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri
Founder: Edward Campbell Simmons (1839-1920)
Period of Production: 1871 - 1960
Products Manufactured: Food choppers, lard presses, knife sharpeners, grist mills, waffle irons, coffee grinders, apple peelers
Brand Names: Keen Kutter

The Simmons Hardware Company was a hardware manufacturer based in St. Louis with locations in six states.

The "Keen Kutter" trademark, originally applied to axes, was extended to almost the entire Simmons product line.

Simmons Timeline

• 1871 - E.C. Simmons and Company founded.
• 1874 - Company incorprated as Simmons Hardware Company.
• 1880 - Simmons publishes one of the first fully illustrated hardware catalogs.
• 1889 - E.C. Simmons retires from active participation in the business.
• 1920 - E.C. Simmons dies.
• 1922 - Firm sold to Winchester Repeating Arms.
• 1934 - Great Depression causes Winchester to file for bankruptcy.
• 1935 - After reorganization, focus shifts from tools to housewares, Keen Kutter pocket knives retained.
• 1940 - Simmons assets sold to Shapleigh Hardware Co.
• 1959 - Shapleigh goes out of business.

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