"Keiser" Circle M or W logo on old grass clippers

[3jakes]

Pretty complicated & works pretty well.
On top of tool is a circle W or M.
Pat number is hard to read.
I like how the bottom blade extends back under the handle & steadies the action as it floats on the sidewalk.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If you really want to know, just try different combinations of the possibles at USPTO. I see 2XX1X34 where X's are either 3, 5, 6, or possibly 8.

 

[RTM]

Here is one that hits the combination Lugz' suggested

US2661534A - Shearing action device - Google Patents

Not in DATAMP

 

[four.cycle]

Keiser / Keiser Mfg. Co., Reading, PA / est. 1905 / shears, secateurs / patents (various) David Howard Keiser Jr. / see Keiser vs Wiss https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/340/41/1445429/ /

Mr. Keiser figured out how to make that design work.
The very slight "flip-flop" on the blade is engineered in - don't mess with it.

That lower blade on yours looks to have been slightly modified.

This is a NOS set (photos below) - shows what yours looked like originally.

Not a lot of "catalog" information available that I've been able to find. Keiser held several patents:

patent 2281977 May 5 1942 D.H. Keiser Jr
patent 2407237 Sep 10 1946 D.H. Keiser Jr
patent 2607114 Aug 19 1952 D.H. Keiser Jr
patent 2661534 Dec 8 1953 D.H. Keiser Jr
patent 3156980 Nov 17 1964 J.T. Vosbikian
patent 3470613 Oct 7 1969 D.H. Keiser Jr
TM 60792 Jun 28 1955 first use Jan 2 1951 Keiser Mfg Co.

The ruling in Keiser vs. Wiss is interesting if you're into that sort of thing.
These are the patents that are cited in the aforementioned case for visual comparison:

patent 1135989 Apr 20 1915 J.J. Breach
patent 1632479 Jun 14 1927 A. Huberty
patent 21369 Aug 31 1858 J.H. Roome
patent 361911 Apr 26 1887 L. Weston

@3jakes -
Could you do us all a favor and edit the TITLE of the thread to include the word "Keiser" please?

 

[four.cycle]

Some other Keiser made products (photos ebay)

@RTM - I don't think ANY of those patents are entered at datamp.org - I may have sent them to Jeff - not sure.

Keiser got his start with the "Sheep Shears":

 

[RTM]

Looking at the OPs original post, I wonder if Keiser made those, or someone else just used the patent. I can see the extended bar being a great way to save your knuckles when trimming at a concrete edge. Those rivets look fairly well done for a mod. Is the flow from the blade to the knuckle guard logical?



Also is that stamp , original read as Om or Wo, a K? Not seeing it, thus thinking another company, based on circumstantial evidence only.

 

[4xdog]

Boy, those Keiser Miracle shears shown by @four.cycle in post #4 bring back memories. We had a pair of those in our family when I was a little kid in the 1960s. They worked beautifully.

 

[four.cycle]

@RTM -
Good question, considering that another example using the same patent number (currently listed on ebay) does not have that "M in a circle" mark either. (see attached below)
I thought maybe.... Moore Drop Forge? .... not a match, and it doesn't make sense. (Why would Moore be making those for Keiser?)
I thought maybe.... WISS? ... doesn't match the herald mark on ANY "Wiss" branded item currently on ebay or any other "W" logo I've got on file... so that's a huge MAYBE but I just can't see WISS inventing a new LOGO for one item that they didn't make with somebody else's patent number on it.
I am at a loss in respect to the LOGO, but the patent and the design is definitely Keiser. (Seymour Smith tried something kinda-sorta like it, but not exact same.)

 

[3jakes]

I'm going out on a limb here & say that my shears pre-dates the new old stock photo in four.cycle's first post.
My linkage is more primitive.
Also I feel the lower blade is original.
Could the M in a circle be designating the model's name of...Miracle?

 

[four.cycle]

^ I have to agree with you about the linkage... looks like they simplified the set up which no doubt cut production costs significantly - no more cotter pins and yokes and such.
The riveting on that lower blade looks factory to me... just my lousy opinion.

I am LOST on that "M in a circle" thing... that just isn't making ANY sense to me at all.

 

[four.cycle]

found another catalog page..... listed as "Miracle" (no mention of Keiser here.)
so... searching "Miracle" (as opposed to "Keiser") might be another way to go about this...

 

[RTM]

Looks like Ames absorbed Miracle at some point. (various Etsy and ebay listings)

But it also looks like Keiser used the name Miracle too

Vintage Miracle Grass Shear by Keiser In Original Box | #293976742

The one The only The genuine Miracle grass shear by Keiser. No. 2. In original box. Used and a bit dirty, but in good working condition. I do combine shipping based on the weight of the combined items

www.worthpoint.com

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/BF8AAOSw8SZiRd73/s-l1600.jpg

Several different versions out there, but none look like the OPs fancy mechanism and knuckle guard. (Google Image search)


There is a brother to his out there too, so the plate isn't a one off. Her shows an M2 cast into the handle

Vintage M2 Red Lawn Grass Edge Trimmer Shears 12.5" Long Works Metal Hanger | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage M2 Red Lawn Grass Edge Trimmer Shears 12.5" Long Works Metal Hanger at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

And a few pairs without the knuckle guard, but the circle M

Vintage Hand Grass Clippers, Shears, Great Shape, Garden Tool 13" Long | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Hand Grass Clippers, Shears, Great Shape, Garden Tool 13" Long at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Antique garden tools grass shears see pics & read Lawn maintenance vintage | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Antique garden tools grass shears see pics & read Lawn maintenance vintage at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[3jakes]

There is a brother to his out there too, so the plate isn't a one off. Her shows an M2 cast into the handle

That one is a total match to mine which also has the M2 cast in the lower handle concave.
And nowhere is there a Keiser marking.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Never saw the Keiser equipment.

I may have to search for a pair for myself, as the last name fits

Keith Keiser is my name BTW

 

[four.cycle]

Looks like Ames absorbed Miracle at some point. (various Etsy and ebay listings)

^ I'm not seeing "AMES" in any of those ads.... which one?

So we have definitively established then, that the "M in a circle" is "Miracle" and it IS the Keiser "Miracle" logo, correct? It certainly appears that way to me.

Very cool.

** just a note on these: the reason shipping is so high is because the length of the object doesn't allow it to fit into the smaller flat-rate box.

 

[RTM]

^ I'm not seeing "AMES" in any of those ads.... which one?

VINTAGE AMES MIRACLE PROFESSIONAL GRASS LAWN & GARDEN SHEARS PRUNER | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VINTAGE AMES MIRACLE PROFESSIONAL GRASS LAWN & GARDEN SHEARS PRUNER at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

So we have definitively established then, that the "M in a circle" is "Miracle" and it IS the Keiser "Miracle" logo, correct? It certainly appears that way to me.

None of the ones labeled Miracle have the M in a circle, or that style of mechanism as the OP. The M in the circle is always the only mark besides M2.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I noticed that.... only that oddball like 3jakes' has the "M in a circle" thing.

inquiry sent on Ames - no idea if they'll get back to me or not... wonder if they're still selling that same unit?

 

[four.cycle]

edited for brevity

From: Ames
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2023 2:03 PM
To: four.cycle
Subject:

Thank you for contacting Ames Consumer Support.
At this moment, we currently do not have a time frame on when the Ames Companies acquired Keiser Mfg. Co. However, with the resource on hand we can tell it was prior to 1990's. Please understand that over the years information on this item has either be limited or discarded over the years. Attached are images for the item and an items list on when we did sell parts for it. Over time we have changed gears on our parts department on selling them to replacing the item as a whole during its warranty time frame. We currently do not have any parts as they have been depleted over the years or have been discarded. As this model number 23-062 has been discontinued for quite some time. We hope this information helps out and apologize for the inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Consumer Support
The Ames Companies, Inc


Ames 23-062 Grass Shears

Ames 23-062 Grass Shears parts list

Ames / Ames Shovel & Tool Co., Easton (Boston) MA / aka: Ames Shovel Works, Ames Shovel Shop / est. 1774 / https://www.ames.com/ /

 

[akasrick]

Pretty complicated & works pretty well.
On top of tool is a circle W or M.
Pat number is hard to read.
I like how the bottom blade extends back under the handle & steadies the action as it floats on the sidewalk.

Another of the almost same.

akasrick

 

[akasrick]

Another of the almost same.

akasrick

Maybe the M depicts the shears?

 

[four.cycle]

^ the "M" is for "Miracle", which is how that item was marketed. When Ames bought the company, they sold it as the "Miracle" shears.

 

[Sumboodie]

 

[akasrick]

This maybe the sling blade version, a quick scrape no Keiser.


akasrick

 

[akasrick]

This maybe the sling blade version, a quick scrape no Keiser.


akasrick

Sumboodie

Thanks for the link, it explained how too use that tool (Sling). Used it 20yrs. ago and did nothing for my miniature golf skills. Guess it also has to be slung with the bolts up as shown or they will catch in the dirt when you pull it back.

akasrick

 

[Dave Strasz]

Pretty complicated & works pretty well.
On top of tool is a circle W or M.
Pat number is hard to read.
I like how the bottom blade extends back under the handle & steadies the action as it floats on the sidewalk.

Latest Keiser shears added to my collection;

 

[Dave Strasz]

I’d like to join in the exchange for Keiser Mfg garden tools to learn more about them.

 

[3jakes]

Bizarro pruning saw?
Thats a new one on me.

 

[Mintgrun]

I'll bet that toothed blade is for edging alongside concrete. A little sod saw, so to speak. Cool tool!

 

[Dave Strasz]

Bizarro pruning saw?
Thats a new one on me.

This is a Kaiser grass shears that cuts in the vertical plane - Shares bottom handle (pattern /part M 1) casting. with other models. Used (?) for flowerbed or sidewalk edging, or perhaps as a tool for sod-laying crew, the serrated blade used to maintain depth of flowerbed edge (?) This is only the 2nd example I have seen in about 10 years. Its is in very good condition with heat treatment or forging scale on blades - original cut on blades, - and most painted surfaces with little paint loss. pivot hdwe is original. I think the "Miracle" design yields the best overall performance for a grass shears! I have other Kaiser grass shears of different designs in the shed including long-handled shears and others with "replaceable" blades!

 

[Dave Strasz]

This is a Kaiser grass shears that cuts in the vertical plane - Shares bottom handle (pattern /part M 1) casting. with other models. Used (?) for flowerbed or sidewalk edging, or perhaps as a tool for sod-laying crew. The serrated blade used to maintain depth of flowerbed edge (?) This is only the 2nd example I have seen in about 10 years. Its is in very good condition with heat treatment or forging scale on blades - original cut on blades, - and most painted surfaces with little paint loss. pivot hdwe is original. I think the "Miracle" design yields the best overall performance for a grass shears! I have other Kaiser grass shears of different designs in the shed including long-handled shears and others with "replaceable" blades!