H K Porter, Boston, MA

[RTM]

The US Patent number may revel more useful information. The anvil is 1/4".

us pat 2.559.558

Just a note, this patent is not in DATAMP

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I guess Porter made them for Snap-on. Looks like the same exact Blue-Point tool, same "Impak Driver" branding.

Patent granted July 3, 1951 to three brothers (Carlson) from Minnesota. Not assigned to Porter.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As first reported on the GS thread, I found the "HKP" 14-inch bolt cutters shown in the photos below this morning at the flea. I already had the 24-inchers, found and stowed away a long time ago. Interestingly, they have different patents and they're trademarked differently as well. The big one is branded as a "No. 1" and a "BULL DOG" on the handle and a "NEW EASY" on the clippers, bearing date markings referring to patent 484,670, granted on October 18, 1892. The small jobby is branded as a "No. 14" and a "HYPOWA" (unless I am mistaken, a clever regional slogan-y take on the term "High-Power") on the handle, and "OK" on the clippers, bearing date markings referring to patent 909,663, granted on January 12, 1909. (Note for @RTM, our new DATAMP staff member: that's a "Not known to have been produced" entry, so feel free to make an update and use my photos if you wish. ) I won't be doing much bolt or rivet clipping with either one given the condition of the jaws, but they're cool to have, and I do have some modern cutters.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

"New Easy" goes back as far 1896; "Hypowa" to 1923.

 

[four.cycle]

^ love it.

can't help of think of "The Departed"

 

[Private Lugnutz]

With my interest in vintage tools not extending much later than WWII, and only occasionally, usually for special reasons, into the 50's, I had no idea until I found this NOS envelope of spare coping saw blades at the flea market yesterday that H.K Porter had acquired Henry Disston & Sons. These were produced after that (1955) and before the Zip Code (1963).

 

[RTM]

With my interest in vintage tools not extending much later than WWII, and only occasionally, usually for special reasons, into the 50's, I had no idea until I found this NOS envelope of spare coping saw blades at the flea market yesterday that H.K Porter had acquired Henry Disston & Sons. These were produced after that (1955) and before the Zip Code (1963).

Yup, unfortunately, the beginning of the end of Disston as a quality saw.

From the Disstonian Institute webpage:

, the family decided to sell the company to H.K. Porter, a holding company owned by Thomas Mellon Evans. The company had been running on borrowed time, but Evans wasted none when it came to liquidating every asset at Disston. Any machines that could be sold for a quick profit were gone. Most members of the Disston family at that time had no interest in saw making, but they didn't want to close down the place, either. H.K. Porter moved the Disston factory to Danville, Virginia, starting in 1956. After Disston left Philadelphia, that was the end of an era.


1955-1990 Medallions
HK Porter-era Medallion
Disston continued to manufacture saws after the family sold their company to HK Porter, Inc. The variety and quality of saws decreased immediately, as did the number of employees in the factory. By the late '50's the factory had been moved to Danville, Virginia. Disston produced a line of electric saws, but they were not as popular as Black and Decker or Rockwell. In the 1970's Porter sold the company to Sandvick. In the 1990's the company stopped production

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I saw that. The Wiki page has a little more on the end.

 

[S-K Tool Fanatic!]

Got this big ol’ pair of bolt cutters for free.

 

[Beerhippie]

Maybe like this?
-Don

Mine's bigger:












At 19 lbs, they're a two-person job if you need to hold them horizontally to cut something.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's a beast. But it looks like the bolt won, at least once!

 

[Ricky Joe]

Yup, unfortunately, the beginning of the end of Disston as a quality saw.

From the Disstonian Institute webpage:

, the family decided to sell the company to H.K. Porter, a holding company owned by Thomas Mellon Evans. The company had been running on borrowed time, but Evans wasted none when it came to liquidating every asset at Disston. Any machines that could be sold for a quick profit were gone. Most members of the Disston family at that time had no interest in saw making, but they didn't want to close down the place, either. H.K. Porter moved the Disston factory to Danville, Virginia, starting in 1956. After Disston left Philadelphia, that was the end of an era.


1955-1990 Medallions
HK Porter-era Medallion
Disston continued to manufacture saws after the family sold their company to HK Porter, Inc. The variety and quality of saws decreased immediately, as did the number of employees in the factory. By the late '50's the factory had been moved to Danville, Virginia. Disston produced a line of electric saws, but they were not as popular as Black and Decker or Rockwell. In the 1970's Porter sold the company to Sandvick. In the 1990's the company stopped production

Wonder why he picked Danville, Virginia, of all places. Danville is noted for tobacco, textiles, and being the last capital of the Confederacy. Seems an odd choice, to me.

 

[Beerhippie]

That's a beast. But it looks like the bolt won, at least once!

#5 rebar, actually.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

#5 rebar, actually.

"That'll do it!", says the former member of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.

 

[torontotools]

I'm doubling up here because I posted this pruner under Vintage Pruning file just now, but don't know how to link to that . HK Porter no 124 P POINTCUT Pruner. Boston 43, MASS. Any ideas on age?

 

[tym]

Given the 2-digit postal zone and no ZIP, I'd estimate 1943-1963.

 

[torontotools]

Given the 2-digit postal zone and no ZIP, I'd estimate 1943-1963.

Thanks Tym. Much appreciated.

 

[ganymede]

Heres a strapping cutter some might find interesting. I've used them to cut .025" steel music wire with no problem.
Some one mentioned Assembly Sq. I go there occasionally for the Home Depot. There is no trace of the HK Porter factory . The area is completely stripped of any history or character and is just a sterile, posh mini Boston.

 

[AJKISSINGER28]

I picked up this HK Porter cutter at a flea market for $6... it was in really bad shape and all seized up, but the handle design caught my eye and I couldn't not give it some love. After a fair amount of stripping down and oiling up, she's back in working order; now all I need to do is find some rubber stops and finish the rivets. Does anyone have any insight into this specific tool's use or history? I'm missing one of the original screws on the side by the "No. 14 Right" mark, though I'm not fully sure I know what they were used for. Was this originally painted? Thank you all.

 

[four.cycle]

1924 Hardware Buyers Catalog H.K. Porter ad pp 177
"The handles are japanned malleable iron,..."

by 1952 they were applying a red paint to the handles:


1952 Hardware Age H.K. Porter cutters ad pp 89

 

[RTM]

Looking at 4.c first image, I would guess O.K. arms with a Hypowa head.

 

[four.cycle]

I recently cleaned up and restored an old pipe wrench and used Rustoleum oil-based enamel applied with a throw-away brush
$10 bucks for a little 8-ounce can.
Not sure what one does to restore "japanning", but their black might be an option to consider.

 

[AJKISSINGER28]

Wow, thank you everybody! This is all the exact information I was trying to find! Yeah, mine still has traces of black on the handles; for now I've just applied a liberal coat of Fluid Film to keep everything protected. Those old advertisements are great. I appreciate everybody's time and expertise!
A.J.K.

 

[MR.X]

Lead South Dakota, just outside of Deadwood.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not much for red, or any plastidip handles at all, but I was very excited to find these "HandKlip" brand "No. 6 Angle Cut" wire cutters at the flea yesterday. No 'BEFORE' pic, but they were coated in rust and the handles were gunk and paint spattered. I soaked them in SG for a few hours, then in the miracle juice tub overnight. Just cleaned them up and wiped them down with oil. Extremely well made (which is to be expected considering the manufacturer and the tool's ancestry - more on that later) and the blades are very sharp (ask me how I know! ). Love the 'MADE IN U.S. AMERICA' COO marking.

EDIT: Excuse the seemingly random and annoyingly jumbled order of the photos. The site is doing its weird thing and not loading them in the order I loaded them.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The earliest reference I have found for the "HandKlip" brand name is this 1948 Google Books Snippet view...



The earliest HKP catalog reference in the public domain is 1950...



Note that the model number is No. 6A, whereas the pair I just found is just No. 6. Might indicate earlier production than 1950, when they were making several variants (there's a 6C - the parrot-beak, and a GT - shears). Not clear.

There are no small hand cutters of any kind in the 1939 HKP catalog. Just the big bolt cutters, pruners, etc.

I suspect that the Army Corps of Engineers specification for the famous M-1938 wire cutters, which H.K. Porter made thousands of during WWII, was probably their prompt and foray into small, hand-held, lightweight wire cutter. I suspect it went into their commercial lineup sometime between 1945 and 1948.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

To cap off this 3-post sub-topic, here is a Family Photo of the ca. 1950 Angle Cutter with two of its older brothers, both of whom are veterans of WWII.

 

[genog]

HK Porter No.1

This ole boy was my Dad's
I brought it out today to do some cutting

Pretty darn cool set of bolt cutters.....

 

[genog]

HK Porter No. 0

Found this one at the Flea Market last year
Really nice tool....

 

[threepiece]

Fellows, I may have what might be the oldest HK Porter tool in existence. Somewhere around here is a pair of Ice tongs (I think) that were seemingly made by hand forging. On these tongs is a stamping. The stamping was apparently made with a straight chisel. The chisel was used to create three letters HKP.

Im thinking these were made by a young Mr. Porter in his blacksmith shop. I haven’t seen these tongs in More than a decade but I know they are here somewhere as I found them special at the time and I rarely get rid of anything (read I have a lot of stuff).
let me know if anyone has interest to see this, I can try to locate it.

 

[Shelbylex]

Sure, Threepiece. We would like to see them

 

[threepiece]

I found them in the second place I looked which was about 5 feet from the first. It seems I was mistaken. There is only HK stamped. I somehow dreamed up the rest in my relentless imagination.

Did Henry make these as a young blacksmith in his early shop days? Did he omit the P because the chisel he had was too wide to fit the P. Was he planning to install the P later when a suitable tool was found? Was this tool made by Howard Kritigen? We may never know.

 

[threepiece]

I forgot to add pictures.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Those are "Ice Tongs". (see catalog illustrations below)

Ice Tool Collector website

Ice tools are a different world - we very seldom see them here, believe it or not.
Prior to the advent of modern refrigeration, the "Ice Tool" industry was huge - not just tool makers, but all manner of equipment was necessary to transport ice from lakes to the "iceboxes" in kitchens all over America.
There were a LOT of players in the ice game, but the only devices I have seen in catalog pages named "H.K. Porter" were bolt cutters.
The manner in which those initials are stamped on that device leads me to think that's an owner's mark, not a manufacturer's mark.

see following post:

 

[four.cycle]

Something occurred to me earlier today that I hadn't even thought about before:
Looking at those again - in the photo with the cat (which shows some scale) - those are large enough that it's possible they were originally intended for moving logs, not ice.
Devices similar to that were used in the timber industry.
Half a dozen of those, with one guy on each handle, would allow you to muscle around some pretty good-size wood rather easily.

<edit 04/08/26 13:03 PDT>
After visiting one of my favorite junk shops, I'm pretty sure what you've got there are "LOG tongs" or "TIMBER tongs" - used to muscle logs around.

 

[Beerhippie]

^ Those are "Ice Tongs". (see catalog illustrations below)

Ice Tool Collector website

Ice tools are a different world - we very seldom see them here, believe it or not.
Prior to the advent of modern refrigeration, the "Ice Tool" industry was huge - not just tool makers, but all manner of equipment was necessary to transport ice from lakes to the "iceboxes" in kitchens all over America.
There were a LOT of players in the ice game, but the only devices I have seen in catalog pages named "H.K. Porter" were bolt cutters.
The manner in which those initials are stamped on that device leads me to think that's an owner's mark, not a manufacturer's mark.

There are still several ponds hereabouts that were for harvesting ice. Recognizable due to (usually roughly) rectangular shape and shallow--around 3'--depth. There used to be several ice houses, too, but they've gone the way of all things in the last few decades.

Here's three ice ponds in one GE screen grab, just south of the city limits:



Log ponds are often similar, but deeper.

 

[65-Stang]

Just picked this up at an estate sale. Thought I’d post some picks as was requested by Shelbylex the OP. Not sure if it’s a complete set? But I did get the box which was cool. Seem to be missing an attachment for the screw driver bits. They are a 5/16 in. Hex. Haven’t used it yet but seems to be in good shape. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada . Not sure how it made it all the way up here?