Plomb - How do you pronounce it??????

[bb1970]

I know I sound like a jack *** here. But I keep hearing it pronounced different ways. Ton of guys refer to it as Plumb (pronounced plum). That's wrong, right. I tried to find a video on youtube. Just to hear it. No luck. Help me out here.

 

[Mickey O]

Rhymes with bomb.

 

[SMKS]

Since it's spelled with an "o," I always assumed it was pronounced "plomb," rhymes with "bomb."

But, I called Proto a couple years ago and their hold message was a history lesson about the brand. The narrator said "plum." But, she was just a hired voice actor, so who knows if she was even saying it correctly.

 

[chrenan]

What about when it was spelled Plvmb?

 

[RCStocker]

I have always called the plum but It depends where you are in the country.

 

[Outlawmws]

Rhymes with bomb.

The "b" is not silent, and "Plumb" is a completely different company.

The "Plvmb" spelling is not with a "V"; its a "V" shaped "O" (Why do you think Plumb sued for TM infringement successfully?)

 

[chrenan]

The "Plvmb" spelling is not with a "V"; its a "V" shaped "O" (Why do you think Plumb sued for TM infringement successfully?)

Good to know!

 

[bb1970]

It seems like "plum" would be wrong to me. I've always thought it should sound like bomb. Hell what if it is pronounced like tomb (ploom).

 

[03protege]

What about when it was spelled Plvmb?

Can I buy a vowel?

 

[bb1970]

Can I buy a vowel?

awesome

 

[supersteve]

Can I buy a vowel?

I originally saw this in a copy of The Onion.
http://www.cartalk.com/content/vowels-bosnia

 

[justanengineer]

Plomb, pronounced as Pl-ohm with the b silent.

 

[dragonballz]

The "p" is silent. Pronounced LOM. Like the name Tom.

 

[Joe B.]

Considering they used a Plumb Bob as a logo as early as the 1920s, it should be reasonable they would have pronounced it the same as Plumb in Plumb Bob.

So, it should be pronounced like "Plum". Including the 'b' sound to the end it likely incorrect as would pronouncing it like "Bomb"

Granted, to know for sure we should find the decedents of Alphonse Plomb and ask them how they pronounce their name.

Stolen from http://www.vannattabros.com/plomb/plombtool.html

 

[gregthor]

ok you lost me........which is the real deal? Plvmb or Plomb? I think I have some of both and I was always wondering what the deal was? Which one is a cheap imitation that I should throw out? and which one should I keep?

 

[Joe B.]

ok you lost me........which is the real deal? Plvmb or Plomb? I think I have some of both and I was always wondering what the deal was? Which one is a cheap imitation that I should throw out? and which one should I keep?

Plomb & Plvmb are the same thing. In reality there was never a Plvmb but people sometimes use a v because it looks more like the stylized "O" in used in the company name. Plomb changed their name to Proto.

Plumb is a company from Philadelphia that made/makes hammers and other striking tools. Now part of Apex tools. Most if not all come from China now.

 

[Outlawmws]

ok you lost me........which is the real deal? Plvmb or Plomb? I think I have some of both and I was always wondering what the deal was? Which one is a cheap imitation that I should throw out? and which one should I keep?

From AA

The Plomb Tool Company had its beginning in 1907 as a small blacksmith shop in Los Angeles, taking its name from one of the principals, Alphonse Plomb. Its earliest tools included items such as hand-forged chisels, intended primarily for the plumbing and building trades.

During the 1920s Plomb expanded into the automotive tools market, and its first catalogs were published in the mid 1920s. By the late 1920s the company was advertising in some of the popular periodicals of the time, probably in order to broaden its customer base. For example, an ad in the December 1928 issue of Popular Science Monthly shows a Plomb Hand-Forged Screw Driver on page 90 at the left. The text notes the use of special tungsten steel, with the square shank running through the handle to the metal cap. Interestingly, this 1928 ad shows the Plomb name with an inverted triangle already in use, at a time several years before this "PLVMB" logo began to be used on tools.

 

[Outlawmws]

Considering they used a Plumb Bob as a logo as early as the 1920s, it should be reasonable they would have pronounced it the same as Plumb in Plumb Bob.

Considering the company name came from the last name of the guy that started it, if should be reasonable that would have pronounced it like his last name.

 

[Justanoldguy]

In NZ it has been pronounced "Plum" as long as I can remember.
I started my building apprenticeship in 1967, so at least that long.

 

[Joe B.]

Considering the company name came from the last name of the guy that started it, if should be reasonable that would have pronounced it like his last name.

?????
That is what I said in a later paragraph. Granted, Mr. Plomb's relationship with the company ended before they were huge. It could be that they called it one thing early on and changed it for marketing reasons. That said, the logo is clearly modeled after an item that is typicaly pronounced like the fruit Plum.

 

[Outlawmws]

In California, where the company originated, It's been pronounced rhyming with Bomb for as long as I or my dad, who bought them when the Co was still called Plomb, can remember, so that goes back to the 40's

 

[Outlawmws]

?????
That is what I said in a later paragraph. Granted, Mr. Plomb's relationship with the company ended before they were huge. It could be that they called it one thing early on and changed it for marketing reasons. That said, the logo is clearly modeled after an item that is typicaly pronounced like the fruit Plum.

In what later paragraph? your second and last paragraph was about the Hammer company...

And Alphonse was with the company for a long time do you really think hes going to allow his staff to mispronounce his name?

The Logo is an Arrow head, it has been stamped up, down, and probably sideways. Other people have interpreted it as a plumb bob, but does anyone really know? I'm not sure Plumb ever made a plumb bob...

 

[Joe B.]

In what later paragraph? your second and last paragraph was about the Hammer company...

And Alphonse was with the company for a long time do you really think hes going to allow his staff to mispronounce his name?

The Logo is an Arrow head, it has been stamped up, down, and probably sideways. Other people have interpreted it as a plumb bob, but does anyone really know? I'm not sure Plumb ever made a plumb bob...

Paragraph 3.

 

[Outlawmws]

OK, I was looking at a different post of yours.

In any case, the company name has NOTHING to do with a Plumb Bob, and is not even spelled the same... (Plomb)

 

[GRX]

I pronounce it "awesome" ... because they are great tools. Sold my SO and CAT branded tools and kept all the old stuff

~ Plomb tool picture thread ~

www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135342

 

[Mr.Ric]

First Post. Greetings. The tool company was certainly named Plomb. There is little if any distinction in post Latin languages regarding the word plumb. Reference the variety of words related to perpendicular. The blacksmiths in Philadelphia used the same name beginning in the 1880's, also a company founders name, which produced a stylized hatchet of distinction, as well as a variety of striking hammers and tinsmith tools. So, bringing this contentious thread to fore, all I can offer is pronunciation of the same word with the same meaning from distinct origins all derived from the same word the Romans took from the Greeks, is like potato and potato, or tomato and tomato. I prefer pecan and pecan. Both of these companies crafted fine tools that worked well, and have stood the test of time.

 

[jusridin]

Well hello Mr Ric! Welcome to the board!
I am a northern guy but I like the southern tongue myself (redheads preferably with all their teeth) this post took a weird turn quite a few post back. Bottom line is a lot of us are passionate about Plomb tools , its extremely obvious in this post . I kinda like it

 

[Mr.Ric]

Sometimes I overlook it, but the shiny or not so shiny tools in my box are cherished every bit as much as the shiny things my wife has that end up in her sock drawer, and they get used purposely rather than taken out to flaunt in front of the neighbors. The plomb ratchets, wrenches, (not metric, don't have a bolt to turn) especially the tools they made for other brands, are still unsurpassed in quality, and it is a passion.

 

[WWIIjeep]

I'm going to agree that the "bomb" suggestion for the pronunciation is correct.

The reason for that is because Proto's own official history, written for their 100th anniversary in 2007, says Alphonse Plomb and his two founding partners--Jacob Weninger and Charles Williams--were all German immigrant blacksmiths.

I'm not going to try to figure out how Charles Williams' name could be German, but Alphonse is a given name of primarily French or Swiss origin, so Alphonse Plomb may have been a German immigrant of Alsatian, Bavarian or Tyrolean descent. In any case, he was from somewhere in Germany, as was Henry Lomb, one of the German immigrant founders of Bausch & Lomb.

You can hear a pronunciation of "Bausch & Lomb" here:

http://thenameengine.com/name.aspx?id=2131&name=Bausch-and-Lomb&cat=208#.Ufs33k3n9Ox

Just add a P and you get "Plomb" to rhyme with "Lomb" and "bomb."

On the other hand, I've heard an awful lot of people pronounce "Bausch & Lomb" as "Bausch & Loam," so who knows...

 

[The Copilot]

In any case, the company name has NOTHING to do with a Plumb Bob, and is not even spelled the same... (Plomb)

Call me crazy for thinking this, but when the company puts a graphic of a plumb bob on the back of its catalog and on its tools, I think they were definitely trying to make a pronunciation association.

 

[joebachor]

I used to work for a trucking co. where there was a dispatcher with the last name of plomb. she pronounced it "plum"

 

[lbgradwell]

Call me crazy for thinking this, but when the company puts a graphic of a plumb bob on the back of its catalog and on its tools, I think they were definitely trying to make a pronunciation association.

Wow - old thread bumped back, but I agree entirely with The Copilot and Joe B. on this; the bob is a clear indication of the correct pronunciation. It rhymes with the fruit...

 

[Canoe50]

I'm going to agree that the "bomb" suggestion for the pronunciation is correct.

The reason for that is because Proto's own official history, written for their 100th anniversary in 2007, says Alphonse Plomb and his two founding partners--Jacob Weninger and Charles Williams--were all German immigrant blacksmiths.

I'm not going to try to figure out how Charles Williams' name could be German, but Alphonse is a given name of primarily French or Swiss origin, so Alphonse Plomb may have been a German immigrant of Alsatian, Bavarian or Tyrolean descent. In any case, he was from somewhere in Germany, as was Henry Lomb, one of the German immigrant founders of Bausch & Lomb.

You can hear a pronunciation of "Bausch & Lomb" here:

http://thenameengine.com/name.aspx?id=2131&name=Bausch-and-Lomb&cat=208#.Ufs33k3n9Ox

Just add a P and you get "Plomb" to rhyme with "Lomb" and "bomb."

On the other hand, I've heard an awful lot of people pronounce "Bausch & Lomb" as "Bausch & Loam," so who knows...

Bausch and Lomb, rhyming with bomb, would be correct. That one I know for sure, since they're HQed in my home town. Although it looks like that will change in the near future.

 

[dave12b]

I read somewhere that part of the basis of the Plumb vs Plomb lawsuit was that they were pronounced the same.

 

[Plombob]

I read somewhere that part of the basis of the Plumb vs Plomb lawsuit was that they were pronounced the same.

It was because Plomb started making hammers. Plumb made hammers before the Plomb Tool Co. existed. That was the basis of the suit.

 

[Plombob]

ok you lost me........which is the real deal? Plvmb or Plomb? I think I have some of both and I was always wondering what the deal was? Which one is a cheap imitation that I should throw out? and which one should I keep?

You should throw out all of the Plomb. I'll help you! Pack 'em up and send them here. I'll make sure they are "disposed of" properly.

 

[neel2008]

Here in Indiana, I have always heard it as "plum" lol

 

[Joe B.]

Thread back from the dead!. There was in fact another thread on this subject started a few days after this one was originally posted. I'll update this thread with my post from the other thread.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172544&highlight=alphonse+plomb&showall=1

According the the 1940 Census, Alphonse M Plomb was 69 years old and a toolmaker living in Pomona, CA. He was born in France in 1871. In the week of March 24, 1940 he had only worked 16 hours so I suspect he was partially retired.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K9W2-XV8
(You can click and see the actual Census record from this link.)

Per other site on the web, parted ways with Plomb tools around 1917 but continued to make some tools under the name A. Plomb.

Alphonse Plomb is a French name so the French pronunciation would most accurately represent how it was pronounced within the company and would be the correct pronunciation. However, it is likely that the name was widely mispronounced as it was foreign and recorded communications would not have been available for something trivial like a tool brand. Also, considering Mr. Plomb had already left the company when it really started to grow, everyone else there could have anglicized the name.

Interestingly enough Plomb in the french word for the metal lead but can also be used for shot and sinkers like in the USA.

There are a number of places on the web that will allow you to here the French precipitation and I listed a few below. I would best describe the pronunciation at "plohm" with much less emphasis on the 'p' than we would use in the USA.

http://translate.google.com/transla...a=X&ei=8SuUULb8LeTU2AX7qYDoAg&ved=0CB8QrgYwAA

http://www.forvo.com/word/plomb/

 

[Project 2501]

I've been calling it PL-OHM
��****��****

 

[BFBOB]

Not the only time a business owner was prohibited from using his own name in his business. There was a man named McDonald who opened a hamburger stand. Guess who sued successfully to make him stop calling it McDonald's?
And, outside of Jackson, Wyoming, a man named Jeep Molina was prevented from continuing to call his bar Jeep's Bar by the threat of a suit by Chrysler Corporation. Never mind that he had been called that since infancy, and it was a reference to a character in the Li'l Abner comic strip, which predated the Jeep vehicle. And never mind that his bar had been called Jeep's Bar long before Chrysler owned Jeep!
Here in town, a restaurant named Bellagio was sued successfully by the casino in Las Vegas even though the restaurant predated the casino. They renamed the restaurant Il Bel Lago.
aaaannnnddd my business name which is registered only in my home state, is in use in at least one other state. I can hardly wait.